P4 (programming language)

P4
Paradigmcompiled, domain-specific, imperative
DeveloperOpen Networking Foundation
First appeared2013; 11 years ago (2013)
Stable release
version 1.2.2[1] / May 2021; 3 years ago (2021-05)
LicenseApache-style
Filename extensions.p4
Websitep4.org

P4 is a programming language for controlling packet forwarding planes in networking devices, such as routers and switches. In contrast to a general purpose language such as C or Python, P4 is a domain-specific language with a number of constructs optimized for network data forwarding. P4 is distributed as open-source, permissively licensed code, and is maintained by the P4 Project (formerly the P4 Language Consortium), a not-for-profit organization hosted by the Open Networking Foundation.

  1. ^ "P4 Language and Related Specifications". Retrieved 7 June 2022.