The millennium bug may have come and gone without a bang, but there is a now a new software glitch on the block that may represent a more potent threat to some computer systems.
No need to panic yet though, as the full impact of the "2038 bug" may not emerge for another 32 years.
Like the Y2K, the 2038 bug is caused by invisible numeric values embedded into software code. But while the millennium bug affected older systems unable to store full century digits, the 2038 glitch is all about the way computer operating systems such as Unix record the passing of time.
Many 32-bit systems record time in seconds, which means that any elapsed time since January 1, 1970 is represented as a 32-bit integer, which is due to reach its upper limit on Tuesday, January 19, 2038.
This means that any times expressed beyond that date would suddenly be represented as a negative number. This may potentially make affected programs default back to either 1970 or 1901, causing a system crash or miscalculation of dates.
The use of 32-bit time still exists in a lot of legacy source code which is often reused for decades on end, and could still reside in many seemingly modern computer systems, potentially affecting a wide range of applications.
Joel Sing, a software engineer affiliated with the Australian Unix Users Group, said embedded software that is updated at a very slow rate - such as that used in bank ATMs and aircraft control systems - would present the biggest cause for concern.
"The millennium bug was over-hyped, so with this one it will be important to identify critical issues as opposed to annoyance factors. The odd error on a bank statement is very different to an airplane dropping out of sky," he said.
Aside from upgrading systems to 64-bit, he said another possible fix was to change the times reflected in the software to an unsigned 32-bit integer, which would extend the deadline to 2106.
A website devoted to the bug predicts that although all personal computers are likely to be 64-bit by the year 2038, and unaffected by the problem, many systems buried within consumer and business applications may still be 32-bit or less.
"Note that the large majority of embedded systems today are still 8 or 16-bit. These could include microwave ovens, wrist-watches, elevators, gas-station pumps, car fuel injection computers, radios etc," writes IT consultant, Paul Sheer, who has established a 2038bug website.
Taken From http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/b ... 45983.html
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