Console Calculator Manual

Console Calculator is a powerful calculator with a simple console interface.  In addition to being a high-precision calculator (300+ bits of precision), it also support base conversion, units conversion, and much more.  The interface is convenient and easy to use.  Create your own variables and functions, recall previous entries, and quickly hide it with a keystroke.  Many other conveniences are included that make Console Calculator a multi-function tool that engineers or software developers will appreciate.

Calculator Tutorial: The Basics

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At the “> ” prompt, type a mathematical expression or formula and press enter to calculate the result. For example, after the prompt, type “4+5*4” followed by the enter key. The result would be:
ans = 24

If you then typed, “ans / 2“, your result would be:
ans = 12

To perform a quick calculation on the previous result, instead of typing “ans“, you may type the operator (*, /, +, or –) at the new prompt and the “ans” will be inserted automatically. For example, type “+” at the beginning of a new line, and “ans+” will automatically appear. The “-” key is an exception. The first “-” will be interpreted as a negative sign. Type the “-” key twice at the beginning of the prompt line to be replaced with “ans-“.

Put multiple calculations in a single line, separated by a semicolon. “m = 5; m+2” would result with:
ans = 7

Using a semicolon also suppressed the result from being displayed, similar to Matlab. This is useful when making script files.

Use hex and binary: “0xFF + 0b1001” would result with:
ans = 264

Use as a unit converter: “10 in->cm” converts 10 inches into centimeters. The result is how many centimeters are in 10 inches:
ans = 25.4

Valid Operators

More advanced math functions are available, such as square root and trig functions. More information on these functions is available: Built-In Math Functions.

Convenient Features

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History: Recall Previous Entries

You may press the up or down arrows to quickly copy previous entries to the current prompt, similar to a UNIX console.

Create Variables

For example, “m = 25” creates a variable m which can be used in later calculations. The variable pi = 3.14159… is predefined. The variable ans is always equal to the previous result.

Define Custom Functions

For example, “par(x,y) = x*y/(x+y)” creates a function which takes 2 parameters, x and y.  Then use the function like this: “par(10,10)“ and the result is “5″. Functions that you create are saved for use in future console calculator sessions.  The “list” command will display all user-defined functions.

Copy Previous Result

If you copy with no text selected, the previous result is automatically placed into the clipboard and ready to paste into another application.  (Only the numerical answer is copied, the “ans =″ text is not!)

High Precision Floating Point

Arithmetic with high precision floating point numbers. Over 100 significant digits of decimal accuracy. Most calculators perform double-byte floating point calculations, which are 64 bit structures. Console Calculator gives you not 64 bits or 128 bits but  (352 bits of arithmetic accuracy! This is nearly astronomical precision.

SI-Unit Prefixes

You may use metric unit prefixes appended to the end of a number to automatically adjust units. For example, “5M + 100k” + enter would result with:
ans = 5100000

Save and Open Scripts

You may save the contents of the current console to a script file which may be run again at a later time. Each line of a script file must be a valid mathematical expression and commands may be seperated by semicolons.  Script lines ending with a semicolon will have their console output suppressed when run.  Lines beginning with # sign are ignored as comments.

Mac OS X Note: A script file is just a plain text file, but the *.script extension is assigned to Console Calculator.

Command-Line Interface  (Windows Only)

The calculator has some command-line options that may be useful. Blind students have found it useful, and others have found it useful for automated calculations.

ccalc [inputfile] [-o outputfile] [-q]

• inputfile: a script file which is run immediately when ccalc starts.
• outputfile: the contents of the session are saved to this file once the CCalc window is closed.
• -q: if the -q tag is used, the calculator will perform the calculations in the inputfile, save results in the outputfile, and immediately quit. The console calculator window never even opens in this case. This is most useful for automated calculations.

Built-in Math Functions

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Built-in functions include scientific, trig and math.h compatible functions.  Function names are case-insensitive.

• sqrt – square root
• ln – natural log
• log – log base 10
• logxx – log base xx (log2 for log base 2, log8 for log base 8, etc)
• ln – natural log
• exp – exponential, e^…
• sin – sine
• cos – cosine
• tan – tangent
• asin – arcsine
• acos – arcosine
• atan – arctangent
• sinh – hyperbolic sine
• cosh – hyperbolic cosine
• tanh – hyperbolic tangent
• abs – absolute value
• round – round function, rounds up or down to the nearest integer
• ceil – ceiling function, rounds up to the nearest integer
• floor – floor function, rounds down to the nearest integer
• rand – random number generator, with maximum value specified
• mod – modulus function (remainder)

Calculator Options

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Preferences may be set to control the look and behavior of the calculator. Note some options mentioned below are for Windows only.

Calculator Commands

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Several of the options above can be scripted or changed via commands at the prompt. Below are the available commands.

Base Converter

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This calculator interprets several different numerical bases and can convert from one base to another. You may change the displayed base in the “Options” menu or using the keyboard shortcuts shown below. Holding down the shift key while changing the base will display the previous answer in the new base without changing the default base permanently.

Using Decimal, Hex and Binary

Decimal numbers are assumed, but you can specify a number as binary with a “0b” or hex with a “0x“.

The number 15 (decimal) in different bases:

Decimal: 15
Binary: 0b1111
Hexadecimal: 0xF

For example, “15 + 0×5 + 0b101” would result with:
ans = 25

Two’s Complement

When viewing negative numbers as binary or hex, two’s complement notation is optional. Two’s complement is the way that computers typically store signed integers in memory. For example, -5 could be displayed in hex as a 32-bit two’s complement, which would be 0xFFFFFFFB rather than -0×0005. This can be a handy option for software developers, though it is off by default.

Unit Converter

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CCalc is also a fully featured units conversion utility. Convert from SI units to non-SI units. Convert between units of length, area, volume, force, and many other types of units in a convenient way. Simply enter the number and unit you are converting from, type the convert operator (a minus and greater-than sign, “->”), and finally the unit to convert to.  If you need a unit that is not a built-in, you can define your own custom units! Once created, new unit definitions are saved permanently in the ccalc_functions.txt for future console calculator sessions. Below are some unit conversion examples.

Table of Built-In Units and Abbreviations