Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!munnari.oz.au!cs.mu.OZ.AU!mullauna!baillie From: baillie@mullauna.cs.mu.OZ.AU (Stephen Baillie) Newsgroups: comp.lang.pascal Subject: Re: Leap year function Message-ID: Date: 5 Jun 91 05:07:17 GMT References: <4183@jethro.Corp.Sun.COM> Sender: news@cs.mu.OZ.AU Organization: Comp Sci, University of Melbourne, Australia Lines: 37 marcos@allanon.UUCP (Marcos Della) writes: >acm@Sun.COM (Andrew MacRae) writes: >>In article , marcos@allanon.UUCP (Marcos Della) >>> how about changing it to the following: >>> ... >> >> But it *doesn't* clear up the 1722 problem. (In 1722, eleven days were >> dropped out of the month of September.) ^^^^^^^^^ - Note this ? >> >You know, I didn't know about the 1722 year. What month did they drop out the >days from? Or did they just shorten all the months except February. See the indicated section above? Good. >Also, why the heck di they do it and why that particular year? It was because of a discrepancy between the number of days in a year in the old (Julian?) Calendar, ie one without leap years, and the actual passage of the earth around the sun (did I get that the right way around? ;-> ) The year was out of sync with the sun by 11 days, so at the same time as introducing leap years they cut a few days to make things line up again. Caused quite a stir among the superstitious peasants who thought they were losing a few days out of their lives! I think that pre-1722 there were no leap years, so your program may try to compensate for this too. Steve. "If we shadows have offended, Think but this and all is mended: That you have but slumbered here, While these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, no more yielding but a dream." baillie@mullauna.cs.mu.oz.au (Stephen Baillie)