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5.3.2 Calc Usage ¶

To launch Calc, invoke M-x calc. When the point is in the Calc window, invoke C-o (or a binding of your choosing) to launch the Casual Calc interface.

For nearly all menus, algebraic entry via the ' binding is available, as well as basic calculator operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) and stack operations (pop, enter).

Casual Calc organizes its main menu into the following sections:

Calc

Commands for common calculator functions.

Constants

Common math constants.

Operators

Common math operators.

Stack

Commands for stack operations.

Arithmetic

Entry point for sub-menus of commands classified as arithmetic operations.

Functions

Entry point for sub-menus of commands organized into different classes of functionality.

Settings

Entry point for sub-menus of commands to configure Calc settings.

Calc Basics ¶

It helps to know some basics about Calc.

• Calc is a stack-based calculator that supports both RPN and algebraic style entry.
  • By default it uses RPN entry, but this can be changed to algebraic.
• Stack based operations are always RPN-style.
• Undo has the keybinding U, redo is D.
• The top of the stack is referred to as 1:
• Calc vectors are punctuated with [ and ] (e.g. [2 3]) Matrix values are represented as vectors within a vector. For example, [[1 0] [0 1]] is a square diagonal matrix.
• Calc vector indexes are 1-offset.
• Intervals
  • Inclusive intervals are represented as [𝑛..𝑚], where 𝑛 < 𝑚.
  • Exclusive intervals are represented as (𝑛..𝑚), where 𝑛 < 𝑚.
  • Any combination of lower and upper bounds set to be inclusive or exclusive is supported.
• Complex numbers are entered as (𝑟, 𝑖), where 𝑟 is the real part and 𝑖 is the imaginary.
• Radix numbers are entered as 𝑏#𝑛 where 𝑏 is the base value and 𝑛 is the number. For example entering 2#0101 will put 5 on the stack.
• H:M:S values are default entered as ℎ@ 𝑚" 𝑠’.
• Org-mode active timestamps can be entered into Calc.
• The top of the stack (1:) can be edited by pressing the ` key.
• Entering a single quote (’) will prompt you for an algebraic entry.