title: What are the WCF Service Reference .datasource files?
body: <p>What are the .datasource files that are automatically generated by "Create Service Reference" in Visual Studio?  The comment in the file is this:</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>This file is automatically generated
    by Visual Studio .Net. It is 
    used to store generic object data source configuration information.<br>
    Renaming the file extension or editing the content of this file may<br>
    cause the file to be unrecognizable by the program.</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>However, it sounds like these files are optional, so I'm wondering what they are used for.  I'm also wondering if it is truly safe to delete them, since they often cause path length problems on XP.</p>
  
  <p><a href="http://www.eggheadcafe.com/conversation.aspx?messageid=34104031&amp;threadid=34104026" rel="noreferrer">http://www.eggheadcafe.com/conversation.aspx?messageid=34104031&amp;threadid=34104026</a></p>
  
  <p>Can anyone point me to some official MS documentation on these files?</p>