- [Instructor] JSON data is generally shared
as a string of characters,
but JSON is useful as a notation
because it can describe a structure,
either an object or an array.
So how does a programming language work with a JSON string,
and how does it create a JSON string
from an object or array?
Programming languages need to convert JSON
into a structure to use the data,
and they need to convert structures from the language
into JSON in order to share the data.
You may see the terms serialize and deserialize
used in reference to working with JSON.
Serializing JSON means turning a structure
into a JSON string, while deserializing is the reverse,
turning a JSON string
into a structure that a programming language can work with.
Remember that even though JSON
is based on the object notation used in JavaScript,
JSON can be used across languages and platforms.
Some languages like JavaScript and Python
include utilities right in the language
that serialize and deserialize JSON.
In other languages like Java,
you need to augment the basic features of the language
with a library to manipulate JSON,
Whatever language you're working in,
you can check documentation or other resources
for best practices on working with JSON data
most efficiently.