A P file is a source code file written in the Pascal programming language. It contains Pascal source code that can be edited with a Pascal development program or a basic text editor. P files can be compiled into executable programs using a Pascal compiler such as Turbo Pascal.

Pascal was originally developed in the late 1960s and published in 1970 by Niklaus Wirth. It is a procedural language that has led to several different variants such as Super Pascal and Pascal Sol. Object Pascal is also an extension of Pascal that was developed in 1985 and designed for object-oriented programming at Apple Computer. P files are one of several files used to store Pascal source code, along with the more common .PAS file.

A P file is a pickle file created by pickle, a Python module used for converting Python objects to a byte representation for storage on disk or transfer over a network. It allows for objects to be conveniently stored or transmitted without first having to convert the data to another format. P files can be "unpickled" and loaded back into program memory during runtime.

You will most likely only encounter Python pickle P files if you use the pickle module to convert a Python object hierarchy into a byte stream. This may also be referred to as "serialization." The Python scripting language is typically used for programming web applications and dynamic web content. NOTE: P files may also be saved as .PICKLE files.

A PFILE file is a file protected with Microsoft Rights Management (RMS), an application used to protect a user's digital information. It contains a file, such as a .VSDX or .DOC file, that has been encrypted with RMS. PFILE files are generically protected whereas .PPDF, PTXT, and PJPG files are protected as read-only.

If you find a PFILE file on your computer or you receive a PFILE file as an email attachment you must install RMS to open the file. When RMS is installed you can simply double-click the file to open it. You will be prompted to confirm that you are authorized to view the file with a username and password. NOTE: Microsoft Rights Management is also known as Azure Information Protection.