What is JSON?

Description

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight data exchange format that is easy for humans to read and write, and easy for machines to parse and generate. It is based on a subset of the JavaScript programming language, but is completely language-independent. JSON is widely used for data exchange between a server and a web application, mobile applications, and for data storage.

1. JSON Structure: Simple and Clear

JSON is built on two basic structures:

1. A collection of "name/value" pairs: In many languages, this is implemented as an object, record, structure, dictionary, hash table, keyed list, or associative array. In JSON, this is represented by an object, denoted by curly braces {}.

   {
    "name": "Ivan",
    "age": 30,
    "city": "Kyiv"
   }

2. An ordered list of values: In most languages, this is implemented as an array, vector, list, or sequence. In JSON, this is represented by an array, denoted by square brackets [].

   [
    "apple",
    "banana",
    "orange"
   ]

Values can be strings, numbers, objects, arrays, boolean values (true/false) or null.

2. Advantages of using JSON

• Simplicity and readability: Unlike XML, JSON has a more concise syntax, which makes it easier to read and write for both humans and machines.
• Ease of parsing: Most programming languages have built-in functions for working with JSON, which greatly simplifies its processing.
• Broad support: JSON is supported by almost all modern programming languages and platforms.
• Efficiency: Due to its compactness, JSON files are usually smaller in size compared to XML, which speeds up data transfer.

3. JSON in action: Usage examples

JSON is an integral part of modern web development. Here are a few typical scenarios for its use:

• API (Application Programming Interface): Most RESTful APIs use JSON to send and receive data. When you use a mobile application or a website to get information (e.g., a weather forecast, stock prices), JSON is often used to transfer this data between the server and your device.
• Configuration files: Many programs use JSON to store configuration settings.
• Data storage in NoSQL databases: Some NoSQL databases, such as MongoDB, store data in a format very similar to JSON (BSON – binary JSON).
• AJAX requests: JSON is the main format for data exchange when using AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) to asynchronously load data on a web page without reloading it.

4. XML vs JSON: which is better?

XML is better suited for complex structures with attributes, while JSON is for lightweight REST APIs.

5. JSON and Excel: How to combine them?

Sometimes there is a need to convert data from a tabular format, for example, from Microsoft Excel, to JSON. This can be useful for importing data into web services or databases that work with JSON. Although Excel does not have a built-in function for direct export to JSON, there are third-party solutions.

One such useful tool is the custom Excel function TABLETOJSON(). This function allows you to easily convert data from an Excel table to a JSON string.