What is JSON? Is it better than XML?
In the words of Douglas Crockford, one of JSON developers, “JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight data-interchange format. It is easy for humans to read and write. It is easy for machines to parse and generate.”
Even though JSON is originated from JavaScript, it’s natively (or via libraries) supported by major programming languages. JSON has grown to be so popular on the web. Currently, almost all public web services and some private web services use it. It’s most commonly used for information exchange between web servers and clients. Due to its popularity, many databases including MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, and Neo4j support JSON.
Now, let’s dive in and look at the JSON structure, why you should use it, its benefits over XML, drawbacks, and when to use it.
JSON file structure
Without getting into so much of the tech jargon, JSON data is stored in plain map-like text files (to keep up with their human-readable code) that are easily opened and studied. Making JSON interoperable as any language can process and read plain texts. As it’s text-based, it’s lighter making it easy and faster to send data on the web. The web services that display and send a lot of data, JSON is their ideal choice.
The main alternative to JSON is XML which uses a tag structure making it a bit more complex. It is mainly used for data interchange as every programing language has an XML parser. So many schemas can validate XML making it ideal for e-commerce e.g. Online stores, banking, industrial system integrations, etc.
However, it’s important to note that XML is not a programming language but a markup language hence data is stored in tree structures. Resulting in bulky and slower data transmission.
If you want to convert XML to a JavaScript object, you’ll have hundreds of code lines to work through not forgetting customization. On the other hand, it only takes a single code line to convert JSON to a JavaScript object.
On the brighter side, you can easily convert XML to JSON with Filestar and make your work easier. Also, you can convert JSON to XML with the same ease.
Why use JSON
· The JavaScript engine makes JSON have faster parsing coupled with its small size it facilitates faster data transfer.
· Also, JSON doesn’t have room for redundant or empty data tags keeping it simple, easy to read, and compact. However, it supports arrays, Boolean, numbers, null, strings, and primitive objects.
· JSON supports both ASCII and UTF encoding.
· JSON provides safer parsing at all times except with JSONP while XML is prone to attacks.
· Combining JSON and AJAX gives data processing dynamite speed.
JSON limitations
While JSON gives you data flexibility that works with numerous programming languages, we can’t overlook some of its drawbacks.
1. It lacks schema which is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, you have the freedom to represent data in whichever form you want. On the other, accidentally creating data misshapen is super easy.
2. Only one data type is allowed i.e. IEEE-754 double-precision. I know that’s too much tech jargon but in simple words, it’s impossible for you to use the available nuanced and diverse number types on numerous programming languages.
3. Also, you can’t add comments on fields that need additional documentation creating room for misunderstanding.
4. Yes, JSON is less verbose than XML but for huge data volumes or special data interchange purposes, it would be better if you used a more efficient data format.
Best used:
Whenever you are writing a program that communicates with a mobile application or a browser use JSON. XML will be an obsolete choice as it’s a front-end red flag and doesn’t work well with mobile talent that you want to capture.
For a server to server communication, JSON might come in handy but serialization framework such as Apache Thrift and Avro works better.
While it’s supported with all databases, when it comes to relational databases the rule of thumb is to avoid it if possible. This is because relational databases use structured data so you may encounter performance issues when querying inside JSON objects.
To summarize
In a nutshell, it’s the de-facto format for transmitting data between browsers, web servers, and mobile apps. Thanks to its flexibility and simplicity, it’s easy to read, understand, and manipulate. You don’t need to fret about validation and semantics with JSON.