Permanlinks - do they affect SEO or SERPS at all?

[BrittMalka]

I was recently working on a site that had "index.php/date/post-title" as a permalink.

Why would index.php be a part of that?

I've stumbled upon sites with a permalink like that, too, and I was told it was due to limitations at the webhost.

Looks awkward in my opinion.