What is the difference between json and yaml

This has proven advantageous when writing configuration files where one developer can easily describe the configuration using the comments. Ability to use Complex Structures. Another feature that YAML provides is the ability to reference other data objects. With this referencing, it is possible to write recursive data in the YAML file.

In JSON, it is impossible to serialize complex structures with object references. But the above feature in YAML solves that problem. But one drawback of this is the possibility of infinite looping in some converters.

A good developer should be able to identify these and use the correct format in the correct place. I hope you got something from my article. Hope to bring more articles soon. And thank you for reading.

Coding tutorials and news. The developer homepage gitconnected. I will reply as soon as possible. Your examples should be the same, but they are not. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. What do you want to Learn Today?

Table of Contents. Aniruddha Chaudhari. I am complete Python Nut, love Linux and vim as an editor. I keep sharing my coding knowledge and my own experience on CSEstack. Your name can also be listed here. Since then, it has become a workhorse for developers everywhere. YAML is written in a very clear human-readable format, with the added advantage of supporting comments, making it super easy to edit.

It is suited to support complex data types, with the ability to enclose multi-level objects. This makes it less friendly to use with some technologies. The absence of brackets and quotes for most of the functions makes the reading more natural. Even the uninitiated get a quick understanding of what is supposed to happen. Their differences in design, syntax, and functionality make the choice between them a matter of purpose.

Supports simple hierarchy through associative arrays and lists. Natively supports object references and relational trees. Possibility to have complex data structures with more complex data types available. Smaller community than JSON, which means fewer libraries and support. It has fewer native features than YAML, which curbs data serialization complexity. JSON has a faster delivery since it works perfectly as a simple data exchange format. But it is limited to the supported data types , which can require extra resources to deal with data sets with a larger number of data type options.

And the matryoshka-like ability to include objects within objects allows for greater data complexity. The downside? Such complexity slows down the parsing and generation process.

But with a range of complex data types available, it has its appeal and is a great option to expand the types of information to be made available.

The purpose and priority of the information to deliver are also important, and a logical hierarchy should be defined before starting coding.

This prior organization will define the structure of the document and how data will be presented. At Imaginary Cloud , we simplify complex systems, delivering interfaces that users love. Basically the same argument applies. I'll make these observations:. It's hard to imagine a modern language without a JSON library. It's also hard to imagine a JSON parser implementing anything less than the full spec.

Hence YAML files are less interoperable than you might think. JSON is the winner for performance if relevant and interoperability. YAML is better for human-maintained files. HJSON is a decent compromise although with much reduced portability. JSON5 is a more reasonable compromise, with well-defined syntax. The other answers are good. Read those first. Increasingly, many programming projects use git repositories for distribution and archival. And, while a git repo's history can equally store JSON and YAML files, the "diff" method used for tracking and displaying changes to a file is line-oriented.

But this is not the default and I'm lazy. I often use YAML for config files, static files, and tracked files. I also generally avoid adding YAML relational anchors. Life is too short to hunt down loops. Also, if speed and space are really a concern, I don't use either.

You might want to look at BSON. I find YAML to be easier on the eyes: less parenthesis, "" etc. Although there is the annoyance of tabs in YAML This makes YAML more concise and readable for the trained eye. YAML is more complex and has less support. I don't think the parsing speed or memory use will be very much different, and maybe not a big part of your program's performance.

A name is a quoted string "name" and is sep- arated from its value by a colon :. A value can be a string like "value", a number like 1. An array is delimited by brackets [] , and its values are separated by commas ,. The JSON format is easily parsed using any programming language. It is also relatively easy to read and write.

It is widely adopted for many uses such as databases, configura- tion files, and, of course, APIs. The figure shows a comparison of the two. Array brackets [] and commas , are replaced by dashes - and newlines in YAML. It is relatively easy to convert one of those formats into the other.

YAML carries no such license claim, and that might be an important difference to your lawyer, if not to you. The only two things that really dictate when one is used over the other for me is one, what the language is used most popularly with. I do that because that's a common thing in Java and makes it easier for other Java developers to modify my code.

The second thing is whether I'm using it for the program to remember attributes, or if the program is receiving instructions in the form of a config file, in this case I'll use YAML, because it's very easily human read, has nice looking syntax, and is very easy to modify, even if you have no idea how YAML works. Then, the program will read it and convert it to JSON, or whatever is preferred for that language. In the end, it honestly doesn't matter. If you are concerned about better parsing speed then storing the data in JSON is the option.

I had to parse the data from a location where the file was subject to modification from other users and hence I used YAML as it provides better readability compared to JSON. How are we doing? Please help us improve Stack Overflow. Take our short survey.

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