What is JSON?

JSON is a lightweight, language-independent text format for exchanging structured data, modelled on JavaScript object syntax.

Key characteristics:

• Text representation of structured data
• Language-independent (used by all programming languages)
• Human-readable
• Most common format for web APIs

Syntax rules:

• Keys must be strings in double quotes
• Values can be: strings, numbers, booleans, null, arrays, objects
• No trailing commas
• No comments

Example:

{
    "name": "Muster",
    "age": 25,
    "address": "Musterstrasse 23",
    "active": true,
    "children": ["Anna", "Tim"]
}

Note: Dates are not a native JSON type - store as ISO strings.