Note: By popular demand here is a reprint of Freds 'Pumpkin' Award winning article.
Slight changes to format have been made to accomodate mailers, the text is unchanged.
As a brief introduction to myself, I run the support team for Foster Wheeler UK in Reading. We have some 1500 pcs and run a vast range of software ranging from very old, such as Lotus 123 v2.3 to the very new. We are in the process of evaluation this software to ensure Y2K complience. As part of our support we provide a Windows help file containing all sorts of information including our findings so far on the Y2K issue. I have included the text version of the evaluation so far and hope it will be of some use.
Please excuse the format as it was converted from a RTF file.
Although we do not evaluate the implications of converting any existing data or processes, we do ensure that each product can deal with the potential problems and that if so recommendations are given on how to use them whilst maintaining Y2K awareness.
If this is of any use please let me know and I'll continue to post new evaluations (We have a huge amount to go!).
Regards,
Fred Trigg
Senior Systems Analyst
Foster Wheeler Engery Limited
fredtrigg@patrol.i-way.co.uk
fred_trigg@fwc.com
Lotus 123 is very widely used within the company and there are a number of versions of this spreadsheet available for use. To find out which version you are currently using, please refer to the Foster Wheeler applications menu or the DOS menu from where you opened your application. More information can then be obtained about your particular versions year 2000' capabilities by double clicking on the appropriate icon below.
If your version of Lotus 123 is not listed below, then don't panic! It doesn't necessarily mean that your version can not handle year 2000 dates, it just means that it hasn't been tested yet and so some caution must be taken.
This version allows for dates to be input with a four digit year and therefore it can cope well with 21st century dates. Date calculations can also be carried out which span the century switch over. If system dates are brought in via functions such as 'now' and 'today' then these will automatically be displayed with a two digit year if it is before the year 2000 or with a four digit year if it is afterwards. All other dates entered into the spreadsheet will also be shown as either two or four digit years, depending on how they are entered by the user. After the year 2000, you are therefore advised to always enter a four digit year.
This version is also capable of recognising leap years, in particular the year 2000 leap year and can cope with dates up to and including December 31st 2099.
This version although not the latest release of this package is still capable of dealing with 21st century dates. Version 4 can carry out date calculations which span over the two centuries. If system dates are brought in via functions such as 'now' and 'today' then these will automatically be displayed with a two digit year if it is before the year 2000 or with a four digit year if it is afterwards. All other dates entered into the spreadsheet will also be shown as either two or four digit years, depending on how they are entered by the user. After the year 2000, you are therefore advised to always enter a four digit year. This version is also capable of recognising leap years, in particular the year 2000 leap year and can cope with dates up to and including December 31st 2099.
This version although a rather early one is capable of recognising year 2000 dates. However the cell which is to hold the date must first be formatted to' long international', this can be done by selecting 'range\format\date\long international' from the main menu within Lotus 123.
The dates can then be manipulated as any other date would be and calculations can be made which span over the centuries. If system dates are brought in via functions such as 'now' and 'today', then these will automatically be displayed with a two digit year if it is before the year 2000, or with a four digit year if it is afterwards.
All other dates entered into the spreadsheet will also be shown as either two or four digit years, depending on how they are entered by the user. After the year 2000, you are therefore advised to always enter a four digit year. This version can also recognise leap years, in particular the year 2000 leap year and can cope with dates up to and including December 31st 2099.
This version, although one of the earlier versions of Lotus 123 can manage year 2000 dates as long as they are put into 'long international' formatted cells.
This can be done by selecting 'range\format\date\long international' from the main menu within Lotus 123.
The dates can then be manipulated as any other date would be and calculations can be made which span over the centuries. If system dates are bought in via functions such as 'now' and 'today', then these will automatically be displayed with a two digit year if it is before the year 2000, or with a four digit year if it is afterwards.
All other dates entered into the spreadsheet will also be shown as either two or four digit years, depending on how they are entered by the user. After the year 2000, you are therefore advised to always enter a four digit year. This version can also recognise leap years, in particular the year 2000 leap year and can cope with dates up to and including December 31st 2099.
Microsoft Excel is very widely used throughout the company and there are a number of versions of this spreadsheet available for use. To find out which version you are currently using, please refer to the Foster Wheeler applications menu. More can be found out about your particular versions year 2000 capabilities by clicking on the appropriate icon below.
