YAML vs JSON Quiz

YAML vs JSON: Understanding Key Differences and Use Cases

• YAML is a superset of JSON, meaning that all JSON files are valid YAML files but not vice versa.
• JSON is primarily used for data interchange between web applications over the internet via APIs, while YAML is used for configuration files and offline data processing.
• YAML specifications were proposed by Clark Evans, borrowing from several programming languages, while JSON follows JavaScript object syntax.
• YAML files use whitespace indentation to define data structures, making them highly readable and interpretable by business users.
• JSON files are easily interpretable by developers but may be difficult for business users to understand complex and nested data structures.
• JSON parsers are widely available in almost all programming languages, while YAML parsers require more effort to implement and may not implement the full specifications.
• YAML supports adding comments to configuration files, making it useful for system admins and developers, while JSON does not support comments.
• JSON is more efficient for data processing due to its simple specifications, while YAML generators and interpreters are larger and require more memory.
• YAML is better suited for handling complex and interlinked data structures, while JSON is better for simple data interchange.
• YAML is commonly used by Git and Docker for configuration files with comments, while JSON is commonly used for open APIs for data delivery.
• YAML is written using YAML standard specifications, while JSON uses mandatory punctuation like quotes, brackets, commas, and colons.
• Developers may struggle to validate complex YAML files with available parsers and generators, making it less interoperable than JSON.