absolute value fuction in unix

hi guys,
is there a function that helps in calculating the absolute value of a number????

sure
i think, you cannot use abs()
so on cmd-line, try
echo "your-number/1" |bc

I have tried 2/1 | bc

and got, of course

-2/1 | bc
ksh: -2/1: not found

which is not exactly what was required. If something is not ready made in the system, write it yourself, for instance:

:
# Function to evaluate the absolute value of a number
abs () {
# Check for numeric input
if expr $1 + 0 2>/dev/null 1>&2 ; then
# Is the number negative?
if [ $1 -lt 0 ] ; then
echo `expr 0 - $1`
else
echo $1
fi
return 0 # OK
else
return 1 # Not a number
fi
}

A=-10; abs $A || echo $A not a number
A=121; abs $A || echo $A not a number
A=1x1; abs $A || echo $A not a number

This script was tested under Linux with bash, but it must work under ksh and sh, too.

Have a fun ZL

try this as well:

i said
echo "333.7777/1" | bc
if you have a normal shell under a normal unix-os, you get
333

NOTA: BC and his brother DC, in unix, are known since 1978

But guggach, have you ever heard what the absolute value is?
You are presentig something what was not required, namely the integer part of a number. First read the question and then shoot.

Regards

Yes, awk is universal, but the question was to write a function. It is no problem for an experienced shell programmer to write some envelope to your statement to provide the required function.

Regards

ok, i did not check negative values

my way remain BC

val=-123.098

echo "a=$val/1;if(0>a)a*=-1;a"|bc