The Year 2000 problem surfaces when dates are used in comparisons, calculations, or to control processing flow.
Dates also appear in reports, on checks, and in file transfers.
Handling the Year 2000 problem When you first look at the year 2000 problem, it appears to be pretty simple. Since the year field is too short, expanding it will correct the problem. But there are hidden complexities to this approach. Since many files and databases are shared, the conversion needs to be coordinated. Programs that read or write files with dates, but perform no date processing, need to be converted to handle the expanded file format.