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Year 2000
by by Norman Shakespeare - Review by Joe Mizer—NOCCC - July 02, 1999 at 00:22:38:
There is a lot of talk about the “Year 2000” problem and some believe it will cause Doom and Gloom. After reading this book, you will know why the world’s financial systems will not fail and why airplanes will not fall from the sky. I don’t think any major problems will occur. But, there will be problems, and some machines and systems will fail unless they are fixed by the end of this year. This book published by O’Reilly and Associates is a quick reference on how to approach the problem, and what can be done to prevent the chaos predicted by some experts.If you have not done anything yet, and your computer system is mission-critical to your future, the author has outlined the steps you need to take to protect yourself. The book is directed somewhat to the individual with only one computer to secure, but more to how an MIS manager or programmer should approach the problem. A master plan for attack of the problem, including a large number of work sheets, is provided. You first evaluate the probability of failure of each program and system for which you are responsible. Then you evaluate the effect that failure of each program or system will cause. Whether you use a spreadsheet or a notepad, the result of this review will determine which problems must be fixed at any cost, and which others are only inconveniences. You will also probably find other programs that may fail and will have absolutely no effect and thus can be ignored.
Even if you do not have a year 2000 problem, this book has a lot to offer including a brief historical discussion that explains the origins of different calendars. The correct way to determine leap year is not just dividing by 4. A leap year is every fourth year except for any century ending year (a year ending with two zeros). Century ending years are, however, a leap year when divisible by 400. This is important because some programs have not accounted for the “divisible by 400” and will not calculate the year 2000 as a leap year. This could also cause problems and should be tested.
A major part of this book is an introductory course in Cobol. This tutorial alone is worth the cost of the book. I always liked Cobol because the syntax is easy to follow. Cobol is very structured and forces correct use of syntax rules.
Whether you program in Cobol, or another language, pseudo code is given for standard date routines and specific functions pre- written for Cobol, Visual Basic, C and PL/1. Also discussed are tools to solve problems, including code scanners, which locate and identify various problems and/or automatically fix some of them. It is stressed throughout the book that complete and thorough testing is the only way to make sure you have eliminated your problems.
Published by O’Reilly & Associates. The cost of the book is only $19.95 and available at most bookstores or from any of the on-line bookstores. The ISBN number is 1-56592-421-5. Visit the O’Reilly website at www.oreilly.com, or order at oreilly.com or by telephone at 1-800- 998-9938 or 1-707-829-0515. Don’t forget to mention you are a member of NOCCC for a discount from O’Reilly and Associates
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