Who you gonna believe: Grok or the docs?
17 hours ago
- #Bessel function
- #documentation bug
- #bc utility
- The bc utility's minimal math library lacks a tangent function, expecting users to compute it via sine and cosine ratio, though GNU bc includes it.
- A discrepancy exists in bc's Bessel function j arguments: Grok states j(n,x), while the man page incorrectly says j(x,n), confirmed by testing to show Grok is correct.
- Testing reveals the first argument (order n) is truncated to an integer, validating the correct function signature as j(n,x).
- The man page bug is specific to the macOS version; on Linux, documentation correctly states j(n,x) for the Bessel function of integer order n of x.
- Different system versions of bc may have varying features and documentation, so verifying man page alignment with the running program is recommended.