What is JSON?
JSON is a lightweight, text-based data format designed for storing and exchanging information between systems. It's both human-readable and machine-parsable, making it ideal for web applications, APIs, and configuration files.
Key Characteristics:
Simple Structure: Uses key-value pairs and arrays to organize data
Language Independent: Despite its name, JSON works with virtually any programming language
Compact: More efficient than XML, requiring less storage space and bandwidth
Easy to Parse: Modern programming languages have built-in support for reading and writing JSON
JSON Structure Example
Here's an example showing a library's book collection:
{
"library": {
"name": "City Central Library",
"books": [
{
"id": "101",
"title": "To Kill a Mockingbird",
"author": "Harper Lee",
"year": 1960,
"available": true,
"genres": ["Fiction", "Classic", "Drama"]
},
{
"id": "102",
"title": "1984",
"author": "George Orwell",
"year": 1949,
"available": false,
"genres": ["Dystopian", "Political Fiction"]
},
{
"id": "103",
"title": "The Great Gatsby",
"author": "F. Scott Fitzgerald",
"year": 1925,
"available": true,
"genres": ["Fiction", "Classic"]
}
]
}
}
Structure Breakdown
Objects: Wrapped in curly braces {}, contain key-value pairs
Arrays: Wrapped in square brackets [], contain ordered lists of values
Data Types: Supports strings, numbers, booleans, arrays, objects, and null
Keys: Always strings (in quotes)
Values: Can be any valid JSON data type
This format makes it incredibly easy to access specific data programmatically while remaining readable for developers debugging or reviewing the data structure.
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