Data Formats: A Comparative Analysis of JSON, XML, and YAML

💡 JSON, XML, and YAML are standard formats for exchanging data between systems or managing configurations. Questions about the features and differences of each technology are common in the Information Processing Engineer exam.

📄 Key Data Representation Formats

A defined format is necessary to exchange data or describe settings between systems. JSON, XML, and YAML are the most widely used data representation formats.

1. JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)

JSON is a lightweight, human-readable, text-based data exchange format based on JavaScript object syntax.

• Features:
  • A data object consisting of key-value pairs.
  • Simple structure allows for fast parsing and low memory consumption.
  • Primarily used in web environments, especially with REST APIs.
• Example:

{
  "name": "John Doe",
  "age": 30,
  "isStudent": false,
  "courses": ["Data Structures", "Algorithms"]
}

2. XML (eXtensible Markup Language)

XML is a markup language that uses tags (<>) to represent the hierarchical structure of data. It is similar to HTML, but a key feature is that users can define their own tags.

• Features:
  • Clearly expresses the meaning and relationships of data in a tree structure.
  • Highly extensible, making it suitable for representing complex data.
  • Formerly used extensively in web services (SOAP) and configuration files for various systems.
• Example:

<person>
  <name>John Doe</name>
  <age>30</age>
  <isStudent>false</isStudent>
  <courses>
    <course>Data Structures</course>
    <course>Algorithms</course>
  </courses>
</person>

3. YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language)

YAML is a data serialization format that emphasizes human readability and writability. It is widely used for writing complex configuration files.

• Features:
  • High readability due to the use of indentation to represent data hierarchy.
  • Supports comments (#), making it easy to add explanations.
  • It is a superset of JSON, so most YAML parsers can interpret JSON documents.
• Example:

# Person information
person:
  name: John Doe
  age: 30
  isStudent: false
  courses:
    - Data Structures
    - Algorithms

📊 Comparison of Data Representation Formats

📝 Exam Preparation Problems