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The dat files generated from X application. The dat file located in same folder where paradox database files located. I already try softwares to read dat files but unsuccessful. HxD read the dat file in binary form

I have use DBISAM software. It ask for password to read the file. Then, I have use utf-8 tool.I choose to convert from ANSI to UTF-8. But, it remove all the content and left sssddd@ in the file. sssddd@ present in introduction of dat file.

The java code I try run to read dat file:

package readdat;

import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
import java.io.FileReader;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.UnsupportedEncodingException;
public class Readdat {
public static void main(String[] args) throws FileNotFoundException,   
UnsupportedEncodingException, IOException {
FileReader file = new FileReader(new File("D:\\7.dat"));

BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader(file);
String temp = br.readLine();
while (temp != null) {
temp = br.readLine();
System.out.println(temp);
}}}

The output also not in a unreadable format:

�£<úî
?Ãâ€â€��®;Ãà 
¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚¡JM=)\=]!?Æ’LÉ;ÃÃâ 
€šÃ‚¹ÃƒÆ’·â„¢=®Ga=sÃ…Ãâ
€šÃ‚½C?ý'¾;¡JÃÆâ
€™ÃƒÂ¯Ã‚¿Â½=�Âu=dZR?ÃÃâ
€šÃ‚¾ÃƒÂ¯Ã‚¿Â½ÃƒÂ¡;Â¥N

When I use text encode converter to convert to utf-8, the dat file could not be converted. It says the content is in binary data and not text data. This is part of content of dat file. Please help me to read this dat file. 

£<,?síÂ;ù÷™=Âõ<wA?5)¼;M¡³=ìQ8=M@W?êMó;¡JÍ=Âu=i´v?mUÐ;öóæ=¸…=±ƒƒ?áŠè;¥N >{®="”?§b<ù÷>=
×=!©?¥Ï<M¡3>®Gá=h±?æØþ;¡JM>   >TG¾?¤
<õóf>áz>MÓ?C¬ <¥N€>
×#>’}ä?b‰þ;ù÷™>333>9Šõ?Ç6<£Ì¦>\B>ãD@çã
<M¡³>…ëQ>¹ª @õ<÷uÀ>=
W>Ëì
@¥ù<KÚ>fff>-S@ëí<õóæ>×£p>x¸@¸º<ŸÈó>Ház>¢û@§<ú¸?¸…>Æ'@Ol!<O#
?®‡>|Ã+@»<ù÷?…ë‘>Ùj6@r} <£Ì&?=
—>Ž®:@çø<<¢:?®G¡>ëUE@Ó6=<LàF?ff¦>™I@›ã3< ‰`?×£°>EDT@öš:<õóf?33³>?…X@_M=<ŸÈs?
prem
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1 Answers1

1

This is the fourth time you have asked the same question. The reason you are not seeing any responses is that no one can help you. The ".DAT" file extension is widely used by software designers for custom data formats bound to their particular applications, especially when there is no obvious reason to call it anything else. Your file could have been produced by any one of dozens if not hundreds of programs.

The fact that it appears in a BDE database directory tells you very little. It could be the product of a Paradox application that needed something beyond the standard table storage, or it could be a file that was being imported to .db tables, or it could be the result of a custom export process, or it could be something else entirely.

You must find out where the file came from. Who wants you to read this file? Where did he get it? Why does he need it? You'll accomplish a lot more by investigating the provenance of the file than by examining its contents.

A text editor such as Notepad is a very poor tool for analyzing a file of unknown structure. You need a good Hex editor to even look at it. Bless, wxHexeditor, and DHEX are all recommended.

You should be aware, though, that even if you think you have found the meaning of the data by direct examination, you can't ever be certain. You could be misinterpreting the file in any of a great number of ways. You can't even be sure that your .dat file is correct! It could be left over from a failed early attempt, and never intended to be left in the .BDE directory at all.

If you don't know what software produced the file, and you can't discover its structure by internal analysis, then even a StackOverflow member with a 76.1K rep won't be able to read it.

A. I. Breveleri
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