JSON

Overview

JSON represents objects, arrays, strings, numbers, and booleans in a compact text format standardized by RFC 8259. It is the default payload format for web APIs and configuration because every modern language and browser can parse it.

Typical use cases

• Web APIs
• Configuration
• Data exchange
• Application state

Advantages

• Native parsing in every modern language and browser
• Compact and human-readable structure
• Default payload format for web APIs and configuration

Disadvantages

• No comments
• No native schema enforcement
• Large payloads are verbose

How to open or use it

Open JSON files in any text editor, browser, code editor, or API tool. JSON viewers, jq, and programming runtimes all parse the format directly.