JSON
JavaScript Object Notation
ELI5 — The Vibe Check
JSON is the universal language the internet uses to pass data around. It looks like a JavaScript object — curly braces, key-value pairs. Your app sends JSON, gets back JSON. It's readable by humans AND computers, which is why everyone uses it.
Real Talk
JSON is a lightweight, text-based data interchange format derived from JavaScript object syntax. It supports strings, numbers, booleans, nulls, arrays, and nested objects. It's the de facto standard for REST API request and response bodies.
Show Me The Code
{
"id": 1,
"name": "Alice",
"roles": ["admin", "editor"],
"active": true
}
When You'll Hear This
"Return that as JSON." / "Parse the JSON response to get the user object."
Related Terms
API (Application Programming Interface)
An API is like a menu at a restaurant. The kitchen (server) can do a bunch of things, but you can only order what's on the menu.
Payload
Payload is the actual data carried in a request or response — the valuable cargo.
Serialization
Serialization is turning a complex object in your code (like a User with methods and nested data) into a flat format that can be sent over the internet, li...
XML (eXtensible Markup Language)
XML is like JSON's older, more verbose cousin. Instead of curly braces, it uses opening and closing tags like HTML.
YAML (YAML)
YAML is a way to write structured data that actually looks like a human wrote it.