Question

What is the JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) format?

Answer 1

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight data-interchange format. It is easy for humans to read and write. It is easy for machines to parse and generate. It is based on a subset of the JavaScript Programming Language, Standard ECMA-262 3rd Edition – December 1999. JSON is a text format that is completely language independent but 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 language.

Ref.: json.org

An object is an unordered set of name/value pairs. An object begins with { (left brace) and ends with } (right brace). Each name is followed by : (colon) and the name/value pairs are separated by , (comma).

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An array is an ordered collection of values. An array begins with [ (left bracket) and ends with ] (right bracket). Values are separated by , (comma).

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A value can be a string in double quotes, or a number, or true or false or null, or an object or an array. These structures can be nested.

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A string is a collection of zero or more Unicode characters, wrapped in double quotes, using backslash escapes. A character is represented as a single character string. A string is very much like a C or Java string.

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A number is very much like a C or Java number, except that the octal and hexadecimal formats are not used.
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Here is an example:

{     'menu': {         'id': 'file',         'value': 'File',         'popup': {             'menuitem': [{                 'onclick': 'CreateNewDoc()'             }, {                 'value': 'Open',                 'onclick': 'OpenDoc()'             }, {                 'value': 'Close',                 'onclick': 'CloseDoc()'             }]         }     } } 

And in XML the same thing would have been:

<menu id='file' value='File'>   <popup>     <menuitem value='New' onclick='CreateNewDoc()' />     <menuitem value='Open' onclick='OpenDoc()' />     <menuitem value='Close' onclick='CloseDoc()' />   </popup> </menu> 

Ref.: json.org

Hope you now get an idea of what is JSON.