If your particular version is not listed below then don't panic! It doesn't necessarily mean that your version cannot manage year 2000 dates, it just means that it has not been tested yet and so some caution must be taken.
This version of Microsoft Excel is currently the most
widely used version within the company. It can manage
year 2000 dates and can display dates containing four
digit years as long as the cells in which these dates
are to be entered are formatted correctly.
In order to format the cells correctly, highlight the
appropriate cells that you wish to format, then select
'Format\Cells\'from the menu, then from the category
box choose 'date' and enter in the code box
'DD/MM/YYYY' and click 'OK'. The dates within those
cells will now be displayed with a four digit year.
If system dates are bought in via functions such as
'now' or 'today', then these dates will be displayed in
whichever format the cells are set to. This version of
Excel also recognises leap years, in particular the
year 2000 leap year and can manage dates up to and
including December 31st 2078.
This is an earlier version of Microsoft Excel. It can
manage year 2000 dates and can display dates containing
four digit years as long as the cells in which these
dates are to be entered are formatted correctly.
In order to format the cells correctly, highlight the
appropriate cells that you wish to format, then select
'Format\Cells\' from the menu, then from the category
box choose 'date' and enter in the code box
'DD/MM/YYYY' and click 'OK'. The dates within those
cells will now be displayed with a four digit year.
If system dates are bought in via functions such as
'now' and 'today', then these dates will be displayed
in whichever format the cells are set to. After the
year 2000, all users are advised to enter dates with
four digit years. This version of Excel also
recognises leap years, in particular the year 2000 leap
year and can manage dates up to and including December
31st 2078.
There are a number of databases in use around the
company and as the year 2000 approaches, it is
important to make sure that you know how the database
you use will cope with the change. To find out more
about your particular database, please click on the
appropriate icon below.
Paradox is widely used within the company and there are
a number of versions of this database available. To
find out which version you are currently using, please
refer to the Foster Wheeler applications menu or the
DOS menu from where you open your application. More
information can then be obtained about your particular
versions 'year 2000' capabilities by double clicking on
the appropriate icon below.
If your version of Paradox is not listed below, then
don't panic! It doesn't necessarily mean that your
version cannot handle year 2000 dates, it just means
that it hasn't been tested yet and so some caution must
be taken.
dBASE is widely used within the company and there are a
number of versions of this database available. To find
out which version you are currently using, please refer
to the Foster Wheeler applications menu or the DOS menu
from where you open your application. More information
can then be obtained about your particular versions
'year 2000' capabilities by double clicking on the
appropriate icon below.
If your version of dBASE is not listed below, then
don't panic! It doesn't necessarily mean that your
version cannot handle year 2000 dates, it just means
that it hasn't been tested yet and so some caution must
be taken.
DataEase is a widely used database and there are a
number of versions of this database in existence
throughout the company. To find out which version you
are currently using, please refer to the Foster Wheeler
applications menu or the DOS menu from where you open
your application. More information can then be
obtained about your versions 'year 2000' capabilities
by clicking on the appropriate icon below.
If your version of DataEase is not listed below, then
don't panic! It doesn't necessarily mean that your
version cannot handle year 2000 dates, it just means
that it hasn't been tested yet and so some caution must
be taken.
Microsoft Access is widely used within the company and
there are a number of versions of this database
available for use. To find out which version you are
currently using, please refer to the Foster Wheeler
applications menu from where you open your application.
More information can then be obtained about your
particular versions 'year 2000' capabilities by double
clicking on the appropriate icon below.
If your version of Microsoft Access is not listed
below, then don't panic! It doesn't necessarily mean
that your version cannot handle year 2000 dates, it
just means that it hasn't been tested yet and so some
caution must be taken.
Microsoft Access v2
In House Applications
(Under construction)
This version of Paradox will allow for four digit years
to be displayed. However, it will not automatically
display dates with four digit years unless the date
field is set to a format which will allow for four
digit years to be used. Paradox takes its date format
from the windows control panel international dialogue
box and so to change the date format, one must do the
following.
1. Choose 'Windows Main' from the Foster Wheeler
applications menu
2. Choose 'control panel'
3. Choose 'international'
4. Click on the 'change' box from within the date
format box
5. Change the date format to suit you, making sure that
the year is specified as a four digit year.
