• @ayyy@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    110 hours ago

    It depends on how they are representing the numbers. If they are stored as an “integer” they will overflow and wrap around after about 2 trillion. I’m not saying computers can’t handle larger numbers, I’m saying that in my extensive experience there’s always some part of older systems that generate some long-forgotten but essential report that never thought about handling huge numbers and breaks in unexpected ways.