The year 2000: 30 months and counting.

• Author: Zorn, Paul
• Position: Year 2000 computer transition problem - Includes related article on World Wide Web sites which provide year 2000 assistance

By now, almost everyone has heard about the "year 2000 (Y2K) problem" and is aware of the potentially disastrous consequences that could result from the inability of computer systems around the world to calculate and store dates correctly on or after January 1, 2000. In fact, the problem may have received so much media attention that some are starting to discount the importance of this issue.

By most accounts, however, the Y2K problem poses one of the most significant challenges ever faced in the area of information technology. This is due to the immense effort required to correct the problem and the potential catastrophe that failing to correct it could have on businesses, governments, and individuals around the world. Furthermore, the longer businesses or governments postpone addressing the problem, the more difficult and expensive it will be to for them to solve it.

The purpose of this article is to reinforce the importance of the Y2K problem and provide a summary overview of the conversion process. In addition, information supplied in the sidebar is intended to direct readers to sources of other helpful material. The problem can be solved, but it will take sustained and concerted effort to do so.

Overview of the Problem

As most people know, the Y2K problem occurs because many computer systems store the year portion of their date fields in a two-digit format. As a result, these systems are unable to distinguish between the year 2000 and the year 1900 and, consequently, will be unable to calculate or store the dates of financial transactions and other critical events accurately after December 31, 1999.

Although correcting an individual line of code may be relatively easy, resolving the Y2K problem is difficult because of the large number of date-related calculations that typify many computer programs and because of the complex ways in which data are passed within and among programs. To solve the problem completely, billions of lines of programming code, data fields, and system components must be sifted through and corrected. This is an extremely labor-intensive task.

In addition, to the extent that the systems pass data to other systems, complex interfaces - or bridge programs - must be built in order to link compliant systems with systems that are not compliant. Furthermore, comprehensive tests of the systems must be done before they are brought on-line.

Although it is impossible to calculate the exact cost of making all systems "year 2000 compliant," estimates place the worldwide cost at somewhere...