JSONnotation

JSONnotation, or JSON notation, is a lightweight data-interchange format. It is easy for humans to read and write and easy for machines to parse and generate. JSON is based on a subset of the JavaScript Programming Language, Standard ECMA-262 3rd Edition - December 1999. JSON is a text format that is language-independent. However, it uses conventions that are familiar to programmers of the C family of languages, including C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Perl, Python, and many others. These properties make JSON an ideal data-interchange format.

The JSON format is built on two structures: a collection of name/value pairs, and an ordered list of values. In many languages, this is realized as a string, object, ordered list, array, number, or a literal value. These data structures are universal to programming languages. Virtually all modern programming languages provide built-in structures or libraries to parse JSON data.

A JSON object is an unordered set of name/value pairs. An object begins with the left brace { and ends with the right brace }. Each name is followed by a colon : and the name/value pairs are separated by commas ,. The names are strings, and the values can be strings, numbers, booleans, null, objects, or arrays.

A JSON array is an ordered list of values. An array begins with the left bracket [ and ends with the right bracket ]. Values are separated by commas ,. The values can be strings, numbers, booleans, null, objects, or arrays.

JSON notation is widely used for transmitting data between a server and a web application, as an alternative to XML. It is also used for configuration files and for storing data. Its simplicity and readability have made it a popular choice for web developers and for many other applications.