ions, client/server systems, networking hardware, processors embedded in machinery, the globally interconnected "system of systems" - none of these are immune to Y2k problems. Hardware, "firmware", operating system software, and applications can all be incapable of handling the Year 2000. Simply upgrading hardware does not cure problem applications running on that hardware; and compliant software cannot run if the hardware crashes. Any activity performed by any type of computer involving dates after 1999 is at risk, such as software applications that perform forward planning, financial calculations, processing of taxes, wages, benefits, scheduling, sell-by and expiry dates, school and medical records, retail transactions, reservation systems, transportation, communications -- there is no aspect of our lives that is untouched by computers. In addition, almost all food processing, manufacturing, power generation and transmission, water and waste treatment, and all the conveniences of modern life are conducted by computerized automation. The software and hardware that run electric power plants are as susceptible to Year 2000 problems as the utility company's metering and billing systems.What solutions are there? Date Expansion The safest solution is to use full four-digit years rather than abbreviations in all dates. Most data entry procedures can be written with instructions for correctly interpreting two-digit year entry, while displaying, storing, and outputting dates with all four digits, and can allow the user to enter four digits if required. Date expansion is unambiguous and will work correctly until 9999, if the hardware and operating systems allow. Date expansion has the disadvantage of requiring changes to the storage space allotted for data, conversion of all existing date data, modification of screens, reports, and other outputs, changes in the software code to handle dates correctly, and the possibility that data-exch...
