What are good alternative data formats to XML? [closed]

Answer 1

For the sake of mentioning... have a look at my proposal:

http://igagis.github.io/stob/

It is very simple and is not overloadad with variety of special symbols, just {} and "" basically.

Supports C++ style comments.

There are C++, C# and Java libraries.

Example:

"String object"
AnotherStringObject
"String with children"{
    "child 1"
    Child2
    "child three"{
        SubChild1
        "Subchild two"

        Property1 {Value1}
        "Property two" {"Value 2"}
        //comment

        /* multi-line
           comment */

        "multi-line
         string"

        "Escape sequences \" \n \r \t \\"
    }
}

Answer 2

But at what cost?

I'm all for JSON in many situations, especially where weight or client-side work is a concern, but moving away from XML loses readability (so important in those config files) and the power of tomorrow's problem solutions like XSLT and XPath. Be really sure why and when you move away: it's a de facto standard for a reason.

(aside: my habit is to use XML internally, and transform that to JSON where that's the desired output)

Answer 3

What do you want to do with the data? Store it? Pass it around? Display it? These questions should drive your search for an appropriate technology. Simply asking how you should format your data is like asking what language you should program in, without specifying what you want to accomplish.

For most data tasks, well Dr. Codd has the cure: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_F._Codd. Databases should be able to do just about anything you have in mind.

If you're passing it around, I advocate plain text. When you roll your own binary format your data goes away when your parser goes away.

With plain text, the deeper question is where to put the metadata. Should it be external to the data file, or internal ("self-describing").

For example, XML is plain text, but so is source code. With a source file, there is a specification that goes in to great detail as to the syntax and semantics, while XML is supposed to be self-describing. The problem is that it isn't. Furthermore it evolved right out of document presentation and markup, but is now being abused for all sorts of data serialization, transfer, and storage.

Answer 4

Simple Declarative Language is a nice alternative to XML for common tasks such as serialization and configuration. It provides a C# and Java parser library. I think it excels at specifying all kinds of metadata without the XML verbosity.

Answer 5

For storing code-like data, LES (Loyc Expression Syntax) is a budding alternative. I've noticed a lot of people use XML for code-like constructs, such as build systems which support conditionals, command invocations, sometimes even loops. These sorts of things look natural in LES:

// LES code has no built-in meaning. This just shows what it looks like.
[DelayedWrite] // an "attribute"
Output(
    if version > 4.0 {
        $ProjectDir/Src/Foo;
    } else {
        $ProjectDir/Foo;
    }
);

It doesn't have great tool support yet, though; currently the only LES library is for C#. Currently only one app is known to use LES: LLLPG.

In theory you could use LES for data or markup, but there are no standards for how to do that:

body {
    '''Click here to use the World's '''
    a href="http://google.com" {
        strong "most popular"; " search engine!"
    };
};

point = (2, -3);
tasteMap = { "lemon" -> sour; "sugar" -> sweet; "grape" -> yummy };

Answer 6

My work with XML is almost exclusively with document-centric XML, which must model long sequences of arbitrarily nested structures. I haven't used JSON yet, but my impression is that it is cumbersome to use with document-like data, but well-adapted and even elegant for use with record-like data. Consider the shape of your data when making your decision.