Say you have a survey that's asking a very old person when their parents
were born? Or currently, for that matter, what if your survey is asking
someone who is 98 years old what they're birthdate is? It could easily
go back that far.
Shaolin Hu wrote:
>
> Don't you think it will be simpler just to raise the base year to say 1954.
> Who need a date back to 1904 at year 2032?
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> >
> > Aaron Ardiri write:
> >
> > > the designers probably wanted to use as little space as possible.
> > > i am sure my Palm III will be of no use in 2000. 2Mb is not enough,
> > > and i am not going to pay for the memory upgrade - so i will
> > > buy another one.
> > >
> > > i am sure that when 3COM releases a new Palm Pilot in 2031, it
> > > will have an updated ROM so it will be able to handle the dates
> > > outside the current limitations.
> >
> > You're missing the point. Sure in 2031 we'll be using the Palm MCXVII,
> > and obviously by then there will be a new ROM and a new DateType (named
> > DateTypeWithForethought) which can handle dates beyond 2031. But at the
> > time that switchover happens, any application which uses DateType data in
> > its database will be in trouble. Not only will a new version of the
> > application be required, requiring at least a simple recompilation with
> > the new data type but at most lots more, but also each app will have to
> > bloated by code which somehow recognizes an older database and updates it
> > (a non-trivial task) to the new format. In the worst case this is an
> > unmitigated disaster and one which could be (and probably was) easily
> > foreseen. And, to pick a very minor point with Keith, while this problem
> > does affect Mac and Windows too, neither of those operating systems was
> > developed at a time when Y2K was a household word. PalmOS was.
> >
> > Steve Patt
> > President, Stevens Creek Software
> > http://www.stevenscreek.com/pilot
> > The home of...
> > PalmPrint && UnDupe && AreaCoder && Handy Randy
> > Athlete's Calculator && PocketTimer && SnailMailer
> > On Hand && Take An Order! && many more
> >
--
Marcel Guldemond
Aporia Press
http://aporia.brainmade.com
