Compliant By Lisa Corbin hanging all the date references in software code is complicated and time-consuming work, and yet it must be done if agency computer networks are to survive into the next millennium. Information technology companies are offering a wide variety of products to help analyze source code, convert date fields and test applications. The trickiest part is finding all the code that needs to be changed.
Software tools are available to help agencies analyze source code and locate all date fields.
These products work several different ways. Some use clock simulators to flag applications that produce errors when the calendar rolls over to 2000. Others use browsers that scan text for date references. Adpac Corp.'s SystemVision Year 2000 software uses parsing algorithms to identify all date occurrences in customized Cobol code on mainframes. COTS software can be a viable option for many administrative systems, but will not work for detailed applications based on rapidly changing laws and regulations.