comparing timestamps

Hello,
        I need to identify the five most recent objects by their timestamp
and then display them in order from newest to oldest.

        For example the value for @CreationDate is 2003-02-12 11:10:44
        Is there a common routine for parsing this into a number that can be
compared with other numbers and then sorted?
And while we're at it, a common routine for comparing and sorting?

Thanks,

Walter Crockett


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