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time_t is now always 64bit! Good to see someone working proactively on the y2k38 problem.
by 0x0 13y ago
time_t is now always 64bit! Good to see someone working proactively on the y2k38 problem.
- bananas 13y agoIndeed. I get worried when I see people deploying new embedded ARM systems these days to replace systems that are 30 years old when there is only 24 years to 2038...
- throwaway2048 13y agothe most headache inducing issues by far are going to be file formats and network protocols that integrate 32bit unix timestamps, which are numerous. NTP is one such example. This is a much worse and much more fundamental issue than the y2k bug was, I hope people aren't writing off the severity, the time to start dealing with it is now.
- 0x0 13y agoAgreed, it's pretty scary. On the other hand, I'm sure similar problems were tackled for y2k with the 2-digit fields everywhere. If we built it, we can rebuild it. Although a lot of software and hardware will need replacing/upgrading/switching over to new protocols.
- Sanddancer 13y agoThey were, however, given that a lot of things have life in the field of several decades, now is the time to start fixing it so it doesn't become a mad rush. Yes, it means less money for devs 23 years from now as they madly rush to update software, but I'd rather that money be spent for devs to make future programs awesome than to worry about our ghosts.
- legulere 13y agoNTP doesn't use unix timestamps but an other format. It will hit the bug 2 years earlier.
- falconfunction 13y agoIf I see the 2038 problem in a newspaper headline I think I'm going to take the closer fire exit.
- zokier 13y agoIt seems bit odd that they are so proud of 64-bit time_t that they even made their release song about that, with this sentence in the description: > In the same way, the road is paved for the 64-bit time_t transition. Other operating systems can now make this jump Haven't Linux and FreeBSD been on 64bit time_t for like 10 years now?
- edwintorok 13y agoIf you install a 32-bit Linux, then time_t is still 32-bit, only on 64-bit Linux you get 64-bit time_t. Although by 2038 I hope we won't have many 32-bit systems around...
- bananas 13y agoEmbedded devices are likely to be 32-bit for a very long time yet. I'd consider 100+ years to be a reasonable number! 64-bit devices are much more complicated (bus size, peripherals, part count) and therefore more expensive. If your entire task fits in a 32-bit space there is little motivation to use a 64-bit core.
- zokier 13y ago> 64-bit devices are much more complicated (bus size, peripherals, part count) and therefore more expensive I don't see why 64 bit core would imply any additional external complexity? Didn't 68k have 32bit core and work just fine down to 8bit external bus?
- bananas 13y agoIt won't on full SoC devices but most ARM embedded devices of that sort have all sorts of peripherals which are bus connected so the bus will need to be external.
- mrweasel 13y agoI think one of the points from OpenBSD is that 32 bit systems will be around. Legacy system are one thing, but how about embedded systems. Manufacturers will want to use 32bit processors in new system for a long long time, simply because they can save a few cents.