Question

Is Java Y2K compliant? Where can I find more information?

Answer

I'd like to give a big unconditional yes, but its not quite that simple. Java is more than a language - its a platform. There are many different virtual machines, by many different vendors, running on many different hardware and software architectures. Does that present a Y2K threat? Yes.

However, work is being done to prevent problems. Sun takes its commitments very seriously - for a comprehensive list of products and their Y2K status visit

http://www.sun.com/y2000/cpl.html

The problem is - will all Java Virtual Machines be ready in time. Remember that some are third party ports, or completely re-engineered versions. So there is still the potential for problems if you use non-Sun virtual machines. If you use third party class libraries, or code, you're also running some risk. Of course, a quick test to reassure you, might be to turn your computer's clock forward till after Jan 1 2000.

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