diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'doc/year2038.texi')
| -rw-r--r-- | doc/year2038.texi | 38 |
1 files changed, 19 insertions, 19 deletions
diff --git a/doc/year2038.texi b/doc/year2038.texi index f0f6d51516..5964601831 100644 --- a/doc/year2038.texi +++ b/doc/year2038.texi @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ @node Avoiding the year 2038 problem @section Avoiding the year 2038 problem -The ``year 2038 problem'' denotes unpredictable behaviour that will +The @dfn{year 2038 problem} denotes unpredictable behaviour that will likely occur in the year 2038, for programs that use a 32-bit signed integer @samp{time_t} type that cannot represent timestamps on or after 2038-01-19 03:14:08 UTC@. See @@ -26,32 +26,32 @@ suppresses support for post-2038 timestamps. This may be useful if the package links to other libraries whose user-facing ABIs still require @code{time_t} to be 32-bit on your platform. -The Gnulib module @samp{year2038-required} is like @samp{year2038}, -except it rejects platforms where @code{time_t} cannot represent -timestamps after 2038, and it lacks a @option{--disable-year2038} -option. If this module is used and a 32-platform cannot support +The Gnulib module @samp{year2038-recommended} is like @samp{year2038}, +except it by default rejects platforms where @code{time_t} cannot represent +timestamps after 2038. If this module is used and a 32-platform cannot support 64-bit @code{time_t}, one can still fix the year-2038 problem by using a 64-bit instead of a 32-bit build, as noted in the architecture list below. If all else fails one can configure with -@samp{ac_year2038_required=no}; however, the resulting programs will +@option{--disable-year2038}; however, the resulting programs will mishandle timestamps after 2038. -The Gnulib module @samp{year2038-required} is -recommended for packages intended for use on 32-bit platforms -after the year 2038. However, if your package needs to support +The Gnulib module @samp{year2038-recommended} is designed +for packages intended for use on 32-bit platforms +after the year 2038. If your package is commonly built on 32-bit platforms that will not be used after the year 2038, -you can use the @samp{year2038} module instead. +you can use the @samp{year2038} module instead, to save builders +the trouble of configuring with @option{--disable-year2038}. If the Gnulib module @samp{largefile} is used but neither -@samp{year2038} nor @samp{year2038-required} is used, +@samp{year2038} nor @samp{year2038-recommended} is used, @command{configure} will have an option @option{--enable-year2038} that causes @code{configure} to behave as if @samp{year2038} was used. This is for packages that have long used @samp{largefile} but have not gotten around to upgrading their Gnulib module list to include -@samp{year2038} or @samp{year2038-required}. +@samp{year2038} or @samp{year2038-recommended}. @xref{Large File Support}. -With the @samp{year2038-required} module, @command{configure} by +With the @samp{year2038-recommended} module, @command{configure} by default should work on the following 32-bit platforms (or 32-bit ABIs in bi-arch systems): @@ -70,18 +70,18 @@ OpenBSD 5.5 (2014) and later on x86, @item FreeBSD/arm, @item -Minix 3.3. +Minix 3.3 (2014). @end itemize @noindent -Whereas @command{configure} with @samp{year2038-required} will fail on -earlier versions of the abovementioned platforms if a version is listed, -and it will also fail on all versions of the following older 32-bit -platforms or ABIs: +Whereas with @samp{year2038-recommended}, @command{configure} should +by default fail on earlier versions of the abovementioned platforms if +a version is listed, and it should also by default fail on all +versions of the following older 32-bit platforms or ABIs: @itemize @item -Android, +Android on ARMv7 or x86, @item Mac OS X 10.6 (2009) and earlier on x86 and powerpc, @item |