Re: are we going to have a Y2.1K problem like Y2K?

[Craig Dickson <crdic@pacbell.net>]

Patrick Wiseman wrote:

> 2038 is when our dates run out:

Right, because the standard Unix time value is a signed 32-bit number of
seconds from January 1, 1970. Thus, 2^31-1 seconds, which is about 68
years.

> # touch -t 203711111111 a
> # touch -t 203811111111 a
> touch: invalid date format `203811111111'
> 
> I believe it's supposed to be "automagically" fixed when we move from 32
> to 64 bits of something or other :)

Sure, if we switch to a 64-bit time value, then we'll have lots of room
left over -- so much that we might as well switch from seconds to
microseconds, as I think Java does.

Craig