D&C Lug - Home Page
Devon & Cornwall Linux Users' Group

[ Date Index ][ Thread Index ]
[ <= Previous by date / thread ] [ Next by date / thread => ]

Re: [LUG] 1 (Silly US)Billion seconds since the epoch approaches.



Alex Charrett wrote:
> 
> At 01:46:40 GMT (02:46:40 BST) on this Sunday (9th Sept 2001) morning, the
> unix date will become 1000000000, adding an extra digit for the first time
> in *ages* :).
> 
> The unix date being the number of seconds since the epoch date (1 Jan
> 1970 I think)

Yes.

> Could cause all sorts of fun apparantly.

Given the systems we rolled through this period as part of Y2K
testing, I won't be holding my breathe waiting for the end of
the world as we know it, but no doubt someone somewhere will get
caught out.

I seem to remember their were some other mainframe date
"funnies" at the end of 2001. November(?), as a number of very
badly written applications would have broke, but this of course
was revealed in the Y2K testing - well if done properly.

Amazing how many application would store week number, month
number, Julian year, and other bizarre formats, rather than
settle for a simple epoch approach like Unix/Posix/Linux....
Lack of education of programmers being the main culprit I
suspect.

After the lack of earth shaking calamity at 2000-01-01, I wonder
if they will believe IT people in 2038 when they say "Bad things
will happen".

-- 
Are you using the Internet to best effect ? www.eighth-layer.com
Tel: +44(0)1395 232769      ICQ: 116952768
Moderated discussion of teleworking at news:uk.business.telework
--
The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG
Mail majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe list" in the
message body to unsubscribe.


Lynx friendly