4 ms·

Not necessarily. Using a 64-bit system and think you're safe? But what if the binary you're running has been compiled for a 32-bit system? What if this is a clo

Not necessarily. Using a 64-bit system and think you're safe? But what if the binary you're running has been compiled for a 32-bit system? What if this is a cloud service you're not even aware of? As a true example here, my parents' house uses a simple computer to automate watering of different places in their garden. Looked the chip up, 32 bit system. So this will definitely stop working on Jan 2038. This is just the tip of the iceberg. 2038 is going to be a big issue.

JdeBP 9y ago
It's not as simple as that. I had a C library using 64-bit time_t on 32-bit CPUs back in the early 1990s. 32-bit CPUs are not incapable of doing 64-bit arithmetic. You cannot infer the bitness of time_t from the bitness of the CPU.
- DanielShir 9y ago
  Really? So how does a 32 bit CPU run 64 bit code?
  - Roshie5u 9y ago
    It doesn't run 64bit code but that has nothing to do with handling 64bit numbers. Compiler just generates more instructions (and the execution is slower). Example for multiplication: https://godbolt.org/g/m1t4NC https://godbolt.org/g/m1t4NC
sverige 9y ago
If the tip of the iceberg is automatic watering of gardens, the iceberg is nuclear power plants designed to run on PDP-11s.
- zeckalpha 9y ago
  PDP-11s are 16-bit computers...
  - sverige 9y ago
    ...which control at least one plant in Canada (though recently it was replaced with an emulation.) And apparently they solved the 16-bit data problem, but maybe not the 32-bit date problem. "A current generation DCC system resides at L3 MAPPS' main Montreal, Canada facility and is used to provide support to all participating COG members until 2035." http://mapps.l3t.com/candu-plant-control-systems.html http://mapps.l3t.com/candu-plant-control-systems.html
- davemp 9y ago
  Nuclear power plants run critical systems on mostly analog and sometimes pld devices (much easier to formally verify). They also generally don't care about date-time and have rigorous testing/verification. Nuclear PP are not something to worry about for a 2038 bug. It's the industries that don't employ traditional engineering practices that are worrisome.

JdeBP 9y ago

It's not as simple as that. I had a C library using 64-bit time_t on 32-bit CPUs back in the early 1990s. 32-bit CPUs are not incapable of doing 64-bit arithmetic. You cannot infer the bitness of time_t from the bitness of the CPU.

DanielShir 9y ago
Really? So how does a 32 bit CPU run 64 bit code?
- Roshie5u 9y ago
  It doesn't run 64bit code but that has nothing to do with handling 64bit numbers. Compiler just generates more instructions (and the execution is slower). Example for multiplication: https://godbolt.org/g/m1t4NC https://godbolt.org/g/m1t4NC

sverige 9y ago

If the tip of the iceberg is automatic watering of gardens, the iceberg is nuclear power plants designed to run on PDP-11s.

zeckalpha 9y ago
PDP-11s are 16-bit computers...
- sverige 9y ago
  ...which control at least one plant in Canada (though recently it was replaced with an emulation.) And apparently they solved the 16-bit data problem, but maybe not the 32-bit date problem. "A current generation DCC system resides at L3 MAPPS' main Montreal, Canada facility and is used to provide support to all participating COG members until 2035." http://mapps.l3t.com/candu-plant-control-systems.html http://mapps.l3t.com/candu-plant-control-systems.html
davemp 9y ago
Nuclear power plants run critical systems on mostly analog and sometimes pld devices (much easier to formally verify). They also generally don't care about date-time and have rigorous testing/verification. Nuclear PP are not something to worry about for a 2038 bug. It's the industries that don't employ traditional engineering practices that are worrisome.