Re: Storing dates - revisted...

[Rob Berendt <rob@xxxxxxxxx>]

The CYYMMDD format reminds me of a session hosted by our local users group 
about 2 years ago.  One major
company talked about the steps they had to go through in migrating from YYMMDD 
to CYYMMDD.  Then I asked
them if they intended on repeating these costs when new management decides to 
use Query or PC based tools
to access their data.




qappdsn@ibm.net on 09/23/98 03:38:03 AM
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Subject:        Re: Storing dates - revisted...

We adopted the CYYMMDD format (in 1988) for one reason and one reason only:

That's what the command processor returns on a *DATE parameter type.

It also only occupies 4 bytes of disk space (the same as a date data type from
what I've read).

We even tried to get "cute" by outputting an "x" (unsigned) edit code to have a
packed 4 space , 8 digit YYYYMMDD field loooong before date data types (CPF 4)
but "cute" was more trouble than it was worth. (it didn't work)

IMHO, if you have the opportunity, do the "L" date thing and be ready for the
next millennium.

James W. Kilgore
qappdsn@ibm.net

DAsmussen@aol.com wrote:

> Chuck,
>
> In a message dated 98-09-21 13:41:01 EDT, you write:
>
> > You can change all of your old date storage in files from YY/MM/DD to
> >  YYYY/MM/DD. Is that what folks are doing ?
>
> One vote for CCYYMMDD...
>
>
> "A man who is not a liberal in his youth has no heart.  A man who is not
> conservative in his later years has no brain." -- Otto Van Bismarck
>

P.S. Dean,  The way I heard it, it was Ben Franklin: "If you're 20 and not a
socialist you have not heart.  If you're 30 and still a socialist you have no
brains."  It's that darn revisionist history!


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