The End of Time, 19 Years to Go

Explore the critical issue of the 32-bit Unix timestamp overflow set to occur in January 2038 in this 49-minute conference talk by Arnd Bergmann from Linaro Ltd. Gain insights into the widespread impact on software, file systems, file formats, network protocols, and hardware. Learn about the extensive work being done in the Linux kernel to address this problem, including hundreds of patches affecting drivers, file systems, and over 50 system calls. Discover the progress made, remaining challenges, and strategies for solving this issue in user space and long-term product deployments. Understand the implications for 32-bit kernels, industrial product lifecycles, and the need for rebuilding 32-bit distributions. Delve into topics such as affected syscalls, virtual file system layers, and driver interfaces as Bergmann, a seasoned kernel contributor and maintainer, shares his expertise on this critical technological challenge.

Intro
Why we care: 32-bit kernels
Industrial product lifecycle
32 bit user space
32 bit interfaces
Other driver interfaces: read()
Virtual File System layer
System calls: method
Affected syscalls, need replacement
Distro work needed
32-bit distro needing rebuild