Re: Computer bugs in the year 2000

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Article #357

#357

From: Gadfly
Date: Wed, 23 Jan 1985 03:49

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--
>>       I have a friend that raised an interesting question that I
>> immediately tried to prove wrong.  He is a programmer and has this
>> notion that when we reach the year 2000, computers will not accept
>> the new date.  Will the computers assume that it is 1900, or will
>> it even cause a problem?...

>> Spencer L. Bolles

Your friend is probably aluding to the leap-century correction
in the Gregorian Calendar.  Most date programs do not make any
subtler correxions than leap-year (and some don't even do that).
There is no Feb 29 in a century year unless that year is divisible
by 400.  Thus, 1900 was not a leap year (look it up), but 2000
will be.  So, all un-leap-century-corrected programs will be
safe until 2100, and most folks will slide blissfully into the
next millenium never even stopping to think about their calendar's
fine tuning.
-- 
                    *** ***
JE MAINTIENDRAI   ***** *****
                 ****** ******  22 Jan 85 [3 Pluviose An CXCIII]
ken perlow       *****   *****
(312)979-7188     ** ** ** **
..ihnp4!iwsl8!ken   *** ***

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From: gadfly@ihu1m.UUCP (Gadfly)
Newsgroups: net.bugs,net.flame,net.puzzle
Subject: Re: Computer bugs in the year 2000
Message-ID: <249@ihu1m.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 22-Jan-85 22:49:49 EST
Article-I.D.: ihu1m.249
Posted: Tue Jan 22 22:49:49 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 24-Jan-85 05:29:02 EST
References: <820@reed.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL
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