JSON - An Express Overview

Whilst building a new reporting engine this week I was advised by a friend to consider using JSON as a simple and effective way to store the business rules. Having not used JSON before, I decided to take a quick look and found it to be a very straightforward yet elegant way of storing data.

What is JSON?

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a neat and structured text-based data format that is an accepted alternative to XML.

JSON comprises of two structures:

1. A set of name/values pairs, which is basically an object. Both the name and value mus be in double quotes.
2. An ordered list of values, which is basically an array. Values in turn can store strings, numbers, objects, arrays, Booleans and nulls. 

Basic Objects

var jString = { "Firstname": "Joe", "Lastname": "Bloggs" }

document.writeln(jString.Firstname); // Output Joe

Basic Array

var jString = { "Firstname": "Joe", "Lastname": "Bloggs", "Sports": ["Football", "Tennis", "Jujitsu"] }

for (var i in jString.Sports) {
document.writeln(jString.Sports[i]);
}

// Ouput: Football Tennis Jujitsu

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