Databases and Y2K :: Computers

Databases and Y2KIntroduction Tremendous lines stew just around the corner fororganizations that use two-digit years (i.e. 1-9-97). How tough couldit be to change the year from 1999 to 2000? The Year 2000 Problem canfulnot be fixed by simply resetting a computers internal clock onJanuary 1, 2000. Computers may be smart, merely their programmers werentvery farsighted. In the 60s and 70s, many businesses were looking to inflict cost and because computer storage space was expensive at the time,programmers decided to cut year dates to two digits (i.e., 1969 became69). It doesnt sound like a major error, but computers ar extremelydate-sensitive. Computers routinely add and subtract digits in a dateto make a variety of logical calculations, ranging from travelreservations to how lots interest one has accrued on a savingsaccount. The problem lies in the fact that many computers designatecentury data use only two digits, 00, and will read 2000 as 1900.And the bug shanghais mor e than just computer systems. Many manufacturershave built products with softw be instruction manual embedded onto chipsequipment ranging from fax machines to auto assembly lines could all be bear on by the bug.Whats the Problem? For many organizations, the Year 2000 Problem hasbecome the some complex project management exercise ever undertaken.The reasons for this are multi-factored. For starters, we are lessthan 13 months a bearing from Year 2000 yet many organizations are just nowpaying attention to it.1 There is no way to avoid the fact that ourinformation systems are based on a faulty standard that will cost theworldwide computer confederation billions of dollars in programming effort.This bug touches on all areas of an organization, and the complexityof analyzing and quantifying the scope of the problem, repairing and refilling infected items, conducting adequate testing activities andfinally, implementing multiple interrelated hardware, systems andsoftware can be overwhe lming. Compounding the difficulty is the lack ofawareness in usual regarding the potential risks, and the fact thatthe project is driven by a series of hard dates. In addition, manyorganizations have further complicated the abut by beginning their eDatabases and Y2K How might Y2K affect databases that, in turn, affectour everyday lives? Lets take your bank account. As the 1999 turnsover to 2000, your banks computer may calculate that your accountdeserves an additional 100 years interest. Of course, its alsopossible you may be penalized for being 100 years overdue on your loanpayment Or suppose you have some data records and inadequacy to sort them by