jsonformatted

JSONformatted is an informal descriptor for data encoded using JSON, the JavaScript Object Notation data-interchange format. It denotes content that has been serialized into JSON for storage, transmission, or interoperation between software components. In JSONformatted data, information is organized as hierarchical structures of objects and arrays, with key-value pairs where keys are strings and values can be strings, numbers, booleans, null, objects, or arrays. For example: {"name":"Example","active":true,"tags":["sample","json"]}.

JSONformatted data uses a restricted syntax: objects are enclosed in braces, arrays in brackets, strings in double quotes, and values can be strings, numbers, booleans, null, objects, or arrays. It is human-readable and language-agnostic, with broad support across programming languages and platforms.

Common uses include API responses, configuration files, data export, and inter-service communication. Its lightweight, text-based structure makes it suitable for transmitting structured data over networks and for storing simple configuration and state information.

Standards and tooling: the authoritative specification is RFC 8259, with ECMA-404 providing a language-independent description of the JSON grammar. JSON is a subset of JavaScript but is designed to be language-neutral. Validation and tooling are supported via libraries in many languages and through schemas such as JSON Schema.

Limitations and variants: standard JSON does not support comments, native date types, or binary data without encoding. Trailing commas are invalid. For streaming or line-delimited data, formats like JSON Lines (NDJSON) are common. Extensions like JSON5 relax some restrictions (e.g., comments), but they are not part of the official standard.