How to Work with JSON in JavaScript
Starting to learn JavaScript, you focus primarily on the semantics and structure of this language itself. But in real life, you often have to expand the toolkit, and fundamentally different frameworks can be used to effectively develop the back-end and front-end parts of the product. How, in this case, to provide the interaction between the front-end and back-end? The answer is simple. You can use JSON in JavaScript. Today it is one of the most popular data exchange formats used in JavaScript programming. Moreover, JSON is not at all limited to transmitting messages between front-end and back-end services written only in JavaScript. It perfectly helps to interact with services written in Python or Java too.
Often novice developers or students are simply afraid to use this convenient tool for internal communication within the code. Let’s take a precise look at working with JSON in JavaScript and use it for your JavaScript assignment.
What Is JSON and Where It Is Used
In general, JSON is shortened from JavaScript Object Notation. It looks closely similar to standard JS scripts, yet it also has some specific features. First of all, JSON allows effectively compress data due to its string origin. For linear data, it is easy to get JSON data in JavaScript. The only limitation of its use is that it doesn’t support recursive data with cyclic structure.
JSON is a standard text format based on JavaScript syntax.
Its use is not limited just to transmitting data between the server-side and client-side. Besides, you can use it for the following cases:
- Data storing,
- Creating the structure of data,
- Verification of data and its configuration.
How JSON Interacts With JavaScript
As the syntax of JSON is similar to JavaScript’s you can easily read and write JSON files on JavaScript. Yet, there are some specific features you should know to make JSON objects.
1. Unlike JavaScript, you must only use double-quotes and wrap all object properties in double quotes. Single or back (slash) quotes cannot be used. Besides, quantifiers and boolean values are not wrapped in quotes.
For example, when you get an object on JS with the code like that:
{
name: ‘Mary’,
isMarried: false,
age: 25,
}
In JSON the same object may look as follows:
{
“name”: “Mary”,
“isMarried”: “false”,
“age”: 25
}
2. Besides, quantifiers are not followed by coma on JSON. You can see this in the example above where 25 is not followed by coma as in JS.
3. For data arrays, you need to use quotes for the array name and also you should use square brackets to wrap the array.
4. All the data in JSON are stored in a format ‘key-value’. When you have to store some values without keys, you need to create an array for this.
5. To create a JSON object in JavaScript, you need to use the function JSON.stringify(obj). As a result, you’ve got a code sample like that:
{
name: ‘Mary’,
isMarried: false,
age: 25,
}
const userJSON = JSON.stringify(user);
console.log(userJSON); // {“name”: “Mary”, “isMarried”: “false”, “age”:25}
6. When you need, on the contrary, to convert JSON format into common JS, you should use JSON.parse(s) function. It looks like that:
const jsonString = ‘{“name”: “Mary”, “isMarried”: “false”, “age”:25}’;
const parcedUser= JSON.parse(jsonString);
console.log(parsedUser); // {name: ‘Mary’, isMarried: false, age: 25 }
You should remember that JSON contains only values with no methods.
Pros and Cons of Using JSON With JavaScript
What are the benefits of using JSON in your JavaScript?
- You can easily convert the necessary data for transmission to the server-side running on other code. JSON interacts well with various programming languages, providing good communication between the front-end and back-end.
- Due to the common syntax with JavaScript, you do not have to additionally learn JSON commands and functions separately. It’s enough just to remember the key differences when writing code and the commands that convert JSON to JavaScript and vice versa.
- JSON features include working with arrays, which is convenient if you don’t have a clear key-value relationship in your data.
- JSON is one of the most compact formats, which is also a significant advantage when transferring data over the Internet. It is easier to use than most other formats.
But there are also disadvantages that should be considered when working with JSON:
- This format requires attention to punctuation. Starting from the specifics of using double quotes, ending with the inadmissibility of a single extra character for the code to work.
- JSON does not contain methods, only object properties.
In general, when defining what is JSON, it is worth remembering that this is a JavaScript-derived format that was created to simplify data transfer and configuration. Learning to work with JSON means reducing the time spent writing code and establishing communication with other parts of your product created in a different framework. Of course, if you start learning JSON from scratch, you may encounter certain difficulties, but in any situation, you will always find support from our specialists. We will provide you with coding assignment help for writing correct and workable sample code in JSON.
