section_path: Alternatives
section_name: Alternatives
paragraph_text: Alternatives
  
  Unix time is not the only standard for time that counts away from an epoch. On Windows, the FILETIME type stores time as a count of 100-nanosecond intervals that have elapsed since 0:00 GMT on 1 January 1601. Windows epoch time is used to store timestamps for files and in protocols such as the Active Directory Time Service and Server Message Block.
  
  The Network Time Protocol used to coordinate time between computers uses an epoch of 1 January 1900, counted in an unsigned 32-bit integer for seconds and another unsigned 32-bit integer for fractional seconds, which rolls over every 2 32 seconds (about once every 136 years).
  
  Many applications and programming languages provide methods for storing time with an explicit timezone. There are also a number of time format standards which exist to be readable by both humans and computers, such as ISO 8601.