Tux Machines

Debian Family: time_t transition in Debian and Debian-based Sparky Linux

Posted by Roy Schestowitz on Feb 04, 2024

LWN ☛ 64-bit time_t transition in progress

The goal of this transition is to ensure that 32-bit architectures in trixie (whether they are currently release architectures, or out of archive, etc) will be capable of handling current and future timestamps referring to times beyond 2038.

Debian ☛ Release Goals: 64-bit time

This FOSDEM talk (PDF) also gives a good overview of the status as of Feb 2023

This is now less that 15 years away and plenty of system that will have problems have already been shipped. We should stop adding to the problem. Most computing, especially computing using Debian or its derivatives, is now done on 64-bit hardware where this issue does not arise. However there is quite a lot of cost-sensitive 32-bit computing still out there, and still shipping new devices (automotive, IOT, TVs, routers, plant control, building monitoring/control, cheap Android phones). Some of that hardware will probably be running Debian or its derivatives. Other binary distros are dropping 32-bit support (RedHat/Fedora have already done so, SUSE's support is unofficial), so what is left is more likely to end up in the Debian ecosystem. Most such new hardware will be running build-from-source OSes like OpenEmbedded, or Alpine, Android, or Gentoo, but the Debian-based niche is likely to remain for some years, and some stuff built with it is likely to be in use/installed for long enough to hit Jan 2038.

Sparky GNU/Linux ☛ Sparky Linux: Mercury & Thorium

There are new applications available for Sparkers: Mercury & Thorium