Q: What is bc used for?

A: bc performs arbitrary-precision arithmetic calculations, handling very large or precise numbers that exceed standard hardware limitations. It operates as both an interactive shell tool and a command-line calculator, essential for scientific, financial, and engineering tasks requiring exact numerical results.

Q: Who created bc and when?

A: bc was created by Lorinda Cherry in 1975. Cherry, a computer scientist and original Unix team member, designed it as a more user-friendly alternative to the earlier dc utility.

Q: How does bc differ from dc?

A: bc is based on dc but uses infix notation (e.g., "5 + 3") instead of dc's postfix notation. It adds a programming language interface while retaining dc's arbitrary-precision core, offering improved usability for interactive calculations.

Q: Is bc the same as GNU bc?

A: No, bc and GNU bc are distinct implementations. bc is the original Unix utility, while GNU bc is part of the GNU project with additional features. They are not interchangeable and have separate development histories.

bc

UNIX utility which implements an arbitrary-precision arithmetic language

Place programming_language Q300897

Facts

5 properties

Instance of: programming language, standard UNIX utility or command^[3]
Inception: 1975^[5]
Author: Lorinda Cherry^[2]
Based on: dc^[4]
Different from: GNU bc^[6]

🏷️ Also known as

en Basic Calculator en bc en UNIX bc ar بي سي da Bc programmeringssprog de Basic Calculator es Lenguaje de programacion bc es Lenguaje de programación bc fa زبان برنامه‌نویسی بی‌سی fr Basic Calculator fr UNIX bc hu Bc programnyelv it Basic Calculator

🔖 Identifiers · 5

Described at URL: pubs.opengroup.org
FOLDOC ID: BC
Freebase ID: /m/02_6bj
Gentoo Wiki article: Bc
Quora topic ID: Bc-programming-language

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🔗 Connections

Author 1

Lorinda Cherry

Based on 1

Created notable works 1

Lorinda Cherry

Instance of 1

programming language

← Derivative work 1

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Summary

bc is a programming language^[1].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

[3] ↑ bc — instance of (P31): standard UNIX utility or command. wikidata.org.
[2] ↑ bc — author (P50): Lorinda Cherry. ncwit.org. Retrieved 2022-02-18. ncwit.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[4] ↑ bc — based on (P144): dc. wikidata.org.
[5] ↑ bc — inception (P571): 1975. wikidata.org.
[6] ↑ bc — different from (P1889): GNU bc. wikidata.org.

Class ancestry

[1] ↑ bc is an instance of programming language (Q9143) [P31, primary]. Wikidata. wikidata.org.

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APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). bc. Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/bc

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BibTeX

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According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): bc — https://4ort.xyz/entity/bc (retrieved 2026-11-01)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/bc · Last refreshed: November 1, 2026

Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

15w ago · W.andrea · 2026-07-19 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Official website → —

"/* wbremoveclaims-remove:1| */ Official website: https://www.gnu.org/software/bc/"
26w ago · AddyLockPool · 2026-05-05 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Freebase ID → /m/02_6bj

Gentoo wiki article → —

Different from → —

Author → —

+ 18 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)

"/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ Official website: https://www.gnu.org/software/bc/"

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bc