JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)

Although the concept of portable data is quite powerful, and XML is a widely accepted standard in the exchange of data, there are alternatives. Striving for an industry standard, a noble pursuit, is extremely difficult in an industry that is constantly innovating and changing. For example, many developers see advantages of strongly typed, compiled languages as too hard to ignore, whereas others appreciate the flexibility of languages, such as Perl, which are more loosely typed. The same goes for the discussion on data.

Although XML is much more structured, especially when using a DTD, technologies such as the JavaScript Object Notation, or JSON, fall into the category of “more flexible.” The w3schools site ( ...

Get The Object-Oriented Thought Process, Fourth Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.