POSIX or "Unix time" is the number of seconds since UTC January 1, 1970, not counting leap seconds. The signed 32 bit implementation of the POSIX time system, used in Unix systems and embedded in countless applications, will overflow on 2038-01-19T3:14:08Z.
QuotePOSIX or "Unix time" is the number of seconds since UTC January 1, 1970, not counting leap seconds. The signed 32 bit implementation of the POSIX time system, used in Unix systems and embedded in countless applications, will overflow on 2038-01-19T3:14:08Z.
Humm, Should I care? ::)
Linux uses a 64-bit time_t for 64-bit architectures only; the pure 32-bit ABI is not changed due to backward compatibility. There is ongoing work, mostly for embedded Linux systems, to support 64-bit time_t on 32-bit architectures, too.
The x32 ABI for Linux (which defines an environment for programs with 32-bit addresses but running the processor in 64-bit mode) uses a 64-bit time_t. Since it was a new environment, there was no need for special compatibility precautions.