{"id":28625,"date":"2022-03-12T13:44:21","date_gmt":"2022-03-12T13:44:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/?p=28625"},"modified":"2022-12-23T06:47:51","modified_gmt":"2022-12-23T06:47:51","slug":"what-is-json-and-how-it-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/what-is-json-and-how-it-works\/","title":{"rendered":"What is JSON and How it works?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Introduction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In a world inundated with data, it is becoming more important to know how to work with a variety of data. As programmers, we need to be able to transfer our populated data structures from any language we choose to a format that is recognizable and readable by other languages and platforms. Fortunately for us, there exists such a data-exchange format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is JSON?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

JSON, or JavaScript Object Notation, is a popular, language-independent, standard format for storing and exchanging data. Adopted by\u00a0ECMA International, an industry association founded in 1961 to standardize information and communication systems,\u00a0Json\u00a0has become the de facto standard that facilitates storing and sending data between all programming languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advantages of JSON<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

JSON is easy to learn and simple to read and understand. Plus, its format is text-only, so it can be easily sent across servers. In fact, web applications prefer JSON over XML as it is faster and easier to parse. Some other benefits of JSON are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Fast and efficient<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The syntax of JSON is quite simple and self-describing at the same time. Even the applications that don\u2019t know which type of data to expect can interpret JSON. Actually, its syntax is inspired by JavaScript greatly, thus the similarity. But it is still independent and can be used separately. The syntax is quite straightforward, too. The data is in the key\/value pair, where a colon separates the field name and value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, JSON is lightweight and compact. Therefore, the same data in JSON will be almost two-thirds of the XML. This is to say, using only JSON, you can perform the same functions as XML with fewer characters. The obvious advantage of this is that it results in faster execution. Overall, this makes JSON quick and efficient in performing functions. The other benefit of uncomplicated syntax is that it simplifies data access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Responsive<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

JSON is an easy-to-parse data format. You don\u2019t need any additional code for parsing, either. The perk of JSON server-side parsing is that it increases responsiveness. That way, the clients can get faster responses to their queries. For this reason, JSON is widely adopted as a standard data exchange format. Other than this, if you are working with an object-oriented system, JSON can be your go-to as it can be easily mapped. The reason for easy mapping is that it is data-oriented, whereas its counterpart XML is document-oriented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Key\/Value pair approach<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The JSON object is rendered in curly brackets, with the key\/value pairs inside the space. The key, as well as value, are wrapped in double quotation marks (\u201d \u201c). They are separated by a colon (:) and commas (,), i.e., those characters divide these pairs. The key\/value approach utilized by JSON makes it a simple data format. It also streamlines write and read operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Data sharing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Out of several functions of JSON, the notable one is sharing of data. It is used to establish a connection between front-end and back-end languages for sharing data. Firstly, the front-end language is converted to JSON text, which is known as serialization. Then, the JSON text is converted to programming data, which is known as deserialization. The process of serialization and deserialization is quite fast in JSON, eventually promoting sharing of structured data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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