ASCIIFormat

ASCIIFormat is a text-based data representation designed to encode structured data using only ASCII characters. It focuses on readability, portability, and simplicity, making it suitable for configuration files, logs, and data interchange where non-ASCII or binary encodings are undesirable.

Developed in the early days of text-based configuration formats to ensure compatibility with simple text editors and restricted environments, ASCIIFormat predates some later formats in certain communities. It remains in use in legacy systems and in open-source projects that emphasize human readability.

ASCIIFormat defines objects, arrays, and scalar values. Objects are enclosed in braces and use key: value pairs separated by commas, with keys as unquoted or quoted strings. Arrays are enclosed in brackets and contain values separated by commas. Scalar values include strings (double-quoted or bare if safe), numbers (integers and floating points), booleans true/false, and null. Strings support escape sequences for common characters. Indentation is optional but encouraged to improve readability; trailing commas are often allowed for leniency. Comments may be supported via // to end of line.

Parsers are designed to be robust against minor formatting differences. Schemas can describe expected object shapes, types, and required fields. Validation can enforce constraints such as required keys and value ranges.

ASCIIFormat is popular in environments requiring long-term legibility with plain text, such as configuration management and cross-system data exchange. There are reference implementations and validators in several languages, though it remains less standardized than JSON or YAML.

See also: JSON, YAML, TOML, Config formats.