math
[!NOTE|label:references:]
sum
[!INFO|label:references:]
awk
$ seq 10 | awk '{s+=$1} END {print s}'
55
# or
$ awk 'BEGIN{print '"1+2+3"'}'
6file sizes
$ ls -l
total 12
-rw-r--r--  1 marslo staff 3480 Dec 21 21:21 README.md
-rw-r--r--  1 marslo staff 7516 Dec 21 21:21 SUMMARY.md
drwxr-xr-x  7 marslo staff  224 Sep 19 19:52 artifactory
drwxr-xr-x 15 marslo staff  480 Dec 21 21:19 cheatsheet
drwxr-xr-x 12 marslo staff  384 Aug 17 21:11 devops
drwxr-xr-x  9 marslo staff  288 Sep 29 17:31 jenkins
drwxr-xr-x 10 marslo staff  320 Sep 19 19:52 linux
drwxr-xr-x  9 marslo staff  288 Sep 19 19:52 osx
drwxr-xr-x  6 marslo staff  192 Aug 17 21:11 programming
drwxr-xr-x 27 marslo staff  864 Aug 17 22:10 screenshot
drwxr-xr-x  7 marslo staff  224 Oct 11 19:41 tools
drwxr-xr-x  8 marslo staff  256 Aug 30 16:39 vim
drwxr-xr-x  5 marslo staff  160 Aug 17 21:11 virtualization
$ ls -l | awk '{sum += $5} END {print sum}'
14676datamash
[!TIP|label:reference:]
$ seq 10 | datamash sum 1
55bc
- $ seq 10 | paste -sd+ - 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10 $ seq 10 | paste -sd+ - | bc 55
- $ seq 10 | xargs printf "- - %s" | xargs | bc 55
- $ seq 10 | sed 's/^/.+/' | bc 1 3 6 10 15 21 28 36 45 55
$ seq 10 | jq -s 'add'
55$ f=$(seq 10)
$ echo $(( ${f//$'\n'/+} ))
55
# or
$ echo $(( $(seq 10 | tr "\n" "+") 0 ))
55
# or from file
$ echo $(( $( tr "\n" "+"  < /tmp/test) 0 ))sum from file
[!NOTE|label:sample file:]
$ cat numbers.txt 73.27 218.38 14.15 9.18 16.60
- $ awk '{ sum += $1 } END { print sum }' numbers.txt 331.58
- $ paste -sd+ numbers.txt 73.27+218.38+14.15+9.18+16.60 $ paste -sd+ numbers.txt | bc 331.58- Σn where 1<=n<=100000 - $ seq 100000 | paste -sd+ | bc -l 5000050000
 
- $ paste -sd' ' numbers.txt | jq -s add 331.58
number conversion
[!NOTE|label:references:]
tips
ibaseandobaseparams order matters, but not always. Hex values must be in UPPERCASE.
the decimal can be ignored in
ibaseorobase, or we can say, the defaultibaseandobaseare all 10.
八进制 → 二进制
echo "ibase=8; obase=2; 77" | bc
111111
十进制 → 十六进制
echo "obase=16; 255" | bc
FF
十六进制 → 十进制
echo "ibase=16; FF" | bc
255
二进制 → 十进制
echo "ibase=2; 101010" | bc
42
#!/usr/bin/env bash
function convertBase() {
  local from_base=''
  local to_base=''
  local value=''
  local upper=false
  while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
    case "$1" in
      -f|--from  ) from_base="$2" ;  shift 2 ;;
      -t|--to    ) to_base="$2"   ;  shift 2 ;;
      -v|--value ) value="$2"     ;  shift 2 ;;
      -u|--upper ) upper=true     ;  shift   ;; # uppercase hex
      -h|--help  ) echo "Usage: convertBase -f <from_base> -t <to_base> -v <value> [-u]"
                   echo "Supported bases: bin, dec, oct, hex"
                   return 0
                   ;;
      *          ) echo "Unknown option: $1" >&2; return 1 ;;
    esac
  done
  # Map base names to numeric bases for bc
  declare -A base_map=(
    [bin]=2
    [oct]=8
    [dec]=10
    [hex]=16
  )
  local ibase="${base_map[$from_base]}"
