How is data structured in JSON?

JSON stores data as key/value pairs inside objects. An object starts with { and ends with }, keys are quoted strings, and values can be strings, numbers, booleans, lists [ ] or nested objects.

The same users in JavaScript Object Notation:

{
  "user": "root",
  "father": "Jason",
  "mother": "Jamie",
  "friend": "Luke"
}

Here the first key is user and its value is the unique username root. There are four separate key/value pairs, one per name.

Because every key appears only once and there are no closing tags, JSON is shorter and easier to read and write than XML. It also maps directly onto the dictionaries and lists of Python and most other languages, which is why REST APIs, including Cisco DNA Center's, prefer it.

Go deeper:

• Introducing JSON (json.org) — the whole grammar on one page, with railroad diagrams.
• JSON — Wikipedia — data types, history and comparison with XML.