In 1999, Douglas Crockford created JSON (JavaScript Object Notation), and it has since become a staple in the world of data storage and exchange. Despite some challenges, nothing has been able to surpass its simplicity and capabilities. Dmitrii Kovanikov, a senior SWE at Bloomberg, recently commented on the legacy of JSON, stating that even after 23 years, developers have not been able to create anything better for human-readable serialisation and configuration formats. XML and YAML are the closest alternatives, but according to developer Corey Butler, they do not match the popularity of JSON. Kovanikov himself is working on a project related to a simple config language based on Category Theory principles. The success of JSON can be attributed to its simplicity, effectiveness, and universal support. While some may argue that it is slower compared to other alternatives, such as Protocol Buffers or MessagePack, JSON’s human-readable format, language-agnostic nature, and support for APIs make it irreplaceable in web development. The only thing that JSON possibly lacks is a comment section, but it was designed specifically for data, not comments. Despite this, some may argue that a startup could potentially create a proprietary serialisation/config format file, but for now, JSON remains the go-to choice for developers.
