Date:         Thu, 30 Dec 1999 14:43:53 +0100
Reply-To:     detecsm_hellriegelg@WESTLB.DE
Sender:       "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         Gehard Hellriegel <detecsm_hellriegelg@WESTLB.DE>
Subject:      Antwort: (MVS) Warning: Possible Date Problem With Change of
              Century!
Content-type: multipart/mixed;
              Boundary="0__=C9GccCwQqpVYBvSGpQFHGRmY7rnhUQUb4rM2RdN21diOmY71sgwpL1EY"




Thanks a lot! Now I'll spend the next few minutes to check all our jobs to find
out the Y2K-bug! I never could imagine, that there would be a problem. Perhaps
you should tell us the name of the magazine? Maybe there are some more bugs,
which could occure in our programs (S0C4, divide by zero, wrong signs, typos,
...) which we could find out, if they are mentioned in the magazine! I've left a
few minutes until I go home, to find them... Possibly in 8000 years, there will
a so called Y10K bug? I think, a 10kg bug is worth to be mentioned, 5 times a
2-k-bug  - a pure horror!!! But I am 100 k - I think I have a chance against
him!
So have a nice switch-over to this bug-year!








RAITHEM <RAITHEM@WESTAT.COM> on 30.12.99 14:21:24

Bitte antworten an RAITHEM <RAITHEM@WESTAT.COM>

An:   SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Kopie:     (Blindkopie: DeTeCSM HellriegelG/D/ExternalStaff/WLB)
Thema:    (MVS) Warning: Possible Date Problem With Change of Century!





Dear SAS-L-ers,

I just chanced upon an article in a computer magazine that has stunning

implications!  It seems that a lot of computer programmers have been using 2
digits to store year values.  For instance, 1964 would be stored as 64, 1973
would be stored as 73, 1999 would be stored as 99, etc.  This method saves two
bytes per year value and makes it easy to determine the number of years between
dates:  99 - 73 = 26.  But a problem will arise when the new century arrives and
the two-digit years become 00!  Then, a calculation such as 00 - 73 will return
a negative number (-73)!  So, a person born in 1973 could mistakenly be

considered to be -73 years old!  This problem has been dubbed the "Y2K Bug."
(Y2K stands for "Year 2000").

Since there are only a few days left before the change, I would urge you and
your colleagues to check through your own SAS programs and ensure that you are
not using two-digit years!  If you are, then you should modify them to
four-digit years to avoid the "Y2K Bug".  Doing this is has been dubbed "making
an applications Y2K compliant."  I know that I will be busy in the next two days
checking my own SAS programs and changing two-digit years to four-digit years!
I want all of my applications to be "Y2K compliant!"

Boy, am I glad that I happened upon that article!  I just hope that I will be
able to make the necessary changes and spread the word before it is too late!

I hope that this explanation proves helpful now, and in the future!

Of course, all of these opinions and insights are my own, and do not
reflect those of my organization or my associates.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Michael A. Raithel, Westat
E-mail: raithem@westat.com
Author: Tuning SAS Applications in the MVS Environment
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Life is like the core of the apple; it never gets into the pie.  --  Michael A.
Raithel
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++





      Mit freundlichen Grüßen


      Gerhard Hellriegel, DeTeCSM

      WestLB
      Abteilung: 001-80622
      Aderstr. 22
      D - 40217 Duesseldorf
      Tel.: +49211 826 6173
      Fax: +49211 826 5393