The date format within Paradox will now automatically
change to the format which you have specified within
the control panel of Windows. Users are advised to
begin to enter dates with a four digit year as soon as
possible in order to avoid confusion and upheaval when
the year 2000 arrives. If a year 2000 date is entered
in a two digit format then the date will be assumed by
Paradox to be a 20th century year e.g. '31/03/01' will
be treated as '31/03/1901'.
This version of Paradox is also capable of recognising
leap years in particular the year 2000 leap year and
will not allow invalid dates to be entered, for example
it will not allow the date '29/02/1997' but it will
allow '29/02/2000'. It is also important here to note
that if the date '29/02/00' is entered then Paradox
will produce an error as it will assume that this is
the date '29/02/1900' which was not a leap year. It is
therefore advisable to enter all dates with a four
digit year.
Paradox sorts the data correctly depending on the sort
specification even if the dates span over the year
2000. Data can also be queried using operators such as
'<' and '>' and will produce correct answers to queries
even if the date spans over the century switch over.
It is important to note however that in order for
Paradox to do this correctly, all 21st century dates
must be entered in a four digit format to prevent
confusion and invalid query results.
Within Paradox V5, there is also an operation called
'TODAY'. This also recognises the year 2000 and will
produce the correct query results whichever century's
dates it is working with.
This database will allow four digit years to be used,
however in order for it to do this, the century setting
must first be turned on. It may well be the case that
this has already been done and you will be able to
enter 4 digit years automatically, however if you can't
then you can turn the century setting on by doing the
following.
1. Choose 'Properties' from the dBASE main menu
2. Choose 'desktop'
3. Click in the small 'century' box until an 'x'
appears
4. Click on O.K.
Once you have done this, any future dates will be
displayed with a four digit year. An example of how
the date will look in the chosen format is displayed
under this 'century' box, so it is a good idea to check
the example first, before committing. Users are
advised to begin to enter dates with a four digit year
as soon as possible in order to avoid confusion and
upheaval when the year 2000 arrives.
If a year 2000 date is entered in a two digit format
then the date will be assumed by dBASE to be a 20th
century year e.g. '31/03/01' will be treated as
'31/03/1901'. This version of dBASE also recognises
leap years and will not allow invalid dates to be
entered, for example it will not allow the date
'29/02/1997' but it will allow '29/02/2000'. It is
also important to note that if the date '29/02/00' is
entered, then dBASE will assume this to be the date
'29/02/1900' and will produce an error as 1900 was not
a leap year.
There is also an internal operation within dBASE called
DATE ( ). This operation returns the current system
date and has been shown, via the use of the Date ( ) +
operation, to be able to handle 21st century dates.
This database will allow four digit years to be used,
however in order for it to do this, the century setting
must first be turned on. It may well be the case that
this has already been done and you will be able to
enter four digit years automatically, however if you
can't then you can turn the century setting on by doing
the following.
1. Choose 'Properties' from the dBASE main menu
2. Choose 'desktop'
3. Click in the small 'century' box until an 'x'
appears
Once you have done this, any future dates will be
displayed with a four digit year. An example of how
the date will look in the chosen format is displayed
under this box, so it is a good idea to check the
example first, before committing.
Users are advised to begin to enter dates with a four
digit year as soon as possible in order to avoid
confusion and upheaval when the year 2000 arrives. If
a date is entered in a two digit format then dBASE
assumes it to be a 20th century year, for example if
the date '01/01/2000' is entered in a two digit format
e.g. '01/01/00' then Visual dBASE will assume it is a
20th century year and will display the date as
'01/01/1900'.
This version of DBASE also recognises leap years and
will not allow invalid dates to be entered, for example
it will not allow the date '29/02/1997' but it will
allow '29/02/2000'. It is important to note that if
the date '29/02/00' is entered then dBASE will assume
that this date is actually '29/02/1900' and will
produce an error as the year 1900 was not a leap year.
There is also an internal operation within Visual dBASE
called DATE ( ). This operation returns the current
system date and has been shown via the use of the DATE
( ) + operation, to be able to handle 21st century
dates.
This database will allow four digit years to be used,
however in order for it to do this, the century setting
must first be turned on. This can be done by pressing
PF10 from the control centre, this will take you into
the menus. Then from the 'Tools' drop down menu choose
'settings' and take the cursor down to the 'century'
option and press return until the display reads
'CENTURY ON'.
