JSON stands for JavaScript Object Notation. It is a lightweight, text-based format for storing and exchanging data. JSON is easy for humans to read and write, and easy for machines to parse and generate.
{
"name": "Jane Doe",
"role": "Researcher",
"age": 32,
"active": true
}This describes a person with four pieces of information: name, role, age, and active status.
| Benefit | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Human readable | Plain text with clear structure — anyone can understand it |
| Language independent | Works with every major programming language |
| Lightweight | Minimal syntax means small file sizes for fast transfer |
| Hierarchical | Supports nested structures to represent complex data |
| Widely supported | Every platform and tool has built-in JSON support |