PYO File Documentation

Overview

Feature Value
File Extension .pyo
Description Python Optimized code file, contains bytecode compiled from a Python script optimized at a level
MIME Type application/x-python-code
Optimization Level Higher than standard bytecode, includes removal of assert statements
Created by Python compiler with optimization flags
Typical Usage Deployment of Python applications, improving load time and performance
Binary Format Yes
Readable by Python interpreter with compatible version
Platform Platform independent
Execution Directly executable by Python runtime, without the need for source code
Creation Method Compilation of a .py file with optimization flags, typically using tools like compileall
Associated Tools Python interpreter, compileall module
Version Compatibility Must match the Python interpreter's version for execution
Security Provides a level of code obfuscation, but not secure against skilled reverse engineering
Advantages Faster load times than .py files, some level of source code protection
Disadvantages Not human-readable, version compatibility issues, not a security measure
Common Misunderstanding Often mistaken for fully compiled programs; actually bytecode for the Python interpreter
Deprecated As of Python 3.5, replaced with Python File Archives (.pyc files in __pycache__ directories)
Recovery Not directly reversible to the original .py source code, but can be disassembled
Storage Efficiency More storage efficient than .py source code due to compilation and optimization
Execution Efficiency Executes faster than non-optimized bytecode due to optimizations