1. What is the year 2000 problem?
The year 2000 problem, commonly known as Y2K, is a computing issue related to the way computers handle and store date information. A date-related computing issue in any one of three areas of your PC system (hardware, software and personal data files) can potentially cause problems.
The year 2000 issue stems from three principal causes. Personal computers, even if new, are not immune to these risks. Because the year 2000 issue has multiple causes and is varied in its impact, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to address it.
The three major contributing causes to the year 2000 issue are:
The use of two digits to represent a four-digit calendar year.
This is the most common source of year 2000 problems. Errors may occur because of the way that software or hardware handles dates that are represented by only the last two digits of the year, excluding specific information about the century. Interpretation of two-digit years always requires an assumption or interpretation about the intended century.
As we enter the next century, a computer system that incorrectly interprets the new century as 1900, instead of 2000, will be at risk; calculations based on dates in the "new" century will be calculated from the year 1900 instead of the year 2000. For example: 2000 - 1998 = 2 but 1900 - 1998 = -98 (or 98 if the software program does not permit negative numbers).
The year 2000 is a special-case leap year.
Because a special-case leap year occurs once only every 400 years, some software may not recognize the year 2000 as a leap year. (Years ending in 00 are not leap yearsùunless they are divisible by 400.) If the formula for determining a leap year does not include special-case occurrences, dates following February 28, 2000 will be offset by one day.
Programmers' use of dates for special meanings.
Older software programs, particularly custom software programs, may contain dates that have special program-related meanings. The most well-known example is the date 9/9/99, which may have been used by a programmer to indicate such meanings as "save this data item forever," "remove this data item automatically after 30 days," or "sort this data item to the top of the report." Different "special dates" may have been assigned different "special meanings," depending on the programmer and the program. This is why it is so difficult to track down potential problems within older or custom programs.
Additional Terms of Use |
