System and method for distinguishing and processing multiple time stamp formats used in a single computing system

A computer program product, comprising:

• a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor of a computing system, cause the processor to perform the steps of:
• retrieving a data file;
• retrieving, from a memory, a single-word time stamp associated with the data file, wherein the processor operates in an operating system environment in which multiple time stamp formats are available for creating time stamps;
• determining a format of the retrieved single-word time stamp by processing at least one bit of the single-word time stamp;
• and
• selecting one of a limited time display format and fully qualified time display format for displaying time specified in the single-word time stamp based, at least in part, on the determined format of the single-word time stamp.

An apparatus, comprising:

• a memory;
• a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor is further configured to perform the steps of:
• retrieving a data file;
• retrieving, from a memory, a single-word time stamp associated with the data file, wherein the processor operates in an operating system environment in which multiple time stamp formats are available for creating time stamps;
• determining a format of the retrieved single-word time stamp by processing at least one bit of the single-word time stamp;
• and
• selecting one of a limited time display format and fully qualified time display format for displaying time specified in the single-word time stamp based, at least in part, on the determined format of the single-word time stamp.