JSON Glossary - Terms & Definitions
Your complete guide to understanding JSON terminology and concepts. From basic syntax to advanced data structures, find definitions for all key terms in data formats and web development.
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Comments in JSON
A common point of confusion, as the official JSON standard (RFC 8259) does not support comments.
CSV (Comma-Separated Values)
CSV is a plain text file format that organizes data into rows and columns, with each value separated by a comma. It's commonly used for storing and exchanging tabular data across applications.
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JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)
A lightweight, text-based data-interchange format that is easy for humans to read and for machines to parse and generate.
JSON Object
An unordered collection of key/value pairs, enclosed in curly braces {}. Each key must be a string and is followed by a colon.
JSON Array
An ordered collection of values, enclosed in square brackets []. Values are comma-separated and can be of any valid JSON type.
JSON Key
A string enclosed in double quotes that serves as the identifier for a value within a JSON object.
JSON Value
The data associated with a key in a JSON object or an element in an array. It can be a string, number, boolean, object, array, or null.
JSON String
A sequence of zero or more Unicode characters, enclosed in double quotes (").
JSON Number
A numeric value that can be an integer or a floating-point number. It is not enclosed in quotes.
JSON Boolean
A logical value that can only be true or false. These literals are not enclosed in quotes.
JSON Null
An empty value, represented by the literal null. It is used to indicate the intentional absence of any value.
JSON Parsing
The process of converting a JSON-formatted string into a native data structure (like an object or array) that can be used by a programming language.
JSON Serialization
The process of converting a native data structure (like an object or array) into a JSON-formatted string so it can be transmitted or stored.
JSON Schema
JSON Schema is a vocabulary and specification for defining the structure, content, and semantics of JSON documents.
JSON Validation
JSON Validation is the process of verifying that a JSON document is both well-formed and conforms to a specific set of structural rules, often defined using a JSON Schema.
JSON Syntax Error
An error that occurs when a JSON document does not follow the strict grammatical rules of the JSON format.
JSON Lines (or NDJSON)
A format for storing structured data where each line is a separate, valid JSON value. Also known as newline-delimited JSON (NDJSON).
JSON Flattening
The process of converting a nested JSON object into a single-level structure with key paths representing the original hierarchy.
JSONPath
The query language for JSON (similar to XPath for XML), used to select and extract specific data from complex JSON structures.
JSON5
A proposed extension to the JSON format that allows for comments, trailing commas, and unquoted keys, making it significantly more human-readable.