• smooth handling of computer overflow problems after 1999-12-31
  
• reduction of global computer data incompatibility
  
• can not be confused with existing date notation variants easily readable, sortable and comparable by computer software short, constant length notation for ease of keyboard entry and table layout
  
• not language or culture dependent
  
• consistent with global time notation system, starting with the largest units and ending with the smallest units (for example 23:59:59) combined date/time data is easily comparable and sortable by computer (for example 1999-12-31 23:59:59)
  
• standard shortening of data entry (for example 19991231)
  
• standard lengthening of data entry (for example 19991231235959)

The full ISO document is titled ISO 8601:1988 Date/Time Representations. It is available from:

International Organization for Standardization
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