devine@vianet.UUCP (Bob Devine) (11/25/86)
Here are the replies for several recent postings in these two
groups. This will be my last posting on the subject to mod.lang.c.
If you would like further information or a list of sources please
send mail.
On to the replies:
1. Greek Orthodox dates
Matthew P Wiener (ucbvax!brahms!weemba) wrote that "For them
(Greek Orthodox), the year 2900 is not a leap year." Yes, but
for the program I posted to mod.sources, I was only concerned
with how a country calculates dates. As far as I have been
able to determine, that style of numbering is only used by the
Greek Orthodox church for religious purposes. For the same
reason, the Jewish and other religious calendars were not used.
2. Gregorian rule for leap years
Stuart D. Gathman (stuart@bms-at.UUCP) wrote that he found the
rule that years divisible by 4000 are NOT leap years "in the
Encyclopedia Brittanica under 'calendar'." I don't know what
edition he checked but the 1986 edition does not have it under
calendar in either the micropaedia or macropedia versions.
However, the entries under Gregorian calendar and under leap year
_do_ say it is. The leap year article's sentence that says this
is "For still more precise reckoning, every year evenly divisible
by 4000 is make a common (not leap) year.". The plot thickens!
Checking in the definitive source, the 1977 version of the
Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Ephemeris, years
divisible by 4000 are leap years. I also called the Nautical
Almanac Office of the US Naval Observatory and talked to Dr. Doggett
who said the same thing. (He did add that the 1961 ES to the AE has
some errors). So, the Encyclopaedia Brittanica articles and
astronomy book are wrong.
Bob Devine
[ PS. If anyone has or has access to a copy of "The Proceedings of the
Vatican Conference to Commemorate its 400th Anniverary" please tell me.
Apparently the only way to get it is to send directly to the Vatican.
Perhaps a university with a very large library will have it; CU doesn't.]
[postPS. CU == University of Colorado. I don't know why it isn't UC.]