[ale] OT - Portable Drive

[Jeff Lightner]

I use bc all the time.  It is good for converting different bases (hex
to decimal or vice versa) which often comes in handy.  Also with the -l
option it will extend the points to the right of the decimal quite a bit
(e.g. 22/7 = 3.14285714285714285714) so you don't have to guess at the
rounding that might be done.   Also it blows expr out of the water as it
doesn't have the field limits that cause expr to reverse the sign bit on
large numbers.

-----Original Message-----
From: ale-bounces at ale.org [mailto:ale-bounces at ale.org] On Behalf Of Mike
Harrison
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 1:56 PM
To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts
Subject: Re: [ale] OT - Portable Drive

> though, my first device was a Trash-80. I understand the basic
> principles of slide-rule function, but I've no practical experience.

My advanced chemistry teacher was a slide rule nut.
He allowed their use in class, and if used, you only
had to be right to 3 significant digits.

If you used a calculator, you had to be right to 7
(not 8, he was reasonable), and yet, as people 'trusted'
the calculator, they made mistakes and got the answers
wrong due to cumulative error.

I used the slide rule, and often did hard manual math
to 4 or 5 places to double check I was using it right.
I got good grades, because I understood it was easier
to be right at 3 significant digits.

--And to be on Linux: Am I one of the few users of 'bc' left?

What a powerful tool, especially when doing weird math.

apt-get install bc
bc
128^128

Is a good example of why it's useful. Lots of display room. :)








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