n.
A potential computer software problem where a program might confuse the date September 9, 1999 (9/9/99) with "9999," the end-of-file code in some older programming languages.
Example Citation:
"Three decades ago, programmers inserted '9999' to indicate the end of a file or data transfer. . . .The worry is that computers still working with old COBOL or FORTRAN software will misread all those nines as permission to stop everything in its tracks.
Most technology experts agree that the 9999 bug will not bite."
— Murray Campbell, "Today's 9999 glitch a drill for Y2K bug," The Globe and Mail, September 9, 1999
Related Words:
Categories:
New words. 2013.