Re: 64 bit software

From: Howard J. Rogers <hjr_at_dizwell.com>
Date: Fri, 03 Sep 2004 13:57:20 +1000
Message-ID: <4137ebc7$0$9064$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au>

Jonathan Leffler wrote:

> Hans Forbrich wrote:

>> According to the *nix family (and others), the universe started with a
>> big
>> bang on Jan 1, 1972.  For the 32-bit members of this family the universe,
>> as we know it, will end on January 19, 2038 (see
>> http://www.deepsky.com/~merovech/2038.html)

>
> Hmmm...not only is the 2GB limit really 4GB (as Mark Bole pointed
> out), but the universe started 2 whole years earlier than that - in
> 1970. Well, that's when Unix starts counting on it, anyway.

As the article Hans quotes makes clear, the reference to 1972 is actually to a cunning way around the Y2K problem (since the 1972 calendar exactly matched that for 2000).

The article also makes clear that the Unix epoch started GMT 00:00:00, Thursday, January 1, 1970.

So yes, there's been a bit of a mix-up.

It's an excellent article, though. And all my systems suddenly leap backwards to 1901... :-(

Regards
HJR Received on Thu Sep 02 2004 - 22:57:20 CDT