dc command in Linux with examples

dc command in Linux is used to evaluate arithmetic expressions. It evaluates expressions in the form of a postfix expression. Entering a number pushes it into the stack and entering an operator evaluates an expression and pushes the result back into the stack. It can evaluate +, -, /, *, %, ^. Different commands can be used to manipulate stack. 

Syntax:

dc [OPTION] [file ...]

Below table illustrate the different commands and their explanation:

Command	Operation
p	Prints the value on the top of the stack and ends the statement with a newline.
n	Prints the value on the top of the stack and ends the line with a null statement.
f	Prints the entire stack, without any alteration.
P	Pops the value from the top of the stack.
c	Clear the stack.
d	Duplicates the top value and push it into the main stack.
r	Reverses the order of top two elements in the stack.
Z	Pops the value from the stack, calculate the number of digits in it and pushes that number.
X	Pops the value from the stack, calculate the number of fraction digits in it and pushes that number.
z	Pushes the stack length into the stack.
i	Pops the value from the stack and uses it as input radix.
o	Pops the value from the stack and uses it as output radix.
k	Pops the values from the stack and uses it to set precision.
I	Pushes the value of input radix into the stack.
O	Pushes the value of output radix into the stack
K	Pushes the precision value into the stack.

Example 1:

Example 2:

Note: In second example, the output changes because we changed the output-radix. 

Options:

• expression : This command is used to evaluate a particular expression.
  

• file : This command is used to evaluate the contents of the file.
  

• help : This command displays help information.
  

• version: This command is used to display version information.
  

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