If the DAT file you're trying to open is text, you can convert the file into text in the Microsoft Excel program by first saving it as a CSV file.

CSV files are most commonly encountered in spreadsheets and databases. You can use a CSV file to move data between programs that aren't ordinarily able to exchange data.

Using the SSConverter class that we developed last week, which used the OORunner class from the week before that, this week we'll create a Python function that allows us to use spreadsheets as if they ...

If you need to convert that file from CSV to JSON, you can do that with the csvjson command like so: csvjson clients.csv > clients.json Csvkit has a couple of other handy tricks up its sleeve.