Time Formatting and Storage Bugs - "Problems" That Aren't Problems

"Problems" That Aren't Problems

Certain problematic years occur so far in the future—well beyond the likely lifespan of Earth or the Sun, and even past some predictions of the lifetime of the universe—that they are mainly referenced as matters of theoretical interest, jokes, or indications that a related problem truly is solved for any reasonable definition of "solved".

• The year 292,277,026,296 (2.9×1011) and 584,554,051,223 (5.8×1011) problems: the years that 64-bit Unix time becomes negative (assuming a signed number) or reset to zero (for an unsigned representation).

• The year 5,391,559,471,918,239,497,011,222,876,596 (5.4×1030) and 10,783,118,943,836,478,994,022,445,751,223 (1.1×1031) problems: the years that 128-bit Unix time becomes negative (assuming a signed number) or reset to zero (for an unsigned representation).

Note: these year values are based on an average year being 365.2425 days, which matches the 4/100/400 leap year rules of the common Gregorian calendar. Additional adjustments to the calendar over intervals this long are unavoidable (ignoring that all of these times far exceed the likely existence of the Earth), so the year numbers should be considered approximate.