Should I Learn XML or JSON?

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• published: 19 Apr 2014
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Should I learn XML or JSON? JSON or JavaScript Object Notation is sometimes called the fat free verison of XML. What does that mean? XML files are bigger, so they take more time to transfer. JSON files are smaller and faster. I guess that makes sense. I heard XML was used everywhere. XML used to be the standard for data interchange. XML was way better than SGML, the data transfer method it replaced. It is easy to read when properly formatted. But that isn't reason enough to keep using it. XML is still used for everything from log files to configuration files to email. It is used for APIs, too. XML still dominates APIs, but the APIs for Twitter and Foursquare are now JSON only. Doesn't it interact with databases? Big Data doesn't have a standard data exchange format like many apps do. However, JSON is preferred by NoSQL databases. NoSQL databases aren't standard, either. That's dominated by Oracle and other tools. Amazon's DynamoDB uses JSON. And Amazon is a major player. I've read about this language will replace this one and this software will wipe out the others, and yet the standard-bearer remains. And XML is pretty well entrenched. JSON doesn't use as much bandwidth. JSON is lightweight. It might not work well enough to replace XML. JSON is better than XML for the data exchange required for an internet of things, like smart meters and appliances that report their energy usage. That's a niche application, though with a billion devices it would be a big one. JavaScript is the basis of much of the internet. JavaScript's full stack version supports JSON. That will propel its usage, along with its smaller file size. Why are JSON files smaller? XML likes to model data as trees, whereas JSON can model data the way it is, even as a list. Ah, they've pruned the tree structure. JSON doesn't require schemas and avoids tree manipulation. That's attractive from an admin size. Surely XML has some advantages. XML is flexible. It has name spacing, and it is very extendable. But unless the data itself has a tree structure, JSON sounds better. Why not learn both? Then you can get paid convert XML structures to JSON.