what is a DAT file Exactly?

[Astalavista]

Can someone explain what is a dat file.

I got a sfx file with a dat inside that automatically does the setup of a program.

how does this work?

[Tsunami]

http://www.filext.com/detaillist.php?extdetail=dat

Can be just about anything: text, graphic, or general binary data. There is no specific structure for a .DAT file. You can use an editor like EditPad Pro Notepad to look inside a .DAT file and possible determine its contents and relationship with a program. If you are looking for information on the file INDEX.DAT please see the FAQ.

[Astalavista]

sorry i went there about 4 hours ago. and i can find anything to open the dat file. nor does it explain how to create or open an dat file.

[Tsunami]

Like the site says, there is no basic structure for a DAT file. Meaning it can be anything: audio, video, a picture, text, etc. They just renamed it to .dat so you can't recognize it. The only way you might recognize it is by opening it in Notepad, and see if you find something you recognize.

[Astalavista]

so u mean to say if i have a mp3 file i can name it mp3.dat

and it will work? i dont think so.

or if i hv a winrar sfx winrar.dat it will autoextract and install my prog?

i dont think so.

[f0rbez]

Yeah it'll still play. The only thing that changes is the extension and the os can't recognize it and launch the right program. But if you loaded your mp3.dat into winamp it would play. And if you loaded your winrar.dat into winrar it would open.

[MHz]

You can see a Dat file in a VCD. This Dat file contains the whole movie.

A Dat file is just a data file given the .dat extension. Data for whatever as compiled for it's purpose.

Depending what it is, you can use notepad or hex editor to read it.