Web Programming TutorialsJSON Fundamentals

JSON Fundamentals

In the last session we had an introduction to XML Fundamentals. Like XML, JSON is also used to store a structured data. So today we will have an introduction to JSON Fundamentals.

  • What is JSON?
    • JSON stands for Javascript Object Notation.
    • It is a lightweight data interchange format.
    • It is easy for humans to read and write.
    • It is a text based open standard, designed for human readable data. It is readable only if it is formatted properly.
    • It uses name/value pairs to store data.
    • It has same value types as javascript.
    • It works like XML and is an alternative to XML.
    • It is not possible to decide which one is better, XML or JSON; because there are certain areas where XML is a better choice and certain other areas where JSON is a better choice.

    Let’s understand the syntax of JSON in this JSON Fundamentals tutorial.

  • JSON Syntax
    • In JSON all data is formatted in name/value pairs.
    • Example of a name/value pair is as shown below:
    • “firstname” : “Brad”

    • In the above example : firstname is the name, then we have a colon and then the value Brad. The name and value must be enclosed in the double quotes.
    • If you have more data i.e. more than one name/value pairs, they are separated using comma. Eg: “firstname” : “Brad” , “lastname” : “Dixon”.
    • JSON objects are contained in curly braces ({}).
    • JSON arrays are contained in brackets ([]).
    • JSON files have a .json extension.
    • The MIME type is “application/json”.
  • JSON Object
    • Here, we have shown an example of JSON Object for a user with 3 properties:
    • {
      	“firstName” : “Brad” ,
      	“lastName” :  “Traversy” ,
      	“email”  : “[email protected]”
      }
    • We know that JSON objects are contained in curly braces, so we have the object in curly braces in the above example.
    • The object has 3 name/value pairs which are its properties separated by comma.
  • JSON Array
    • An example of array is shown below:
    • {
      	“pets” : [
      			   {“name” : “jack” , “animal” : “dog”},
      			   {“name” : “john” , “animal” : “cat”},
      			   {“name” : “joe” , “animal” : “fish”}
                   ]
      }
      
    • We have shown an array named “pets”, which holds 3 JSON objects.
    • Each object is a record of a pet with a name and the type of animal it is.
  • XML vs. JSON
    • JSON:
      • JSON is more lightweight than XML.
      • It is more simple.
      • Since JSON is lightweight, it is more faster than XML.
      • It is a little easier to read.
      • JSON is native to javascript.
    • XML:
      • XML is more extensible.
      • It is more flixible.
      • It is more complicated compared to JSON.
      • It offers more compatibility between systems.

      JSON is generally preffered over XML on most of the occasions.

This was all about JSON Fundamentals.

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