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The underlying programming problem was quite real. The problem started back in the 1960s, when computer memory and storage were scarce and expensive. At the beginning, most data |
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The underlying programming problem was quite real. In the 1960s, computer memory and storage were scarce and expensive, and most data |
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Programming languages of the time, such as COBOL and RPG, processed numbers in their ASCII or EBCDIC representations. They occasionally used an extra bit called a "zone punch" to save one character for a minus sign on a negative number, or compressed two digits into one byte in a form called [binary-coded decimal]?, but otherwise processed numbers as straight text. Over time the punch cards were converted to magnetic tape and then disk files and later to simple databases like ISAM, but the programs usually changed very little. Popular software like dBase? continued the practice of storing dates as text well into the 1980s and 1990s. |
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Programming languages of the time, such as COBOL and RPG?, processed numbers in their ASCII or EBCDIC representations. They occasionally used an extra bit called a "zone punch" to save one character for a minus sign on a negative number, or compressed two digits into one byte in a form called [binary-coded decimal]?, but otherwise processed numbers as straight text. Over time the punch cards were converted to magnetic tape and then disk files and later to simple databases like ISAM?, but the structure of the programs usually changed very little. Popular software like dBase? continued the practice of storing dates as text well into the 1980s and 1990s. |
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*The popular spreadsheet Microsoft Excel stores a date as a number of days since an origin (often called a Julian date). Unfortunately, some releases of the program start at 1900, others at 1904). |
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*The popular spreadsheet Microsoft Excel stores a date as a number of days since an origin (often called a Julian date). A Julian date stored in a 16-bit integer will overflow after approximately 179 years (i.e. 65,536 days). Unfortunately, some releases of the program start at 1900, others at 1904). |
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Some industries started experiencing problems related to it early in the 1990s as future-date-handling software started processing dates past 1999. For example, in 1993, some people with financial loans that were due in 2000 received (incorrect) notices that they were 93 years past due. As the decade progressed, more and more companies experienced problems and lost money due to erroneous date data. As another example, meat-processing companies incorrectly destroyed large amounts of good meat because the computerized inventory system identified the meat as expired. As the decade approached 1999, identifying and correcting or replacing affected computer systems or computerized devices became the major focus of information technology departments in most large companies and organizations. Millions of lines of programming code were reviewed and fixed during this period. Many corporations replaced major software systems with completely new ones that did not have the date processing problems. Y2K was the big media hype story of 1999. Public apprehension was tremendous, reaching mythical proportions. Some individuals stockpiled canned food in anticipation of food shortages. Some extreme commentators predicted a full-scale apocalypse?. But when January 1, 2000 finally came, there were hardly any major problems, though a large number of them had been expected. Ironically, many people were upset that there appeared to be so much hype over nothing, because the vast majority of problems had been fixed correctly. Some more sophisticated critics have suggested that much preventative effort was unnecessary - it would have been cheaper not to spend as much examining non-critical systems for flaws and simply fix the few that would failed after the event. |
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Some industries started experiencing related problems early in the 1990s as software began to process future dates past 1999. For example, in 1993, some people with financial loans that were due in 2000 received (incorrect) notices that they were 93 years past due. As the decade progressed, more and more companies experienced problems and lost money due to erroneous date data. As another example, meat-processing companies incorrectly destroyed large amounts of good meat because the computerized inventory system identified the meat as expired. As the decade progressed, identifying and correcting or replacing affected computer systems or computerized devices became the major focus of information technology departments in most large companies and organizations. Millions of lines of programming code were reviewed and fixed during this period. Many corporations replaced major software systems with completely new ones that did not have the date processing problems. Y2K was the big media hype story of 1999. Public apprehension was tremendous, reaching mythical proportions. Some individuals stockpiled canned food in anticipation of food shortages. Some extreme commentators predicted a full-scale apocalypse?. But when January 1, 2000 finally came, there were hardly any major problems, though a large number of them had been expected. Ironically, many people were upset that there appeared to be so much hype over nothing, because the vast majority of problems had been fixed correctly. Some more sophisticated critics have suggested that much preventative effort was unnecessary -- it would have been cheaper not to spend as much examining non-critical systems for flaws and simply fix the few that would have failed after the event. |
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* Insurance companies were selling insurance policies covering failure of businesses due to Y2K problems. |
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* Insurance companies sold insurance policies covering failure of businesses due to Y2K problems. |
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* The Y2K problem mainly affected countries that follow the western calendar (China does not). * One theory has it that the Federal Reserve increased the [money supply]? in 1999 to compensate for anticipated hording by a frightened populace. The populace, however, was not frightened, and the flood of new money fueled the stock market bubble that burst in spring of 2000. |
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* The Y2K problem mainly affected countries that follow the western calendar (China and Saudi Arabia do not). * One theory has it that the Federal Reserve increased the [money supply]? in 1999 to compensate for anticipated hording by a frightened populace. The populace, however, was not frightened, and the flood of new money fueled a stock market high tide that went out in spring of 2000. |
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See also: conspiracy theory, New World Order, terrorist incidents (predicted terrorist attacks that did not materialize). |
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See also: conspiracy theory, New World Order, predicted terrorist incidents that did not materialize. |
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