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When people began writing computer software in the 1950s and 1960s, many thought the computer systems they built would become obsolete and soon be put out of existence. Therefore, to save computing time and memory, the year 1900 was represented as 00. Unfortunately, when 2000 arrives, it will also be 00. Therein lies the beginning of the problem. It is made worse by the fact that simply changing dates doesn't solve the real problem - computer programmers use dates in many ways, so much so that the only solution is for programmers to look at their code. Reviewing all code that a corporation has developed is a huge task.

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• The Day the Computers Go Bang
• And the Plot Thickens
• Your Safety Net Has Big Holes in It
• Start Addressing the Problem
• Solutions, Testing, and Implementation
• Help and the Toolbox
• A Methodology
• Index

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CHOICE Review

When the date changes from Dec. 31, 1999, to Jan. 1, 2000, computers that naively store only the last two digits of the year will start to behave in extremely odd ways: ages will become negative, date comparisons will yield wrong answers, and decisions based on these computations are likely to be nonsensical, if not downright destructive. The problem is simple to state and to understand. The three books under review explain why it is important to solve this problem soon, and what will make it very difficult to solve. Several topics are common to all three books: explanations of possible solutions; elaborations of the steps in solving an organization's Year 2000 problem; and pointers to resources that will help with the conversion. All three books discuss calendar calculations, albeit incompletely. Only Ulrich and Hayes mention that 3600 CE is not a leap year, and no one mentions that 4000 CE is not a leap year; expect more conversion problems in future centuries. Of the three books, Keogh offers the liveliest prose. He waxes eloquent in describing undocumented legacy code whose source is unavailable, making it very challenging to discover date-related calculations. Keogh describes not only various adverse business consequences of date-related botches, but also legal liabilities and severe shortages of qualified personnel. On the other hand, Keogh devotes only about 40 pages to describing the steps in solving an organization's Year 2000 problem. Ragland also allots only about 40 pages to describing the steps in solving an organization's Year 2000 problem. Ragland does offer more specific advice than Keogh for users who need to contend with only one or two small computers. For those who face larger problems, Ragland's greatest contribution might be the second half of his book: more than 125 pages of lists of software tools, service vendors, and consultants to which an organization can turn for help. Ulrich and Hayes makes the driest reading, but they devote more than 400 pages to the steps in solving an organization's Year 2000 problem, with much more detailed descriptions, often supplemented by checklists and action items. Of the three books, Ulrich and Hayes could be most useful to managers of large organizations who plan to make their organizations Year-2000 compliant on time. Ragland's book is appropriate for two-year technical program students and professionals; the other two can be used by upper-division undergraduates through professionals. C. J. Van Wyk; Drew University