Principles To Live By: Epoch Systems, Calendars

Epoch Systems

An epoch, in computing, is a fixed date and time used as a reference from which a computer measures time. An epoch is also an instant in time that marks the beginning of a calendar era.

There is no year zero in this scheme; thus the year AD 1 immediately follows the year 1 BC. This dating system was devised in 525 by Dionysius Exiguus but was not widely used until the 9th century. For computational reasons, astronomical year numbering and the ISO 8601 standard designate years so that AD 1 = year 1, 1 BC = year 0, 2 BC = year −1, etc.

Calendars

There are thousands of calendars in history and currently in use. The Gregorian Calendar is the most widely used calendar in the world today. It has been the unofficial GLOBAL STANDARD for decades. In United States, the year 2024 refers to 2024 years since the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus was a historical figure who is key to TIME and how time is measured.

Pragmatic uses of the Gregorian Calendar worldwide:

International communications
Transportation
Commercial integration
United Nations

Anno Domini (AD) counts the years since the birth of Jesus Christ.

The terms anno Domini (AD) and before Christ (BC)^[a] are used when designating years in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. The term anno Domini is Medieval Latin and means "in the year of the Lord"

This calendar era is based on the traditionally reckoned year of the conception or birth of Jesus, AD counting years from the start of this epoch and BC denoting years before the start of the era. There is no year zero in this scheme; thus the year AD 1 immediately follows the year 1 BC. This dating system was devised in 525 by Dionysius Exiguus but was not widely used until the 9th century.

Refs:

Anno Domini (A.D.) - wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anno_Domini

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_calendars

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epoch

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarnation_(Christianity)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendar_era

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar

https://www.timeanddate.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time

Off Topic:

I was a Y2K programmer analyst at the turn of the century.

https://www.cybersalt.org/clean-jokes/y1k-problem