2006
Douglas Crockford popularizes JSON
Douglas Crockford specified JSONJavaScript Object Notation — a lightweight text format for structured data exchange on the web. in 2006 — the data interchange format behind RESTRepresentational State Transfer — a style for web APIs using HTTP methods and resource URLs. APIs and config files.
What it was for
JSONJavaScript Object Notation — a lightweight text format for structured data exchange on the web. replaced XMLExtensible Markup Language — a markup format for structured documents and data exchange. for most web APIs — simpler for JavaScript clients and human-readable in logs. Crockford's RFC 4627 and json.org made a subset of JavaScript literals the lingua franca of web services.
People
- Douglas Crockford — author
Why it's here
JSONJavaScript Object Notation — a lightweight text format for structured data exchange on the web. became the default APIApplication programming interface — a defined way for programs to talk to each other or to a service. payload format for web and mobile.
Why it mattered
It aligned data exchange with JavaScript object literals.
What it solved
XMLExtensible Markup Language — a markup format for structured documents and data exchange. was verbose and expensive to parse in browsers and mobile clients.
Media
ImageDouglas CrockfordRobert Claypool, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons