Patent ID: 6055532
Filing Date: 2000-04-25
Classification: G06F,G06Q,Y10S

Abstract:
A series of operational steps to be performed on or with the aid of a computer, said steps comprising:(a) reading a year datum comprising two bytes from a computer-readable storage medium, the year datum representing a year;(b) examining the year datum to determine whether the year datum comprises (i) a first representation of the year in a first encoding scheme in which each of the two bytes separately represents a decimal digit of the year or (ii) a second representation of the year in a second encoding scheme in which the two bytes together provide information for calculating at least four digits of the year when the year is 2000 or beyond;(c) if the year datum comprises the first representation, determining the year from the year datum in accordance with the first encoding scheme; and(d) if the year datum comprises the second representation, determining the year from the year datum in accordance with the second encoding scheme.