y2k stuff

The problem is that it isn't just one problem... it is a series of problems, some of which have already been addressed over the years. It isn't just that software only handled two-digit years. That is, at best, simplistic, and at worst, just plain wrong. The fact is that there are numerous levels to the problem. Let me enumerate some of them... o Boot code - Does the hardware have a calender/clock? How does it store the date? How does one set the date? How does it report the date? An example of this is the 11/93 o Adapters/controllers - Do they have an internal calendar/clock? How do they store the date? How is the date set? How is the date reported? An example of this is are the RF series DSSI disks... they seem to have a built in clock and can report dates/times and even when the device was last powered on. Also, some devices will report date information, but only once it is set by the host operating system - an example is the DELQA, which reports date/time in a MOP System ID packet. o The operating system - how does it store the date? How does it accept the date? How does it report the date? RT-11, for example, stored years in 5-bit fields and the base year was 1972... which would work to 2003, but there were other problems. This was upgraded to 7-bits worth of info, which increased the range from 1972 to 2099, but there were still problems with other parts of the system -- Mentec's V5.7 addresses this. What about pdp-8s? They have been through the end of their epoch several times over... What about tops-10? What about Unix, which breaks in 2038... o The on-disk directory structure - How is the date encoded? o Applications - Are they concerned with the date? Do commands allow date specifications? In what form? How is date info reported? o *DATA* - what about all those data files which have been recorded over the years? What form was date stored? And I'm sure others can come up with more levels... these were just those which I could come up in 5 minutes of thinking... Keep in mind that when many institutions report they are working on Y2k issues... it is probably only billing. What about hospitals and the embedded controls in, for example, patient-controlled analgesia? There are going to be more and more failures as we get closer. Last year, there was a report that an insurance company which normally issued 3-year policies could only do two-year. If they haven't fixed the problem, they're probably down to one year now... Megan Gentry Former RT-11 Developer (Not speaking for Compaq) +--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+ | Megan Gentry, EMT/B, PP-ASEL | Internet (work): gentry!zk3.dec.com | | Unix Support Engineering Group | (home): mbg!world.std.com | | Compaq Computer Corporation | addresses need '@' in place of '!' | | 110 Spitbrook Rd. ZK03-2/T43 | URL: http://world.std.com/~mbg/ | | Nashua, NH 03062 | "pdp-11 programmer - some assembler | | (603) 884 1055 | required." - mbg | +--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+