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0e1f616
(Get the code!)
I suggest that the solution in all cases (not locale specific) is to switch to an easily readable form which cannot be misinterpreted. This means
* Each field must be unique
Therefore days, months and years must be represented differently such as 15 Dec 2003 or 15th Dec 03 or 15 Dec '03. I propose the big endian forms, starting with the year:
In this format the most significant data item is written before lesser data items i.e. year before month before day. This form is standard in Asian countries, Hungary and Sweden. It is consistent with the big endianness of the western decimal numbering system, which progresses from the highest to the lowest order magnitude. That is, using this format alphabet orderings and chronological orderings are identical. For example:
* 2003 Nov. 16
This helps people understand the ISO 8601 international standard 2003-11-16. It is also extended through the universal big-endian format clock time: 2003 Nov. 16, 18h 14m 12s, or 2003/11/16/18:14:12 or 2003-11-
(Some text adapted from wikipedia)