Top 5+ Advantages and Disadvantages of JSON
The purpose of this article is to explain the “Top 5+ Advantages and Disadvantages of JSON“.
The client and server exchange data when we interact with an application. Exchange of information was initially performed via XML (Extensible Markup Language).
The first JSON message was sent in April 2001. It is history from there. Nowadays, most large companies use JSON, including Facebook, Google, and Twitter.
In order to give you an idea of what JSON is, let us put it this way – it is a text-based format for storing and exchanging data.
Despite that, it remains quite simple to parse for browsers and can be easily read by humans. I hope you find this overview helpful. Now let’s look at JSON’s advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages of JSON
JSON is a simple and easy-to-understand language. Additionally, it is in a text-only format so that it can be easily sent between servers.
It is actually easier and faster to parse JSON than XML, so web applications prefer it. JSON also has the following advantages:
1. Fast and efficient
In addition to being a simple syntax, JSON has a self-describing nature as well.
A JSON file can be interpreted by any application, even those that don’t know what type of data to expect.
Due to its JavaScript-inspired syntax, it shares a lot of similarities with JavaScript. Nevertheless, it can stand on its own and be used appropriately.
The syntax is easy to understand as well. A colon separates the name of the field from its value in a key/value pair.
Furthermore, JSON is lightweight and compact. This means that almost two-thirds of the data in XML would be in JSON.
In other words, you can accomplish the same tasks as XML with JSON using fewer characters.
It is thus much faster to process JSON than XML. In short, JSON performs functions more quickly and efficiently than XML. In addition to simplifying data access, the uncomplicated syntax makes data placement easier.
2. Responsive
Data can be easily parsed using JSON. The parsing doesn’t require any extra code. JSON parsing increases responsiveness because it is server-side.
This allows clients to receive quick results. As a result, JSON has become one of the most widely accepted data exchange formats.
Other than this, if you are working with a system that is object-oriented, you may prefer JSON as it is easy to map. XML is document-oriented, whereas easy mapping is data-oriented.
3. Key/Value pair approach
With the key/value pairs enclosed inside the brackets, the JSON object looks like this: curly brackets surrounded by a space.
In double quotation marks (” “), the key and value are enclosed. A colon (:) and a comma (,) separate them, i.e., they are separated by those characters.
JSON is a simple data format because it relies on key-value pairs. Moreover, it simplifies writing and reading.
4. Data sharing
In addition to its other functions, JSON is notable for its ability to share data.
The response sets up a connection between a front-end language and a back-end language in order to exchange data.
In order to serialize, the front-end language has to be transcribed into JSON text. A process known as deserialization corresponds to the conversion of JSON text to programming data.
It is quite easy to serialize and de-serialize structured data in JSON, thus facilitating its sharing.
5. Extensive browser support
The JSON data format is independent of any specific application. The majority of browsers support it.
Most programming languages support JSON through libraries or functions.
Chrome 3 and newer, Internet Explorer 8 and later, Safari 4 and higher, Firefox 3.5 and later, and Opera 10.5 and higher are some browsers that support JSON.
Disadvantages of JSON
JSON’s compact format has some disadvantages. JSON’s restrictive specifications have to be followed by developers.
A JSON parser implementation that does not adhere to this standard may cause complications.
A certain degree of readability and writability is sacrificed as a result. Another drawback of JSON is that it cannot be parsed.
1. No date data type
JSON provides many different types of data, including string, number, object, array, boolean, and null. Dates are not supported, however.
Date data types are absent from JSON, requiring developers to look for alternatives. The string data type is one option for representing dates.
Formatting may be inconsistent with this type. The JSON data may be extremely difficult to transform into a different format.
In XML, however, the XSLT template allows you to easily do this. In XML, there is inherent format change support, but in JSON, no such support exists.
2. Verbose
It might surprise you to see verbosity on this list since we have emphasized JSON code’s ease and compactness.
There’s no doubt JSON is low on characters. In particular, when working on specialized projects, this characteristic becomes a disadvantage.
Due to its lack of conciseness, JSON code is imperceptible to most software.
If this is true, you might look for another data format that will help you achieve the results and efficiency you need.
3. Lack of comments
In order to understand the code, the comments are crucial. However, JSON only allows limited commenting.
In other words, it won’t be easy to figure out the data when it’s there. Some JSON libraries also don’t accept comments as input.
If this is the case, you must remove the comments using the preprocessor. The additional work of parsing the file, however, results in an additional step of editing.
4. Less secure
There are still a few browsers that do not offer native JSON support, despite the majority having it. A situation of this sort requires the use of eval(). A JavaScript object is created by parsing the JSON.
You may increase your application’s security risks if you choose to use this function. Additionally, you may leave yourself open to attacks.
These risks are particularly likely to arise when the application takes user input. Malicious scripts can wreak havoc promptly in these situations if they are introduced.
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