What is JSON?
"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. ... 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." – http://json.org
In JSON, an object is an unordered set of name/value pairs with a restricted set of values: string, number, object, array, true, false, null. An object contains an array of values. Because one of the supported value types is object, JSON supports nested object definitions.
In JavaScript, JSON can be converted to and from a JavaScript variable with a single procedure call.
JSON and XML
"Unfortunately, XML is not well suited to data-interchange, much as a wrench is not well-suited to driving nails. It carries a lot of baggage, and it doesn't match the data model of most programming languages. When most programmers saw XML for the first time, they were shocked at how ugly and inefficient it was. It turns out that that first reaction was the correct one. There is another text notation that has all of the advantages of XML, but is much better suited to data-interchange. That notation is JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)." – http://json.org/xml.html
