The Y2K Bug Is Upon Us

A formal introduction to the popular insect is in order. Many computer programs feature a date function using six digits for month, day and year (as in 02/20/99) rather than eight digit dates (02/20/1999). With the former, the year mode may read the subsequent year as 1900 instead of 2000. For example, in tracking a credit card debt, an account opened on 12/20/99 that is carried into 01/01/00 may cause the program application to calculate interest over a 99-year span instead of a 30-day period. COBOL, still a widely used programming language, can generate preprinted forms from programs written with four-digit dates. The year 1900 is subtracted from the date to produce the stock form, which begins with 19.