Subj : FidoGazette Vol 11 no 37 Page: 4
To   : All
From : Janis Kracht
Date : Wed Sep 13 2017 16:06:06

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    What is JSON?
    JavaScript Object Notation explained.

    JSON has eclipsed XML as the preferred data interchange format
    for web applications and web services.  HereCÇÖs why.

    By Jonathan Freeman


    JavaScript Object Notation is a schema-less, text-based
    representation of structured data that is based on key-value
    pairs and ordered lists.  Although JSON is derived from
    JavaScript, it is supported either natively or through libraries
    in most major programming languages.  JSON is commonly, but not
    exclusively, used to exchange information between web clients
    and web servers.

    Over the last 15 years, JSON has become ubiquitous on the web.
    Today it is the format of choice for almost every publicly
    available web service, and it is frequently used for private web
    services as well.

    The popularity of JSON has also resulted in native JSON support
    by many databases.  Relational databases like PostgreSQL and
    MySQL now ship with native support for storing and querying JSON
    data.  NoSQL databases like MongoDB and Neo4j also support JSON,
    though MongoDB uses a slightly modified, binary version of JSON
    behind the scenes.

    Below weCÇÖll take a quick look at JSON and discuss where it came
    from, its advantages over XML, its drawbacks, when you should
    use it, and when you should consider alternatives.  LetCÇÖs start
    with an example:

    {
      "firstName": "Jonathan",
      "lastName": "Freeman",
      "loginCount": 4,
      "isWriter": true,
      "worksWith": ["Spantree Technology Group", "InfoWorld"],
      "pets": [
        {
          "name": "Lilly",
          "type": "Raccoon"
        }
      ]
    }

    The structure above clearly defines some attributes of a person.
    It includes a first and last name, the number of times the
    person has logged in, whether this person is a writer, a list of
    companies the person works with, and a list of the personCÇÖs pets
    (only one, in this case).  A structure like the one above may be
    passed from a server to a web browser or a mobile application,
    which will then perform some action such as displaying the data
    or saving it for later reference.

    JSON is a generic data format with a minimal number of value
    types: strings, numbers, booleans, lists, objects, and null.
    Although the notation is a subset of JavaScript, these types are
    represented in all common programming languages, making JSON a
    good candidate to transmit data across language gaps.

    See more of this article:

    https://www.infoworld.com/article/3222851/javascript/what-is-
    json-javascript-object-notation-explained.html [wraps]


    FIDOGAZETTE  Vol 11 No 37    Page  4         September 13, 2017


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