Users are advised to begin to enter dates with a four
digit year as soon as possible in order to avoid
confusion and upheaval when the year 2000 arrives. If
a date is entered with a two digit year then dBASE IV
V2 will automatically assume that the date is within
the 20th century, for example if the date '12/05/2000'
is entered as '12/05/00' then dBASE IV will assume that
the actual date is '12/05/1900'.
dBASE IV also deals with leap years, and will bring up
an error if an invalid date such as '29/02/1997' is
entered. It is also important to note that if a date
such as '29/02/00' is entered, then dBASE will assume
this date to be '29/02/1900' and will produce an error
as the year 1900 was not a leap year.
This version of dBASE IV will allow for dates to be
displayed with a four digit year, however in order to
do this, the century command must first be switched on.
This can be done from the dot prompt by entering the
command 'SET CENTURY ON'. dBASE IV can also handle 2000
dates within queries and will sort dates correctly,
assuming that they have been entered in a four digit
format. If dates are entered with a two digit year,
then the date will be assumed to be a 1900 date and
will be treated as such within queries and sorts.
Users are advised to begin to enter dates with a four
digit year as soon as possible in order to avoid
confusion and upheaval when the year 2000 arrives.
dBASE IV v 1.1 is also capable of recognising leap
years and will not let invalid dates such as
'29/02/1997' be entered. It also recognises the year
2000 leap year and will allow the date '29/02/2000' to
be entered, however if the date '29/02/00' is entered
then dBASE IV v 1.1 will assume that this is the date
'29/02/1900' and will produce an error.
This database will allow for dates to be displayed with
a four digit year, however in order to do this, the
century command must first be switched on. This can be
done from the dot prompt by entering the command 'SET
CENTURY ON'. dBASE III+ can also handle 2000 dates
within queries and will sort dates correctly, assuming
that they have been entered in a four digit format. If
dates are entered with a two digit year, then the date
will be assumed to be a 1900 date and will be treated
as such within queries and sorts. Users are advised to
begin to enter dates with a four digit year as soon as
possible in order to avoid confusion and upheaval when
the year 2000 arrives.
dBASE III+ is also capable of recognising leap years
and will not let invalid dates such as '29/02/1997' be
entered into fields. It also recognises the year 2000
leap year and will allow the date '29/02/2000' to be
entered, however if the date '29/02/00' is entered then
dBASE III+ will assume that this is the date
'29/02/1900' and will produce an error as the year 1900
was not a leap year.
This database will allow four digit years to be used,
however in order for it to do this, the data field
containing the date must first be formatted. This can
be done by defining the format you wish to use for the
date field, when the database is first set up. This
can be done via the following steps.
1. When defining the date field date type, click on the
arrow and choose 'Date/Time'.
2. Click on format and then the arrow again.
3. Choose an appropriate format which will allow the
dates to be displayed with a four digit year.
e.g. short date format( '31/12/2000').
This database package is also capable of recognising
leap years in particular the year 2000 leap year and
will not allow dates to be entered into the database
which are not valid, for example the date '29/02/1997'
cannot be entered, however the date '29/02/2000' can be
entered.
Users are advised to begin to enter dates with a four
digit year as soon as possible in order to avoid
confusion and upheaval when the year 2000 arrives. If
a date is entered in a two digit format then Access
V2.0 assumes it to be a 20th century year.
For example, if there are two dates in a data table,
one '12/03/1900' and one '12/03/2000' then if a query
is run looking for the date '12/03/00' then only the
1900 date will be returned. It is important to note
this especially when the date '29/02/00' is entered, as
this will be taken as '29/02/1900' and Access will
produce an error as the year 1900 was not a leap year.
Microsoft Access sorts the data correctly depending on
the sort specification even if the dates span over the
year 2000. Data can also be queried using operators
such as '<' and '>' and will produce correct answers to
queries even if the date spans over the century switch
over. It is important to note however that in order
for Access to do this correctly, all 21st century dates
must be entered in a four digit format to prevent
confusion and invalid query results.
There are also a number of date operations within
Microsoft Access, such as 'DATEADD', 'DATEDIFF',
'DATEPART', all these work fine with 21st century dates
but again care must be taken to make sure that such
dates are entered in a four digit format.Microsoft Excel Version 5
Microsoft Excel Version 4
Databases
Paradox
dBase
Dataease
Microsoft Access
Paradox Version 5
dBase Version 5
Visual dBase (Version 5.5)
dBase 4 v2
dBase 4 v1.1
dBase III +
Microsoft Access Version 2