Quote:
Originally Posted by dunhill
How could the original publication date of a book be documented if it is from the period before Christ.
Example: Aesop's Fables
The authorship of Aesop dates back to the 5th or 6th centuries BC.
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The earliest date calibre can represent is 0101-01-02.
One way to handle BC/AD years is with an integer. Use negative numbers for BC. It is up to you to avoid using zero. If you do arithmetic you need to account for the extra year, e.g., that the difference between 1 AD (1) and 1 BC (-1) is 1.
You could have accurate recent dates if you use 2 columns, a date column for values that calibre can represent and an integer column for years < 0101. A template in a composite column could display the accurate date if it is defined, formatted as you wish. If it is undefined then use the integer column to display the early AD/BC years possibly decorated with with the letters. Example: the year -4 could display as 4 BC.