UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Hello one and all,

I have a basic background in UNIX, but I was wondering if there is a way to perform simple mathematical equations (like multiplication, addition)? If so, is there a way to multiply values from a column by a value to produce a column with the answers?

I am working on a simple research project and in some data sets I have to get the the values of the velocity for a string of data...i.e.

data * (speed of light) = [desired answers]
5.7 * (299792458) = [1708817010.6]
6.8 = [2038588714.4]
7.3 = [2188484943.4]
5.1 = [1528941535.8]

Is there a simpler way to get my desired values besides find the values individually on my calculator? I would greatly appreciate any assistance.

"bc" is a basic calculator, you can pipe some expressions into it and get results.

However with "tables" you end up being more a victim of the format of the table than the calculation.

hm...well, as a victim of a table, is there a way to make calculations? do I need to make some sort of program?

If you are ready to write some scripts then I cannot see why that cannot be done. If the combination of shell script + bc doesn't satisfy your requirements, you may consider languages such as Perl which gives you a more sophisticated environment if a more programmatic approach is desired.

Hi.

The system "R" can be used for analysis and graphing. It is the free software version of the proprietary system "S" (Becker, Chambers, Wilks).

For me, the install was easy; I use Debian Linux, and it was in the repository.

Here is the brief (and cleaned up) copy of the session I had with your data:

Code:

Mon Oct 15 05:43:29 CDT 2007

Type 'q()' to quit R.

[Previously saved workspace restored]

> sol <- 299792458
> sol
[1] 299792458
> t <- c(5.7,6.8,7.3,5.1)
> t*sol
[1] 1708817011 2038588714 2188484943 1528941536
> q('yes')

For more information, visit The R Project for Statistical Computing

Best wishes ... cheers, drl