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by freedomben 755 days ago
> the requirement of having `bc` installed means you must also have the ability to run package installation

I don't remember ever installing bc, but I use it frequently and it's always there. Are you sure it's not already part of most base systems?
4 comments
mayli 755 days ago
No, it's often not, it's one of the common package you install manually to compile a linux kernel
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lelanthran 754 days ago
> I don't remember ever installing bc, but I use it frequently and it's always there. Are you sure it's not already part of most base systems?

In my bash scripts, using `bc` makes my script not work on git-bash under Windows. Almost everything else I do in a script that isn't linux-specific (including netcat/nc usage) runs in git-bash for Windows.

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tredre3 754 days ago
It's not pre-installed on Debian and SUSE.
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rascul 754 days ago
It's part of posix and should be available anywhere a posix like environment is offered.
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