-bash-3.2$ man bc
bc(1) bc(1)
NAME
bc - An arbitrary precision calculator language
SYNTAX
bc [ -hlwsqv ] [long-options] [ file ... ]
VERSION
This man page documents GNU bc version 1.06.
DESCRIPTION
bc is a language that supports arbitrary precision numbers with interactive execution of statements. There are some similarities
in the syntax to the C programming language. A standard math library is available by command line option. If requested, the
math library is defined before processing any files. bc starts by processing code from all the files listed on the command line
in the order listed. After all files have been processed, bc reads from the standard input. All code is executed as it is read.
(If a file contains a command to halt the processor, bc will never read from the standard input.)
This version of bc contains several extensions beyond traditional bc implementations and the POSIX draft standard. Command line
options can cause these extensions to print a warning or to be rejected. This document describes the language accepted by this
processor. Extensions will be identified as such.
OPTIONS
-h, --help
Print the usage and exit.
-i, --interactive
Force interactive mode.
-l, --mathlib
Define the standard math library.
-w, --warn
Give warnings for extensions to POSIX bc.
-s, --standard
Process exactly the POSIX bc language.
-q, --quiet
Do not print the normal GNU bc welcome.
-v, --version
Print the version number and copyright and quit.