JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)

JSON stands for JavaScript Object Notation

JSON is a lightweight format for storing and transporting data. JSON is an open standard file format and data interchange format that uses human-readable text to store and transmit data objects consisting of attribute-value pairs and arrays (or other serialisable values). An excellent example of JSON use is structured data (rich results) used by search engines to present and collect information about internet websites.

Examples of JSON attribute-value pairs:

  • @type – “WebPage”
  • @id – “https://360webcare.com/dictionary/api-application-programming-interface/#webpage”
  • datePublished – “2021-07-04T01:20:29+00:00”, etc. – look at the picture below
An example of JSON pairs: attribute – value in structured data
An example of JSON pairs: attribute – value in structured data

It is a standard data format with diverse functionality in data interchange, including communication of web applications with servers.

JSON is a language-independent data format. It comes from JavaScript, but many modern programming languages include code to generate and parse JSON-format data. JSON filenames use the extension .json.

Douglas Crockford initially specified the JSON format in the early 2000s.