Difference Between YAML and JSON

YAML and JSON are serialization formats which are a mechanism for the exchange of human-readable data. The data is formatted in such a way that it can be easily exchanged between applications. Both methods use key-value pairs for data exchange. In this article, we will discuss the difference between YAML and JSON.

What is YAML?

YAML is a data interpretation language which can represent human-readable data. It is a lightweight language and consists of complicated features to format the data which could be easily read by humans. YAML acts as a superset of JSON so the data available in JSON can be parsed in YAML. The file extensions for the YAML are .yaml and .yml. YAML was also developed in 2001 and is easy to learn in comparison to JSON though its syntax is comparatively more complex.

YAML is preferred to Python because the syntax is similar. YAML can be used to configure files and applications when the data is being transferred. In comparison to JSON, YAML supports a large number of datatypes.

Datatypes used in YAML

The datatypes that YAML uses are ?

• Numbers
• Strings
• Null values
• Boolean
• Dates and timestamps
• Sequences
• Nested values

What is JSON?

JSON is a human-readable language which is language-independent. The language is used in web-based applications and is very easy to use. The files are saved with the extension of .json. JSON is light in weight and easy to read.

JSON was developed in 2001 and it is a lightweight language in comparison to XML. JSON is a popular format for data transfer and structured data can be serialized and transmitted over a network.

Datatypes used in JSON

The datatypes used in JSON are as follows ?

• Numbers
• Strings
• Objects
• Arrays

Difference between YAML and JSON

The table below shows the difference between YAML and JSON.

Conclusion

YAML and JSON are the two languages which can be used for data serialization so that it can be converted into a human-readable format. The syntax of YAML is tough in comparison to JSON. The number of datatypes supported by YAML is more than JSON. There are many other differences and YAML is considered as a superset of JSON.

FAQs on JSON and YAML

1. Can YAML be considered as a programming language?

No! YAML is not a programming language. It is a serialization language which helps in writing such a code that can be read by humans easily.

2. Which extensions are used to save the code of YAML and JSON?

The extensions used to save the code of YAML are .yaml and .yml. JSON uses only the .json extension to save the files.

3. Which language supports comment writing?

Comments for any code can be written in YAML by using the #. JSON does not support the comment writing.

4. How are strings shown in YAML and JSON?

Strings in YAML are shown with the help of single and double quotes but they are optional. Strings in JSON are shown by double quotes and they are mandatory.

5. Which datatype is used in the root node in YAML and JSON?

The root node in YAML can be of any datatype but in the case of JSON, the root node can have only arrays and objects.