TAI64 For All Time

Thursday, September 14, 2006.

From Bernstein’s tai64 page:

“Integers 2^63 and larger are reserved for future extensions. Under many cosmological theories, the integers under 2^63 are adequate to cover the entire expected lifetime of the universe; in this case no extensions will be necessary.”

Phew!

Dealing with multilog’s TAI64 timestamps is always a bit annoying, but I suppose old djb may very well be laughing his head off in 2038. Still, the idea of writing software “for all time” has enough allure to the developer mind that it feels like a trap.

Posted by Alan on Thursday, September 14, 2006. (Discuss)

blog comments powered by Disqus
maelstrom

"After a little while I became possessed with the keenest curiosity about the whirl itself. I positively felt a wish to explore its depths, even at the sacrifice I was going to make; and my principal grief was that I should never be able to tell my old companions on shore about the mysteries I should see."

Illustration for Edgar Allan Poe's story "Descent into the Maelstrom" by Harry Clarke, published in 1919.