DEV Community: Manoj Gowda

Why I Built TOON: A Better Data Format for APIs

Manoj Gowda — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 16:39:40 +0000

Introducing TOON — Typed Object Oriented Notation

JSON is everywhere.

It powers APIs, microservices, automation tools, and frontend apps.

But as applications scale, JSON becomes:

verbose

repetitive

bandwidth heavy

lacking type structure

That’s why I built TOON (Typed Object Oriented Notation) — a compact, typed, and developer-friendly alternative.

👉 npm: https://www.npmjs.com/package/toonkit

🧠 What is TOON?

TOON = Typed Object Oriented Notation

It combines:

✔ schema
✔ data
✔ types
✔ compact structure

Think of it as JSON + schema + compression + readability.

❌ The Problem with JSON

A typical API response:

{
"employees": [
{ "id": 1, "name": "Riya", "salary": 90000, "active": true },
{ "id": 2, "name": "John", "salary": 80000, "active": false }
]
}

Problems:

repeated keys increase payload size

no built-in typing

inefficient for large responses

✅ The TOON Solution
employees[2]{id:n,name:s,salary:n,active:b}:
1,Riya,90000,true
2,John,80000,false

✔ smaller payload
✔ typed schema
✔ readable structure
✔ faster parsing

🔄 Parsed Output
[
{ id: 1, name: "Riya", salary: 90000, active: true },
{ id: 2, name: "John", salary: 80000, active: false }
]
🧬 Supported Data Types
Code Type
n number
s string
b boolean
nl null
j JSON object
a array
⚡ Why Developers Like TOON
✅ Smaller Payload Size

Less bandwidth, faster APIs.

✅ Built-in Type Safety

Schema ensures consistent data.

✅ Multi-Resource Responses

Return multiple datasets in one response.

✅ Human Readable

Debug easily without extra tools.

✅ Frontend ⇄ Backend Symmetry

Same format everywhere.

📦 Install
npm install toonkit
🧩 Example Usage
Convert JSON → TOON
import { sendToon } from "toonkit";

const payload = sendToon({
employees: [{ id: 1, name: "Riya" }]
});
Convert TOON → JSON
import { receiveToon } from "toonkit";

const data = receiveToon(text);
🖥 Express Example
const express = require("express");
const { reqGetToon, resSendToon } = require("toonkit");

const app = express();
app.use(express.text());

app.post("/api", (req, res) => {
const data = reqGetToon(req);
resSendToon(res, data);
});
🧠 When TOON is Useful

✅ APIs returning multiple resources
✅ automation & bots
✅ low bandwidth environments
✅ Chrome extensions
✅ microservices
✅ real-time systems

🌐 Documentation

Full docs & playground:

👉 https://toonkit.manojgowda.in

💻 GitHub

https://github.com/ManojGowda89/toonkit

💬 Why I Built TOON

I wanted a data format that:

reduces payload size

simplifies API responses

provides typing without complexity

works seamlessly in JavaScript

TOON is my attempt to make data exchange simpler and more efficient.

🚀 Try TOON Today

👉 https://www.npmjs.com/package/toonkit

If you find it useful, I’d love your feedback and contributions.

Why a high-performance job queue is needed - mbqueue

Manoj Gowda — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 10:33:32 +0000

🚀 Why a High-Performance Job Queue Matters

Modern applications often handle thousands of tasks per second—emails, notifications, background jobs. Traditional queues struggle with memory efficiency, batch insertion, and distributed workloads.

That’s where mbqueue comes in: a lightweight, MongoDB-backed job queue for Node.js designed for speed, scalability, and simplicity.

✨ Key Highlights:

In-memory maps for fast caching & batching
Bulk insertion to MongoDB for high throughput
Supports parallel workers & distributed setups
Simple, scalable, robust

📦 Install: npm: mbqueue
📄 Docs & Examples: Check the npm page

💡 Perfect for Node.js apps needing high-volume, memory-efficient job processing.

#NodeJS #MongoDB #WebDevelopment #OpenSource #JobQueue #BackendDevelopment #HighPerformance #npm #DeveloperTools #Programming

A New Way of Setting Up an Express Server for Lazy Developers npm i mbfi

Manoj Gowda — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:08:20 +0000

mbfi is a utility package that streamlines the process of setting up an Express server with MongoDB and Mongoose, along with essential features like routing, validation, and logging. It simplifies common tasks, allowing you to focus more on building your application and less on boilerplate code. This package includes support for MongoDB connection, schema validation, logging via morgan, CORS handling, and basic routing.

Features
Express Server Setup: Simplifies the process of setting up an Express server.
MongoDB and Mongoose Integration: Easily connect to MongoDB using Mongoose and handle database operations.
Schema Validation: Use simple validation to define your Mongoose schemas.
CORS Support: Handles Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) to allow resources to be shared across different domains.
Logging with Morgan: Set up logging to track requests and monitor your server's activity.
Router Handling: Easily manage routes with multiple routers for your application.
Reusable Components: Helps reduce time in setting up basic server configurations, Mongoose models, and middleware.
Installation
Install the package via npm:

npm install mbfi
How to Use

https://www.npmjs.com/package/mbfi