my 'date' format is [yys] where 's' is the season. for instance, 06F would be Fall of 2006. it's based on academic years, so there's no 'summer' to conflict with 'spring'.
In which case you need 4 chars to store that string, or you won't have enough space for the zero-termination character.
Compilers can produce warnings - make the compiler programmers happy: Use them!
Please don't PM me for help - and no, I don't do help over instant messengers.