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JSON

JSON stands for JavaScript Object Notation. In JavaScript objects are simple containers with key-value pairs. The key is a simple string, whereas the value can be a string, a number, a function or another object.

The advantages of JSON are, that it is easier to read for humans (compared to e.g. XML), being less verbose while being identical easy to parse by a machine.

A simple JSON file looks like this:

{
    "id": 42
    "name": { "first": "Alexander", "last": "Kosik"}
    "programming_languages": [
        { "language": "C++" },
        { "language": "Python" },
        { "language": "Java" }    
    ]
}

JSON is nowadays a standard format for exchanging data over networks, like the web. But in the mean time JSON files are used in many use cases like:

• Application configuration files
• Logging
• APIs

Every modern programming language has support for JSON files.

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