Json – java script object notation

JSON – Java Script Object
Notation
Dilip Kumar Gupta

What is JSON
 JSON is a data interchange format
 Interactive Web 2.0 applications, no more
use page replacement. Data transfer without
refreshing a page.
 The most important aspects of data transfer
are simplicity, extensibility, interoperability,
openness and human readability
 Key idea in AJAX – Asynchronous Java
Script and XML.

Topics to cover
 Overview of the working of JSON
 Properties of JSON as a data format
 JSON with AJAX
 Advantages of using JSON with AJAX
 Security Concerns in using JSON
 Where does it fit the best

How does it work?
 JSON is a subset of Java Script. JSON can
be parsed by a Java Script parser.
 It can represent either complex or simple
data as it has data types
 They are Strings, Number, Boolean, Objects
and Arrays
 E.g. of Object:
 { "name": "Jack ("Bee") Nimble", "format":
{ "type": "rect", "width": 120, "interlace":
false}}

 An array can be shown as
 ["Sunday", "Monday", "Tuesday",
"Wednesday“]
 All data types are intuitive and similar to other
programming languages
 Also compatible with other languages like C,
C++, C#, ColdFusion, Python and many
more.

Properties of JSON
 It's simultaneously human- and machine-readable
format.
 It has support for Unicode, allowing almost any
information in any human language to be communicated;
 The self-documenting format that describes structure
and field names as well as specific values.
 The strict syntax and parsing requirements that allow the
necessary parsing algorithms to remain simple, efficient,
and consistent;
 The ability to represent the most general computer
science data structures: records, lists and trees.

JSON in AJAX
 JSON can be used in AJAX as follows:
 Include it in HTML directly
 <html>... <script> var data = JSONdata;
</script>... </html>
 JSON is used with XMLHttpRequest and can
be converted into a JavaScript structure
 responseData = eval('(' + responseText + ')');

 Another approach is to use an invisible
<iframe> for data communication. The server
sends JSON text embedded in a script in a
document.
 <html><head><script> document.domain =
‘something.com’; parent.deliver(JSONtext);
</script></head></html>
 deliver is passed the incoming data structure.

Why is JSON better suited for AJAX?
 JSON is widely used in AJAX. The X in AJAX stands for XML.
 E.g.
 {
 "fullname": "Swati Kumar",
 "org": "Columbia",
 }
 <?xml version='1.0‘ encoding='UTF-8'?>
 <element>
 <fullname>Swati Kumar</fullname>
 <org>Columbia</org>
 </element>

 JSON response at client side is:
 var name = eval('(' + req.responseText +
')').fullname.value;
 To access a composite element
 eval('(' + req.responseText +
')').xyz.abc.value;
 Thus, any level deep elements can be easily
accessed.

 XML response at client side is:
 var root = req.responseXML;
 var name =
root.getElementsByTagName(‘fullname’);
 To access a composite element
 root.getElementsByTagName(‘xyz’)
[0].firstChild
 To access deeper levels we need more
overhead.
 Reduced extensibility in XML

Security Concerns
 Same Origin Policy - JavaScript to access the
contents of a Webpage, both the JavaScript
and the Web page must originate from the
same domain.
 Malicious website could serve up JavaScript
that loads sensitive information from other
websites using a client's credentials and
communicates it back to the attacker.

 Although the malicious JavaScript can’t
directly manipulate the contents, it can view
the execution of the JavaScript and store the
results it returns.
 This problem gets aggravated with JSON as
the JSON arrays are themselves JavaScript
objects and any malicious user can view
them directly.

Where can JSON be used?
 JSON is a light weight data format that can
be used for transferring medium amounts of
data.
 It can be used in Java Script and then
rendered on HTML pages
 AJAX has many applications for JSON
 Thus, use JSON for applications that are
browser based.

References:
 www.json.org
 RFC 4627, Network Working Group D.
Crockford
 Thank you

Json – java script object notation

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