JSON stands for JavaScript Object Notation, and it is a lightweight data interchange 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, and is often used as a format for sending data between web browsers and servers.
JSON data consists of key-value pairs, where the key is a string and the value can be a string, number, boolean, null, object, or array. The key-value pairs are separated by commas, and the entire data structure is enclosed in curly braces {}. Here is an example of a JSON object:
{
"name": "John Smith",
"age": 32,
"isStudent": false,
"hobbies": ["reading", "hiking", "playing music"],
"address": {
"street": "123 Main St",
"city": "Anytown",
"state": "CA",
"zip": "12345"
}
}
In this example, the keys are “name”, “age”, “isStudent”, “hobbies”, and “address”, and the corresponding values are a string, a number, a boolean, an array of strings, and an object with its own set of key-value pairs.
JSON has become a popular data format for web APIs, where it is used to send and receive data between servers and client applications. It is also used in many other contexts, including configuration files, data storage, and messaging systems. Its popularity is due to its simplicity, flexibility, and ease of use across different programming languages and platforms.