[plug] Linux isn't there yet

[Mike Holland]

On Fri, 7 May 1999, Bret Busby wrote:

> I realise that I am new to Linux, but I understood that Linux, as a 
> version of Linux, was not subject to the century bug, but was instead 
> subject to the year 2038 bug.

The 2038 limitation is much easier to fix. The time_t type needs
to be changed from 32 to 64 bits. This wasnt (easily) possible when Unix
was young, as many CPUs didnt support 64 bit numbers. (still dont)
   Finding the buggy software which assumes time_t is 32 bit will be a
piece of cake, compared to the Y2K problem. We have the source code
for one thing!
   People will probably try to keep dates 32 bit though, and change
all the comparisons to unsigned, so it lasts another 2^31 seconds. yuck.

  Is there a vaguely "standard" way to represent dates before 1970 (the
epoch) or after 2038?  I dont remember anthing in the standard C or C++
libraries.

Mike Holland <mike at golden.wattle.id.au>            Perth, Australia.
                          --==--
Any sufficiently advanced bug is indistinguishable from a feature.
                -- Rich Kulawiec