Re: Date 2000 a problem

[shack@onyx.southwind.net (Randy Shackelford)]

Brian Hammack (brian.hammack@rook.wa.com) wrote:

:  SFC(| The ProDOS file system does because if the year field is zero,
:      | the date is invalid. I have to look in my manuals but I think the
:      | IIgs may not like a zero year either.
             ^
             insert the word "clock" here

: ProDOS is ProDOS, no matter what Apple is using it.  And yes, ProDOS
: must be patched about every 6 years regardless of why.  :)

Let's get some nomenclature straight first. ProDOS is a file system, and
ProDOS 8 and GS/OS with the ProDOS FST installed are OSes which access the
ProDOS file system.

As it says up there, a zero year in a ProDOS file's date fields is considered
an invalid date. You typically see <NO DATE> in catalogs when the year field
is zero.

ProDOS 8 only needs patched if you're using a Thunderclock style clock card.
IIgses and some nonstandard clocks which need ProDOS patched to access them
don't have this problem. Your mileage may vary with the nonstandard clocks
with their own drivers, depending on the hardware and how the drivers are
written. In your followup, you chopped out my text explaining why it is
necessary to update the year table for the Thunderclock driver.

:      | Maybe that's a surprise to the Apple hater crowd since they're
:      | convinced that Apple sabotaged the IIgs from the get-go

: [Not having any desire to get into the Mac-vs-GS "sabotage" thread...]
: Has nothing to do with the GS.  The ProDOS 2.x system was hobbled.  :)

: My question is, why didn't the folks who made the PC's not use any
: vision to see what would happen in 5-25 years from their manufacture?
: Apple may not have acted as though *any* of its machinery would be in
: use six years after a given hardware/software upgrade, but they did not
: paint themselves into the corner quite as bad as the IBM/clones have.

Gads, let me state once more why ProDOS 8 has a six year table: Thunderclocks
don't keep track of the year so the clock driver uses the table to calculate
the year based on the day of the week. Doesn't it make sense that this method
only works for six years at a time? Quit trying to ascribe sinister motives to
Apple over this point at least.
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