JSON 101

JSON?

• JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is described as a shorthand way of saying JavaScript object notation
• It is presented as a method to store and send data in a format that is easy for both humans to read and computers to understand
• Although ‘JavaScript’ is in the name, JSON is not limited to JavaScript and works with almost every programming language, including Python, Java, and PHP
• It is considered a simplified way to represent data

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JSON Structure

Transclude of JSON-101-2025-06-04-21.44.20.excalidraw

• Curly braces {} are used to define an object
• Inside the curly braces, data is stored as key-value pairs.
• Keys are always enclosed in double quotes.
• Numerical values (like numbers) do not need to be enclosed in quotes, allowing JSON to differentiate between text and numerical data
• Each key-value pair is separated by a comma, except for the last one within the object
• JSON also supports arrays, which are enclosed in square brackets [] and can contain multiple values separated by commas, Values within an array can be strings, numbers, or even other objects or arrays
• For a file to be recognised as a JSON document and interpreted properly by programs, it needs the .json file extension

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Super-powered JSON (Nesting)

{
"name": "Jake",
"age": 25,
"address": {
	"street": "123 Main St",
	"city": "New York",
	"zip": "10001",
	"coordinates": {
	"latitude": 40.7128,
	"longitude": -74.0060
"hobbies": ["Swimming", "Basketball"]
}

A powerful aspect of JSON is its ability to nest data

• An object can contain another object as a value, This is done by defining a key and assigning an entire object as its value
  • This approach is useful for representing structured data with multiple levels
• Deep nesting is useful for representing structured information like geographical data
• Nesting allows JSON to naturally represent relationships between data in a hierarchical manner, making it ideal for real-world applications such as user profiles, product catalogues, and API responses
• Instead of using multiple separate objects, nesting allows for improved organisation, enhancing readability and maintaining a clear structure, Many APIs use nested JSON structures to return complex data, This structure makes it easy to access and manage different levels of information efficiently

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Accessing JSON

To work with JSON data, you need a programming language because JSON is just text

In JavaScript

• JSON is typically converted into an object using the JSON.parse method
• If fetching data using fetch, the response can be converted immediately using the .json() function

{
product_name: "Acer Nitro 5",
brand: "Acer",
price: 999.99,
specs: {
	processor:
	"Intel Core i7",
	ram:
	"16GB",
	storage: "512GB SSD" ,
	graphics:
	"NVIDIA RTX 3060",
	}
};

• Data can then be retrieved using dot notation (object.key) or bracket notation (object[“key”])
• Nested data can be accessed by chaining the notation, e.g., object.specs.storage
• In Python, JSON data is parsed into a dictionary using the json module and specifically the json.loads() method
• Once parsed, data can be accessed and manipulated just like a normal Python dictionary using bracket notation (dictionary[“key”])