Roy Brown <[log in to unmask]> asks another good question:

> More seriously, you have to be careful with any date-based BACKUP and
> RESTORE operations, explicit or implied, on files you have updated while
> the date was set ahead.

Well, the only "bad" result is that you have more files on the backup tape
than you intended.  Usually, you tell your backup software to store all files
modified after your last full backup -- and files that are marked as having
been modified on 01/01/2000 will certainly qualify.

For example, if you've used :SETCLOCK to set the system clock ahead, and have
future dated files, then STORE's DATE operator will still back them up, even
when you revert to the "real" date. (RESTORE, BTW, has no DATE selection
capabilities)

Note: If you like, you can contact us for a free utility to reset all future
file dates back to today's date.  (No, you don't have to be a customer!)

The great advantage of doing proper date testing *is* getting files
created/touched with the future date.  That's critical to properly testing
for Y2K.  We've already seen products that depend upon that information!
There are two ways of doing such thorough testing: actually setting the
system clock ahead (affecting everyone on the machine), or using HourGlass
2000 for the HP 3000 (affecting only selected users/processes).

Hope this helps!

---
Michael D. Hensley       | mailto:[log in to unmask]
Allegro Consultants Inc. | Visit scenic http://www.allegro.com
408/252-2330             | "Support Bill of Rights Enforcement"