Re: Y2K bugs in OpenLDAP (ITS#233)

[kst@SDSC.EDU]

> You are referring, I assume, to the YEAR_PEDANTIC macro.
> You'll note that this macro is not used.

True, but the YEAR_CAREFUL macro is:

#define YEAR_CAREFUL(y)         ((y) < 1900 ? (y) + 1900 : (y))

...

#define YEAR(y) YEAR_CAREFUL(y)

The check for (y) < 1900 is mostly harmless, I suppose, but it could
be dangerously confusing.  If tm_year >= 1900, you can safely assume
one of two things: either the C runtime is badly broken, or the current
year is 3800 or later.

My suggestion: just assume that tm_year really is year-1900.  If you
really want to be paranoid, add an assert; if the runtime gets this
wrong, there's not much point in trying to recover.

(Why oh why isn't tm_year just the current year?  I suspect this is
a classic example of why "backward compatibility" includes the word
"backward".  But as long as we're stuck with it...)

-- 
Keith Thompson, San Diego Supercomputer Center  kst@sdsc.edu
<http://www.sdsc.edu/~kst/>  Office: 858-822-0853  Fax: 858-534-5077
One of the great tragedies of ancient history is that Helen of Troy
lived before the invention of the champagne bottle.