Last week's mini-Y2K: What went wrong?

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My 1 million year error free system: In 1992 I overhauled the time system in the big application of our lab. After finding that in UNIX there was nothing accurate, reliable, precise enough for us, I wrote the whole from scratch (as I use to), starting with learning everything I could on calendars.

I wrote a system (built with FORTRAN executables and C-Shell commands) that handles time with no error in the last *million years*, after building appropriate handlings for the 2 big transitions (Julian-Gregorian in 1582, Zero Year) and any other particularity (as the exact definition of leap years).

In addition, as a result of seeking the maximum safety and reliability, you could even imagine several OS running on the same hardware, if using my time system they would make no error at DST switching (Daylight Saving Time). And it could read and understand more than any format that you could imagine for date and time.

In 1997 when the buz started about Y2K, I wrote publicly that my system would have no problem - which of course was verified. And of course all the particular dates for such errors would give same result: certainty of no problem at all. This sytem is used by plenty users and never caused a problem since.

Michel Merlin (michel.merlin@laposte.net)
Paris, Tue 13 Jan 2004 18:43:25 +0100
Science is the art of building simple representations of complex realities -- after Percival Lovell; Posted by: Michel Merlin Posted on: 01/13/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use