  local obase="${base_map[$to_base]}"
  if [[ -z "$ibase" || -z "$obase" ]]; then
    echo "Error: Unsupported base. Use bin, dec, oct, hex." >&2
    return 1
  fi
  # For hex input, force uppercase since bc expects that
  if [[ "$from_base" == "hex" ]]; then
    value="${value^^}"
  fi
  # Use bc to convert
  result=$(echo "obase=$obase; ibase=$ibase; $value" | bc)
  # Format output (uppercase optional)
  if [[ "$upper" == true && "$to_base" == "hex" ]]; then
    result="${result^^}"
  fi
  echo "$result"
}# usage
$ convertBase -f hex -t dec -v FF         # → 255
$ convertBase -f bin -t dec -v 1011       # → 11
$ convertBase -f dec -t hex -v 255        # → ff
$ convertBase -f dec -t hex -v 255 -u     # → FF
$ convertBase -f dec -t bin -v 42         # → 101010
$ convertBase -f oct -t hex -v 77         # → 3F
$ convertBase -f bin -t oct -v 110101     # → 65- supported base keywords 
bin
2
Binary
oct
8
Octal
dec
10
Decimal
hex
16
Hexadecimal
Common Bases
Base → Decimal
$((base#value))
echo $((2#1010)) → 10
Decimal → Hex
printf
printf "%X\n" 255 → FF
Decimal → Binary
bc
bc < <(echo "obase=2; 42") → 101010
Octal → Decimal
$((8#17))
$((017))
echo $((8#17)) → 15
Hex → Decimal
$((16#FF))
$((0xFF))
echo $((16#FF)) → 255
- base → decimal 
2
10
$((2#1011))
1011
11
BINARY
8
10
$((8#17))
17
15
OCTAL
8
10
$((017))
17
15
OCTAL
10
10
$((10#42))
42
42
DECIMAL
16
10
$((16#1A3F))
1A3F
6719
HEXADECIMAL
16
10
$((0x1A3F))
1A3F
6719
HEXADECIMAL
36
10
$((36#Z))
Z
35
ALPHANUMERIC MAX
64
10
$((64#_))
_
63
MAX BASE IN BASH
binary <> decimal <> hexadecimal
[!NOTE]
obase:[o]utput base
ibase:[i]utput base
# bin -> dec
$ bc <<< 'ibase=2;11111111;11111111;11000000;00000000' | paste -sd. -
255.255.192.0
# bin -> hex
$ bc <<< 'obase=16;ibase=2;11111111;11111111;11000000;00000000' | awk '{ printf "%04s\n", $1 }' | paste -sd. -
00FF.00FF.00C0.0000
# dec -> bin
$ bc <<< 'ibase=10;obase=2;255;255;240;0' | numfmt --format %08f | paste -sd' ' -
11111111 11111111 11110000 00000000
# dec -> hex
$ bc <<< 'ibase=10;obase=16;255;255;240;0' | awk '{ printf "%04s\n", $1 }' | paste -sd. -
00FF.00FF.00F0.0000
# hex -> bin
$ bc <<< 'ibase=16;obase=2;FF;FF;EE;0A' | numfmt --format %08f | paste -sd' ' -
11111111 11111111 11101110 00001010
# hex -> dec
$ bc <<< 'ibase=16;FF;FF;EE;0A' | paste -sd. -
255.255.238.10to decimal
Binary
Decimal
echo $((2#1010))
2#1010
10
-
Hex
Decimal
echo $((16#FF))
16#FF
255
-
Hex
Decimal
echo $((0xFF))
16#FF
255
0x - convert from hex
Octal
Decimal
echo $((8#77))
8#77
63
-
Octal
Decimal
echo $((077))
8#77
63
0 - convert from octal
- from hexadecimal - $ echo "ibase=16; F" | bc 15 # [o]utput base: 0xA -> 10 # ^ $ echo "ibase=16; obase=A; F" | bc 15 # or obase first $ echo "obase=10; ibase=16; F" | bc 15 # or $ echo $((0xF)) 15
- from octal - # obase (decimal) first $ echo "obase=10; ibase=8; 17" | bc 15 # or # ╭─ 012 -> 10 # -- $ echo "ibase=8;obase=12; 17" | bc 15 # or $ echo $((017)) 15
to hexadecimal
[!TIP]
if convert from decimal, the
ibasecan be ignored, or we can say, the defaultibaseis 10.
