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Not funny. Hmmm...
Well, I just saw this article, and I'm not sure how it might affect Perl, but I thought I would ask. Back in 1999, I remember, I set my computer's date to Dec. 31, 1999 12:59 to see what happens to it. Nothing happened, which is what I expected. So, although I think, I was using MS-DOS 6.2 at the time, I experienced no issues whatsoever on my computer. This is not to say that DOS was unaffected, but to me it made no difference. So, as long as you use an old software in a way that you avoid its glitches if you know what they are, it's ok. It might work.. but I'm no expert, so... (?) | [reply] |
Back in 1999, I remember, I set my computer's date to Dec. 31, 1999 12:59 to see what happens to it.
Nothing happened, which is what I expected.
AFAIK, the Year 2000 problem was nowhere near as catastrophic as many had predicted.
There was perhaps a conflict of interest back then because Y2K scaremongering was generating a lot
of money for Y2K consultants and software companies in the 1990s.
For the year 2038, I'm happy to make two Nostradamus-like predictions:
- The Year 2038 problem will cause far fewer problems than the Y2K problem did.
- In 2038, you'll still be using TinyPerl 5.8 on 32-bit Windows XP.
harangzsolt33, what are your predictions?
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The year 2038 might not have an impact in Perl directly. But there are quite a few file formats (or variants) around that encode dates in 32 bits.
From what i dimly remember, at least older JPEG versions used 32 bit Unix timestamps in the EXIF metadata. So even something trivial like sorting your photo archive by age might need some additional code.
And all those external APIs, especially to embedded systems and microcontrollers, might need a closer look. Those things are often around for ages. For context: Until a few years ago, some highrises in U.S. cities still had to run AC-to-DC converters in their basement tol run the elevator motors installed before WW1.
If you thing your "shiny new" elevator vom 2001 supports 64 bit, well, think again. Those things often have just enough smarts to refuse service if you miss the maintenance interval, but you might need special software that resets the maintenance date acdcording to the 32 bit overflow after 2038. And even if the elevator got a firmware update, the "maintenance reset" software on the engineers laptop might still run on TinyPerl 5.8 ;-)
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AFAIK, the Year 2000 problem was nowhere near as catastrophic as many had predicted.
It was not catastrophic because of the hype. For example, the small factory I worked at as an intern had a "Y2K Intern" role. As in, they approached the local university and specifically hired co-op students over the course of about 1.5 years to run all their factory software across the Y2K boundary. This would not have happened if the Y2K scare was not looming large over the managers.
In that sense, the scare over Y2K was a success story. The engineers all knew that shit was going to hit the fan, and collectively alarmed the managers of the world to do something about it.
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Hahahahaha!!!! Oh, man, I don't know. But that was very funny!! I am already trying to use Linux more and more. Sometimes I use Lubuntu, Slitaz, Sparky Linux... Right now I am testing Peppermint Linux. I also got a Raspberry Pi. I am planning to transition away from Windows, because it's a dead-end road. Windows 10 is a no go. I won't touch it. Windows XP has been my favorite, but I'm having more and more issues online. There's a growing list of websites that refuse to work. My bank's website won't load. My church's website won't load. Github won't load. Facebook Messenger quit working. WhatsApp's web version quit working long ago, and now even my email software is experiencing hiccups. I contacted the developer, and he refuses to fix them, because to him, I am just a lonely XP user, and he focuses on Windows 10 and 11 mainly. I think, it was unintentional on his part that his software runs on Windows XP, and I just took advantage of that for awhile. But here I am in the abyss of abandoned and glitchy softwares, and this abyss just keeps getting deeper and darker. So, no, I won't stay here forever.
What I really like about XP is that when I click on Microsoft Word, it pops up immediately. It may take 1 second, but it's almost instant. On Linux, when I click on LibreOffice, I have to sit there and wait for half a minute for it to finally be ready so I can type.
What makes Windows XP unique is that it supports HTA applications and JScript which don't work on Linux at all. For example, Windows has the ability to embed JavaScript apps into the desktop. In Windows 7, there were JavaScript apps called "gadgets." There was a clock app, a weather app, and various others. I modified the clock app slightly, so it said the time out loud at the top of every hour. With some tweaking, these apps can also run on XP. I also wrote various registry tweaking tools in JavaScript which increase Windows performance and customize my desktop. I have dozens of JavaScript programs that I have written over the years. Some of them rename files, search and replace strings, tweak Windows, create playlists for Windows Media Player from my music folder. I guess, I could convert them to Perl, but that would take quite awhile. By switching to Linux, all my Windows knowledge will be useless, and I have to start from zero. Well, not entirely. See, one of the reasons I chose to learn PERL is because it allows me to control Linux. If I open the terminal window and type in "perl -v" and it shows that Perl is installed, I feel such a relief! Whether I'm on a Raspberry Pi or Apple or Linux, when I see that Perl is installed on the system, I know, at least, there is ONE familiar thing in this strange system. :)
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