Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!tektronix!percival!bucket!leonard
From: leonard@bucket.UUCP (Leonard Erickson)
Newsgroups: comp.std.internat
Subject: Re: International dates and languages
Keywords: Yale, Master, Cole, Kwikset, Medeco, CardAccess...
Message-ID: <1040@bucket.UUCP>
Date: 3 Sep 88 22:06:44 GMT
References: <189@dcs.UUCP> <2903@hubcap.UUCP> <3782@polya.Stanford.EDU> <Aug.30.20.59.53.1988.20134@topaz.rutgers.edu>
Reply-To: leonard@bucket.UUCP (Leonard Erickson)
Organization: Rick's Home Grown Unix; Portland, OR
Lines: 29

In article <Aug.30.20.59.53.1988.20134@topaz.rutgers.edu> linhart@topaz.rutgers.edu.UUCP (D-ro 3.) writes:
<tr> I certainly hope not!  I like the names of the months, like
<tr> the names of the days of the week.  When a strictly numeric
<tr> date format is adopted, the world will be lesser for it.
<tr> 
<tr> When I ask the computer for the date and time, I prefer
<tr> 
<tr> 12:05 on Wednesday, 12 March 1943
<
<I usually view the day of week in the date a waste of writing time
<and space, except for such things as appointments.  But then, I don't
<have a regular job.  Four month names are number forms, anyway (and
<misleading, too, since January and February were inserted).

The day of the week is *very* important. It makes an excellent "checksum".
Many people will fail to notice that the *date* is off by one day, but they
will *definitely* notice if the day off the week is wrong!

It also catches year errors. I've seen a machine where *only* the year
had gotten messed up, and the odds are very good that in such a situation
the day of the week reported for *that* date won't match the day for the
*current* date.

(btw March 12, 1943 was a Friday... :)
-- 
Leonard Erickson		...!tektronix!reed!percival!bucket!leonard
CIS: [70465,203]
"I used to be a hacker. Now I'm a 'microcomputer specialist'.
You know... I'd rather be a hacker."