.DCF File Extension

Media file encoded with DRM (Digital Rights Management) copy-protection; used by some cell phones for saving protected ringtones, pictures, videos, and other media clips; similar to a .DM file, but the rights object, which allows the encrypted data to be played back, is contained in a separate file.

Because DCF files are saved in a protected or "locked" format, they can typically only be opened using an authorized DRM-compatible cell phone.

Disk image created with Disk Copy Fast, a disk copying program for DOS created by Chang Ping Lee in the 1990s; used for duplicating floppy disks; supports DMF, XDF, FDFORMAT, 800KB, and Mac formats.

Disk Copy Plus, the commercial version of Disk Copy Fast, also reads DCF files.

Standard data sharing format used by PriMus-DCF, a program for creating and publishing price lists, estimates, and bills of quantities; contains all the necessary data in a single compressed file.

File encrypted by Safetica Free, a program used for securely encrypting important data; may incorporate encryption algorithms such as Blowfish, Twofish, CAST5, CAST6, MARS, RC5, RC6, Rijndael (AES), and Serpent; may be password protected.

NOTE: Safetica Free was formerly called DisCryptor.

A DCF file is a component file used by Dyalog, an APL-based development environment and programming language. It contains an APL array. DCF files are used in Dyalog applications and referenced by Dyalog File Server.

APL (which stands for A Programming Language) is a programming language that developer Kenneth Iverson developed in the 1960s. It is a symbol-based language that allows developers to concisely implement functions that create and manipulate multidimensional arrays.

While APL itself was last updated in February 2001, some developers, especially those working in the financial, insurance, and data science industries, still develop APL-based applications. Dyalog is an implementation of APL that allows developers to create, edit, and manage corporate APL-based applications.

Dyalog applications and the Dyalog File Server frequently reference Dyalog component files, or DCF files. These files are plain text files that contain a Dyalog array. Dyalog applications and Dyalog File Server use DCF files to load array data when a user performs a function that relies on that array.

You can open a DCF file in Dyalog (cross-platform). If you do not have access to Dyalog, you can open a DCF file in any text editor to view the array it contains.