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0 pointsSomeone123411y ago0 comments

Aren't most Linux servers already 64 bit? And we aren't even close to 2020.

I'm sure some software will need to be re-written between now and 2038, but I don't think it will be quite as bad as Y2K just because that was only a 15 year gap (Sometimes less), whereas this is over 24 years.

I just think a lot of software will be naturally replaced between now and then. And while there will be a slight mad scramble to fix stuff at the last minute, I don't think it is Y2K-2.

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3 comments · 2 top-level

RadioactiveMan11y ago· 1 in thread

It'll definitely be interesting to see how many 32-bit embedded systems remain in use in 2038 - and what effect the overflow will have on their functionality. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2038_problem#Vulnerable_s...

kevin_thibedeau11y ago

Just as many as all of the 8-bit systems in use today. There is no need, in the vast majority of cases, for wide data busses in embedded applications. 16-bit is going to die out, though, like the 4-bit and bitslice processors.

btilly11y ago

People who think that 64-bit servers are immune are part of the problem. Even if you've got a 64-bit server, you've still got file formats with 32 bit timestamps embedded. For that reason, time_t remains a 32 bit integer, which means that functions like UNIX_TIME on MySQL will stop working. And then there is the mess of embedded software that most decidedly is NOT 64-bit and will be in machines that are still in operation.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2038_problem for a basic overview. None of this stuff is unfixable. But it is a real problem, and tracking it down will be hard.

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