Since XML support was introduced in SQL Server 2005, the native XML data type has been implemented as well. SQL Server 2016 introduces built-in support for JSON but unlike XML, there is no native JSON data type. Here are the reasons that the Microsoft team gave for not introducing a new data type:
- Migration: Prior to SQL Server 2016, developers already had to deal with JSON data.
- Cross-feature compatibility: The data type nvarchar is supported in all SQL Server components, so JSON will also be supported everywhere (memory-optimized tables, temporal tables, and Row-Level Security).
- Client-side support: Even if a new data type were introduced, most of the client tools would still represent it outside SQL Server ...
