This article was originally posted on Answerbag.com through Demand Studios. However, the link for the article no longer works and I was able to access the information from the WaybackMachine. The link to the original article, which doesn’t work, is here. A link to the article on WaybackMachine is here.
A file with a .dat extension can be one of any number of file types, including but not limited to data, database, error messages, image, results, saved games, tables and many more. However, most files with the .dat extension are data files.
Data File
A data file contains information, whether it is text, images or other types of information, that is used to create or generate input or output in a program. It is a common data type used by many programs.
Associated Programs
There are many programs that make use of the .dat file extension, almost too many to name. Data files can contain saved files for a video game, lists within a project, database information and more.
Purpose
Data files hold information about the program or saved for a program. Their purpose is to be an information holder.
Windows Registry
This file extension is also part of many files in the Windows Registry, which is a part of the Windows Operating system.
Deletion
It is advised not to attempt deleting data files. Deletion of files can cause the program to not run correctly, may cause projects to lose data or, in some cases, may cause the program to not run at all due to a fatal exception error.
Source:
File-Extensions: Search string: “dat”