JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is an open-standard file format or data interchange format that uses human-readable text to transmit data objects consisting of attribute – value pairs and array data types (or any other serializable value). It is a very common data format, with a diverse range of applications, such as serving as replacement for XML in AJAX systems.

JSON is a language-independent data format. It was derived from JavaScript, but many modern programming languages include code to generate and parse JSON-format data. The official Internet media type for JSON is application/json. JSON file names use the extension .json .

Features of JSON

‭‬Easy to use – JSON API offers high-level facade, which helps you to simplify commonly used use-cases;

Performance – JSON is quite fast as it consumes very less memory space, which is especially suitable for large object graphs or systems;

Free tool – JSON library is open source and free to use.

Doesn’t require to create mapping – Jackson API provides default mapping for many objects to be serialized;

Clean JSON – Creates clean, and compatible JSON result that is easy to read;

Dependency – JSON library does not require any other library for processing.

A JSON object contains data in the form of a key/value pair. The keys are strings and the values are the JSON types. Keys and values are separated by colon. Each entry (key/value pair) is separated by comma. The { (curly brace) represents the JSON object. Example of JSON is provided below.

Important benefits/ pros of using JSON:

• Provide support for all browsers
• Easy to read and write
• Straightforward syntax
• You can natively parse in JavaScript using eval() function
• Easy to create and manipulate
• Supported by all major JavaScript frameworks
• Supported by most backend technologies
• JSON is recognized natively by JavaScript
• It allows you to transmit and serialize structured data using a network connection
• You can use it with modern programming languages
• JSON is text which can be converted to any object of JavaScript into JSON and send this JSON to the server