Search jQuery

jQuery Forum

Getting Started

starcoder

JSON Question

in Getting Started • 9 years ago

Hi,

in XML you can do somethign like this:

<xml>
<persons>
<person>
<name>a</name>
<lastname>b</lastname>
</person>
<person>
<name>c</name>
<lastname>d</lastname>
</person>
<person>
<name>e</name>
<lastname>f</lastname>
</person>
</persons>
<endresult>
<result>122938</result>
</endresult>
</xml>

Is this in JSON possible too?

Replies(9)

jakecigar

Re: JSON Question

9 years ago

Sure. Some people prefer JSON…

{
"xml": {
"persons": {
"person": [
{
"name": "a",
"lastname": "b"
},
{
"name": "c",
"lastname": "d"
},
{
"name": "e",
"lastname": "f"
}
]
},
"endresult": { "result": "122938" }
}
}

XML to JSON and JSON to XML converter online

JΛ̊KE

watusiware

Re: JSON Question

9 years ago

Not only possible, but a whole lot less trouble.

jakecigar

Re: JSON Question

9 years ago

XML is easier to read and edit. JSON is sometimes easier, but it can be very difficult to edit. JSON is meant to be a transfer format, and at that it beats XML.

There have been religious wars over which is best. There is no winner.

JΛ̊KE

watusiware

What I like about JSON is that it is Javascript "native". It's trivial to consume in Javascript code. And if you get your Mime-type right, jQuery will just hand you a Javascript object instead of the raw JSON.

For XML, you would need to use some add-on library, right? (Or parse-out the parts you want.)

Back-end languages usually have an easy way of creating JSON from native data structure. So, in Ruby, it's as simple as taking some complex data structure you've created in Ruby and simply applying .toJSON() to it, and you are ready to ship it off to Javascript.

Both sides get to work with native objects, and a simply-applied conversion function gets the transport converted.

If you've got a web service that can only provide XML, you are stuck with XML. If you are writing your own, I'd prefer to use either JSON or HTML, as appropriate. Unless you really, really need your front-end to make decisions on HTML structure, let the server do the work.

Of course, if you need to make a web service that will be consumed by others, who might have their own ideas about HTML structure, of course you need to serve some neutral data format.

A good editor will have plugins to help you edit either JSON or XML.

And, of course, this is one of the classic religious wars. I'd like to destroy the heathen XML. ;) I find JSON eminently easier to consume and create, whether in Javascript or Ruby.

XML does have the advantage of having DTDs, which, when used properly (which means using some huge library...) helps with issues of API versioning and adding new data to APIs without hurting old clients. But it is infinitely more complex to deal with.

jakecigar

Re: JSON Question

9 years ago

XML is supported natively in javascript and even easier with jQuery. You don’t need anything additional.

XML is supported by all modern languages. It is no harder than JSON.

$(xml).find("item").each(function(){
// deal with the item
})

JΛ̊KE

watusiware

Re: JSON Question

9 years ago

Is there any way in jQuery to just turn an XML document into a corresponding Javascript data structure? Is it even possible to represent every XML document as an equivalent Javascript data structure?

(Since JSON is Javascript Object Notation, of course, any JSON can be turned into an equivalent Javascript data structure.)

If you just want to transport an object from Ruby (or PHP, or Java, or C#, or.... the darling server-side language of the moment - Javascript) to Javascript, this seems infinitely simpler:

$.getJSON('/my_web_service/fruits', function(data) {
if (data.success) {
console.log('Bananas are ', data.fruits.banana.color');
} else {
console.log('failed');
}
});

Than this:

$.get('my_painful_xml_web_service', function(data) {
var $data = $.parseXML(data);
if ($data.find('xml>success').val() === true) {
console.log(
'Bananas are ',
$.data.find('xml>fruits>banana>color').val()
);
}
else {
console.log('failed');
}
});

jakecigar

Re: JSON Question

9 years ago

$.parseXML converts a string. But XML AJAX is pre-converted to an XML DOM.

Your example is wrong.

$.get('my_friendly_xml_web_service', function(data) {
if ( $("success",data).length )
console.log('Bananas are ' + $("banana>color",data).text() )
else
console.log("failed")
})

Note that selectors don’t have to start at the root.

JΛ̊KE

watusiware

Re: JSON Question

9 years ago

But XML AJAX is pre-converted to an XML DOM

Ah, as is JSON pre-converted to a Javascript object. (Provided - in both cases - that the server has set a proper Mime-type, or else you've specified the content type in the $get/$ajax. etc. call)

Note that selectors don’t have to start at the root.

Yes, just like HTML selectors. But I was trying to compare apples with apples. Not starting selectors at the root won't always get you what you want in a complex data structure, that might use the same keys in different places.

If I just want to move an object from A to B, (and A and B are agreed on what is expected) JSON gives me the most convenient way to do that.

I see I used .val() where I should have used .text().

jakecigar

Re: JSON Question

9 years ago

JSON is converted to an Object by jQuery. Back in the olden days it was done with nasty parsing, now it is done with JSON.parse.

XML is converted by the browser, automatically.

With XML I can use selectors to bypass nodes and use super-fast complex selectors, I can’t do that with JSON.

JΛ̊KE

Top Reply

Response title

Attachments

jQuery Forum

JSON Question

Replies(9)

Re: JSON Question

Re: JSON Question

Re: JSON Question

Re: JSON Question

Re: JSON Question

Re: JSON Question

Re: JSON Question

Re: JSON Question

Re: JSON Question

Statistics

Tags

Actions

Related Posts