C Programming

What is JSONC? Are JSONC and JSON-C Different?

JSONC (JavaScript Object Notation Compatible) is the latest data-interchange format that uses a combined approach of both XML (Extensible Markup Language) and JSON (JavaScript Object Notation). Developed by the software engineers at Microsoft. JSONC allows users to serialize and transmit objects, data, and metadata.

When talking about data transfer, the three most popular formats are JSON, XML and JSONC. These three formats differ in their structure, syntax, and the data types that they can store. JSONC is the only one of the three formats that is both object oriented and schema less. This means that more complex data structures and operations can be communicated using this data format.

JSONC files are typically marked by the type “.jsonc” at the end, and are downloaded in the same way as any other JSON file. However, because of the compression, they require additional processing to make them readable by a text editor, such as an XML parser.

Difference Between JSONC and JSON-C

These are some of the key differences between JSONC and JSON-C.

1: Purpose

JSONC is a file format that allows comments in JSON files, while JSON-C is a library that allows C programmers to interact with JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) data. Developers may quickly add JSON support to their C programs thanks to JSON-C, which offers a straightforward API for reading, producing, and manipulating JSON data. All the common JSON data types, such as texts, integers, arrays, objects, and null values, are supported by JSON-C.

2: Usage

The primary difference between JSONC and JSON-C is usage. JSONC is used primarily to store data and provide contextual comments throughout, while JSON-C is used as a library for manipulating, creating, and consuming JSON data. JSONC can utilize the JSON-C library, and JSON-C can utilize the JSONC format, but they are largely different. For example, while JSONC can store data, it cannot be manipulated the same way a program written in the JSON-C library can manipulate it.

3: Formatting

Overall, both formats offer similar data exchange capabilities, but another difference between them is the way in which they are formatted. JSONC is a compressed version of JSON, meaning that it takes up less bandwidth and disk space and allows large amounts of data to be transferred more quickly. In contrast, JSON-C is a library that provides convenient APIs for manipulating JSON code.

Conclusion

JSONC and JSON-C are different technologies used to transmit data between applications. JSONC is used to store data, accompanied by extra pieces for comments, while JSON-C is a library for manipulating, creating, and consuming JSON data. They can be used together, and some of the functions may overlap, but they primarily serve different purposes and should be used accordingly.

About the author

Hiba Shafqat

I am a Computer Science student and a committed technical writer by choice. It is a great pleasure to share my knowledge with the world in which I have academic expertise.