Year 2038 Problem
The original Unix timestamp datatype (time_t) stores a date and time as a signed 32-bit integer representing the number of seconds since 1 January 1970. During and after 2038, this number will exceed 231 − 1, the largest number representable by a signed 32-bit integer, causing the Year 2038 problem (also known as the Unix Millennium bug, or Y2K38). To solve this problem, many systems and languages have switched to a 64-bit timestamp, or supplied alternatives which are 64-bit.
Read more about this topic: Y2K Problem, Programming Problem, Date Bugs Similar To Y2K
Famous quotes containing the words year and/or problem:
“If all the year were playing holidays,
To sport would be as tedious as to work;
But when they seldom come, they wished for come,
And nothing pleaseth but rare accidents.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Give a scientist a problem and he will probably provide a solution; historians and sociologists, by contrast, can offer only opinions. Ask a dozen chemists the composition of an organic compound such as methane, and within a short time all twelve will have come up with the same solution of CH4. Ask, however, a dozen economists or sociologists to provide policies to reduce unemployment or the level of crime and twelve widely differing opinions are likely to be offered.”
—Derek Gjertsen, British scientist, author. Science and Philosophy: Past and Present, ch. 3, Penguin (1989)