Binary
Hex
echo "obase=16; ibase=2; 101011" | bc
101011 → hex
2B
Octal
Hex
echo "obase=16; ibase=8; 77" | bc
77 (octal) → hex
3F
Decimal
Hex
echo "obase=16; 255" | bc
255
FF
Decimal
Hex
printf "%X\n" 255
255
FF
- from decimal - $ echo "obase=16; 15" | bc F # or $ echo "ibase=10;obase=16; 15" | bc F
- from octal - $ echo "obase=16; ibase=8; 17" | bc F # or $ printf "%x\n" 017 f
to octal
Binary
Octal
echo "obase=8; ibase=2; 1010" | bc
1010 → base 2 → base 8
12
Decimal
Octal
printf "%o\n" 42
42
52
Hex
Octal
echo "obase=8; ibase=16; FF" | bc
FF → hex to octal
377
- from hexadecimal - $ echo "ibase=16;obase=8; F" | bc 17
- from decimal - $ echo "obase=8; 15" | bc 17 # or $ echo "ibase=10;obase=8; 15" | bc 17
to binary
[!NOTE|label:references:]
Octal
Binary
echo "obase=2; ibase=8; 77" | bc
8#77 → obase=2
111111
Decimal
Binary
echo "obase=2; 42" | bc`
42
101010
Hex
Binary
echo "obase=2; ibase=16; FF" | bc
ibase=16; FF → obase=2
11111111
- from decimal - $ bc <<< 'obase=2;15' 1111 $ bc -l <<< 'obase=2;0;0;15;255' | xargs 0 0 1111 11111111 $ bc -l <<< 'obase=2;0;0;15;255' | awk '{ printf "%08d\n", $0 }' | xargs 00000000 00000000 00001111 11111111 $ printf "%08d\n" $(echo "obase=2; 0;0;15;255" | bc) | xargs 00000000 00000000 00001111 11111111 $ bc <<< 'obase=2; 0;0;15;255' | numfmt --format=%08f | xargs 00000000 00000000 00001111 11111111
to unicode ( hexadecimal )
[!NOTE|label:references:]
# 0x41 -> `A`; 0x61 -> `a`
# decimal -> hexadecimal
$ printf "$(printf %04x 65)\n"
0041
# \u<4-digits-hex>
$ printf "\u$(printf %04x 65)\n"
A
# \U<8-digits-hex>
$ printf "\U$(printf %08x 67147)\n"
𐙋
$ single_unicode_char="😈"
$ printf %d "'$single_unicode_char"
128520
$ printf "$(printf %08x 128520)\n"
0001f608
$ printf "\U$(printf %08x 128520)\n"
😈- more - $ single_unicode_char="😈"
- to hexadecimal - # ╭─ hexadecimal $ printf %x "'$single_unicode_char'" 1f608 $ printf %08X "'$single_unicode_char'" 0001F608 # ╭─ hexadecimal $ echo -n $single_unicode_char | iconv -t UTF-32LE | od -A n -t x4 0001f608 $ printf "\U0001f608" 😈 # or $ printf %#x "'$single_unicode_char" 0x1f608 $ printf %#X "'$single_unicode_char" 0X1F608 $ printf "\U$(printf %08x 0X1F608)\n" 😈 # or # ╭─ hexadecimal $ echo -n $single_unicode_char | od -A n -t x1 f0 9f 98 88 $ printf %b "\xf0\x9f\x98\x88" 😈 # ╭─ works without `%b` as well $ printf "\xf0\x9f\x98\x88" 😈
- to octal - # ╭─ octal $ printf %o "'$single_unicode_char'" 373010 # ╭─ octal $ echo -n $single_unicode_char | iconv -t UTF-32LE | od -A n -t o4 00000373010 $ printf "\U$(printf %08x "00000373010")" 😈 # or # ╭─ without `\n` $ echo -n $single_unicode_char | od -A n -t o1 360 237 230 210 $ printf %b "\360\237\230\210" 😈
number converting from file
- octal - $ cat -p octal-data-file.txt 7 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 20 21 # octal -> hexadecimal $ ( echo "obase=16; ibase=8" ; cat octal-data-file.txt ) | bc 7 8 9 A B C D E F 10 11 # octal -> decimal $ ( echo "obase=10; ibase=8" ; cat octal-data-file.txt ) | bc 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
- hexadecimal - $ cat -pp hex-data-file.txt 9 A B C D E F 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 1A 1B 1C 1D 1E 1F 20 # hexadecimal -> octal $ ( echo "obase=8; ibase=16" ; cat hex-data-file.txt ) | bc 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 40 # hexadecimal -> decimal $ ( echo "obase=10; ibase=16" ; cat hex-data-file.txt ) | bc 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
advanced computing
[!NOTE|label:references:]
logarithm
- awk - $ echo 512 | awk '{print log($1)/log(2)}' 9
power
- bc - $ bc <<< '2^3' 8
- $(())- $ echo $(( 2**8 )) 256
square
$ bc -l <<< 'sqrt(2)'
1.41421356237309504880
$ bc <<< 'sqrt(2)'
1Last updated
Was this helpful?