What is Y2K Bug?
During 1960s to late 80s there was a widespread practice in all computer softwares to use two digits for repreasenting a year rather than using 4 digits. This was done to save computer disk and memory space because these resources were relatively expensive in those times. As the year 90's approached experts began to realize this major shortcoming in the computer application softwares. In year 2000, the computer systems could interpret 00 as 1900 messing up all the computing work. For example if a program function is calculating difference between two dates, it would calculate a negative number. For example difference between 1 Jan 2000 and 31 Dec 1999 could be calculated as -100 years rather than 1 day. This was a major bug for the whole finance industry. The bug not only existed in computer software but it also existed in the firmware being used in the computer hardware. In general this bug threatened all the major industries including utilities, banking, manufacturing, telecom, airlines.
How was it averted?
Y2K bug was a clicking time bomb for all major computer applications. The computer and system application companies came out with year 2000 compliant operating systems and system software. IT companies around the world spent billions of dollars to go through their entire application source code to look for the Y2K bug and fix it. Almost everybody raced around to make themselves Y2K compliant before the fast approaching deadline. Finally when the big day came, many utilities and other companies switched off their main computers and put the backup computers on work. When the clock ticked Jan 1, 2000, no major problems were reported. Almost every bank worked fine, no major power outages were reported, airplanes still flew and the whole world went on with its normal life.
What is the year 2000 day-of-the-week problem?
Most programs that calculate the day of the week using only the last two digits of the year will get wrong answers for January 1, 2000, and all subsequent dates. This is because the formulas they use implicitly assume that the dates are in the 1900s. January 1, 1900, was a Monday, but January 1, 2000, will be a Saturday.
What is the 1999 problem?
Many people aware of a related problem that might happen for all computer files created on Sept. 9, 1999? This date (9/9/99) was popular back in the 1980's as an expiration date for (forever) archived data that you wanted to have 'no expiration date'.
Is this only a COBOL problem?
No. The problem has little to do with the language used. Year 2000 problems have been found in practically every programming language.
Could ANY language have prevented the current Y2K problem?
No, because Y2K is a management (planning) problem, not a technical OR a languages problem. However there are plenty of Y2K COBOL problems!
What is the date-in-key problem?
The basic problem is that many systems use a date as part of the key of an indexed file. This becomes a problem if the date has a two-digit year and the application depends on records in the file being in chronological order. Even if processing of the data does not depend on the records being in chronological order, it could result in records being listed in the wrong order in reports or on-screen displays. In 2000 and later, an application that is supposed to show the most recent items at the top, or on the first screen, would instead show 1999 items first.
What are the special year 2000 problems about tape archives?
How many otherwise permanent archive tapes (or other data storage media) will "expire" in 1999 or 1/1/2000 since "99" or "99/99/99" was used to indicate permanent storage?
Does the Apple Macintosh have a year-2000 problem?
The MacOS operating system and Apple Macintosh computers do not have problems with the year 2000. All MacOS operating system date and time utilities have correctly handled the year 2000 since the introduction of the Macintosh.
On what date will the 21st century begin?
The 1st century AD consisted of the years 1 through 100. The 20th century consists of the years 1901 through 2000 and will end Dec. 31, 2000. The 21st century will begin Jan. 1, 2001, according to The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1996
(However, human nature being what it is, most of us will still opt to have that "once-in-a-century" New Year's Eve bash on Dec. 31, 1999).
And, not forgetting that the chaos in computer systems all over the world is expected to begin on the morning of January 1, 2000, a full year before the end of the 20th Century and the end of the millennium.)
How will we refer to those initial decades?
In the past, 1900 - 1909 was called "just after the turn of the century." 1910 - 1919 was called "the teens." 1920 - 1929 was called "the Roaring Twenties."
Poll results are in the May-June 1993 issue of the Futurist indicated that 62 percent felt the year 2001 should be pronounced "Two Thousand One", while 18 percent favoured "Two Thousand And One". Another 10 percent each favoured "Twenty-Oh-One" and "Double Ought One."
Some 64 percent felt that the years 2000 to 2009 should be called the Two Thousands while 8 percent favoured "The Twenty-Ohs," while 5 percent preferred "The Oh-Ohs" and an equal 5% opted for "The Double Oh's". The Zero's had a 4 percent following, while the other most popular write-in alternatives were "The Aughts," "Oughts" or "Oughties", and "Naughts" or "Naughties".
Sixty-nine percent felt the years 2010 to 2019 should be called the Teens, while 10 per cent opted for "The One-and-somethings". Other suggestions were "The One-ies" (4%), while among the suggested alternatives were "The Twen-teens" (also Twe-teens) and "The Tennies"
