How to retrieve timestamp

Can any one please tell me how to retrieve values from timestamp column.
I am getting 1900-01-01 00:02:09.457. It is not storing current timestamp when record is created or modified.
Is there anything I need to set it up.
thanksCan any one please tell me how to retrieve values from timestamp column.
I am getting 1900-01-01 00:02:09.457. It is not storing current timestamp when record is created or modified.

Is there anything I need to set it up.

thanks

I don't believe the timestamp datatype actually contains a Date/Time, but instead, a unique binary number which represents an update to the row.

timestamp is a data type that exposes automatically generated binary numbers, which are guaranteed to be unique within a database. timestamp is used typically as a mechanism for version-stamping table rows. The storage size is 8 bytes.

If you need a field to hold date/time information, use the datetime or smalldatetime datatypes.|||If you need a field to hold date/time information, use the datetime or smalldatetime datatypes.
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System is in production now. Even though I create a column with datetime the program will not update the column. So I thought setting up a column which is being automatically updated.

I like to delete some records based on the date last modified.

Thanks|||This is right out of the SQL Server help guide:

timestamp
Is used to indicate the sequence of SQL Server activity on a row, represented as an increasing number in a binary format. As a row is modified in a table, the timestamp is updated with the current database timestamp value obtained from the @.@.DBTS function. timestamp data is not related to the date and time of an insert or change to data. To automatically record times that data modifications take place in a table, use either a datetime or smalldatetime data type to record the events and triggers.

You'll never get actual date/time values from the timestamp datatype. You're going to have to change something if you want to know exactly when a row was last touched.