Y2K@UB

What is the Year 2000 problem?

To save valuable storage space on early computer systems, it has been standard practice in the computer industry to use two digits rather than four to designate the calendar year. Unfortunately, this means that the year 2000 will be translated by some computer systems as "00" or "1900" or even "1980," causing errors when performing calculations, sorting, comparing, and indexing. Computer applications may process transactions incorrectly, systems may crash and data may be corrupted.

The year 2000 is a leap year. Will that affect my computer?

It may. Noncompliant computers-and even some compliant ones-may not treat the year 2000 as a leap year. This is partly because other century dates, such as 1800 and 1900, are not leap years, so some programs assume 2000 also is not a leap year. This could give rise to two problems: The date Feb. 29, 2000, will be treated as March 1, 2000; and all subsequent dates will be out of step by one day. If a vendor states that their software is compliant, you must inquire as to whether or not their definition includes correct recognition of the leap year. Also, any testing for Y2K should include testing for proper recognition of the leap year.

If you have Y2K questions that you would like answered in this column, email them to goldbaum@buffalo.edu.