10 JSON Examples to Use in Your Projects

This article series was rewritten in mid 2017 with up-to-date information and fresh examples.

This article covers ten JSON examples you can use in your projects. Unlike the once popular XML, JSON provides a simpler, more human-readable syntax for exchanging data between different software components and systems.

Processing JSON data is fast and easy, unlike the complex process of parsing and writing XML files. Most modern programming languages currently support JSON natively.

If you are new to JSON or you would like to remind yourself of what it’s all about, I would suggest you have a look at this article: Back to basics: JSON Syntax and Tips.

Download Source Code Examples

In order to follow along with the examples, you’ll need set up the following project in order to access the source code used in the examples:

git clone git@github.com:sitepoint-editors/json-examples.git
cd json-examples
npm install

JSON Examples

Here I’ll show you different ways in how JSON is used in real-life scenarios. Whether you need to access third-party data or provide a means for exchanging data between different systems, you’ll find that JSON fits perfectly in all these situations.

If you’d like to increase your JavaScript skills, consider reading JavaScript: Novice to Ninja 2nd Edition, Practical ES6, or one of the many other books in our JavaScript library.

FAQs About JSON Examples to Use in Your Projects

What is JSON and why is it important?

JSON, or JavaScript Object Notation, is a lightweight data-interchange format that is easy for humans to read and write and easy for machines to parse and generate. It is based on a subset of the JavaScript Programming Language, Standard ECMA-262 3rd Edition – December 1999. JSON is a text format that is completely language independent but uses conventions that are familiar to programmers of the C-family of languages, including C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Perl, Python, and many others. These properties make JSON an ideal data-interchange language.

How do I create a JSON file?

Creating a JSON file is quite simple. You can use any text editor, such as Notepad or TextEdit, to create a JSON file. The file should be saved with a .json extension. The data in a JSON file is structured in the form of a tree, which makes it easy to read and extract information from.

How do I read a JSON file?

JSON files can be read using a variety of programming languages, including JavaScript, Python, and PHP. In JavaScript, for example, you can use the JSON.parse() method to convert a JSON string into a JavaScript object. In Python, you can use the json.load() function to read a JSON file.

What are the different data types supported by JSON?

JSON supports six basic data types: string, number, object, array, boolean, and null. A string is a sequence of zero or more Unicode characters. A number is similar to that in JavaScript, except that octal and hexadecimal formats are not used. An object is an unordered set of name/value pairs, an array is an ordered collection of values, a boolean can be true or false, and null is an empty value.

How do I validate a JSON file?

There are many online tools available that can validate your JSON file to ensure it is correctly formatted. These tools will check your JSON syntax and highlight any errors, such as missing commas or brackets.

How do I use JSON with JavaScript?

JSON is often used with JavaScript to send data from the server to the client. You can use the JSON.stringify() method to convert a JavaScript object into a JSON string, and the JSON.parse() method to convert a JSON string into a JavaScript object.

How do I use JSON with Python?

Python has a built-in package called json, which can be used to work with JSON data. You can use the json.dumps() method to convert a Python object into a JSON string, and the json.loads() method to convert a JSON string into a Python object.

How do I use JSON with PHP?

PHP has built-in functions to work with JSON data. You can use the json_encode() function to convert a PHP array or object into a JSON string, and the json_decode() function to convert a JSON string into a PHP array or object.

What are the benefits of using JSON over XML?

JSON has several advantages over XML. JSON is simpler to read and write, and it is less verbose. JSON can also be parsed natively by JavaScript and does not require a separate parser. Furthermore, JSON uses an array structure which can be more efficient, particularly for data that is primarily textual.

Can I use comments in a JSON file?

No, JSON does not support comments. It was designed to be a data format with minimal complexity, and comments add unnecessary complexity. However, some non-standard JSON variants, such as JSON5, do support comments.