Hjson, a user interface for JSON
Status
This project is now entirely community-supported. If you would like to help or want to report an issue, please see our GitHub.
Intro
JSON is easy for humans to read and write... in theory. In practice JSON gives us plenty of opportunities to make mistakes without even realizing it.
Hjson is a syntax extension to JSON. It's NOT a proposal to replace JSON or to incorporate it into the JSON spec itself. It's intended to be used like a user interface for humans, to read and edit before passing the JSON data to the machine.
{
# TL;DR
human: Hjson
machine: JSON
}
How does Hjson help?
Commas!
Never see a syntax error because of a missing or trailing comma again (unless you try really hard).
A good practice is to put each value onto a new line, in this case commas are optional and should be omitted.
{
first: 1
second: 2
}
Comments
You are allowed to use comments! Encouraged, even!
Comments allow you to document your data inline. You can also use them to comment out values when testing.
{
# hash style comments
# (because it's just one character)
// line style comments
// (because it's like C/JavaScript/...)
/* block style comments because
it allows you to comment out a block */
# Everything you do in comments,
# stays in comments ;-}
}
Object Names (Keys)
Object names can be specified without quotes.
This makes them easier to read.
{
# specify rate in requests/second
rate: 1000
}
Quoteless Strings
You can specify strings without quotes.
In this case only one value per line and no commas are allowed.
{
JSON: "a string"
Hjson: a string
# notice, no escape necessary:
RegEx: \s+
}
Multiline
Write multiline strings with proper whitespace handling.
A simple syntax and easy to read.
{
md:
'''
First line.
Second line.
This line is indented by two spaces.
'''
}
Punctuators, Spaces and Escapes
JSON and Hjson use the characters {}[],: as punctuators to define the structure of the data.
Punctuators and whitespace can't be used in an unquoted key or as the first character of a quoteless string. In this (rather uncommon) case you need to use quotes.
The backslash is only used as an escape character in a quoted string.
{
"key name": "{ sample }"
"{}": " spaces at the start/end "
this: is OK though: {}[],:
}
Hjson
"So this is Hjson."
If you like it please go ahead and add a star!
Are you a user? Then ask the developer of your favorite application to add Hjson support!
Interested in details? Take a look at the syntax.
Questions? See the FAQ.
{
// use #, // or /**/ comments,
// omit quotes for keys
key: 1
// omit quotes for strings
contains: everything on this line
// omit commas at the end of a line
cool: {
foo: 1
bar: 2
}
// allow trailing commas
list: [
1,
2,
]
// and use multiline strings
realist:
'''
My half empty glass,
I will fill your empty half.
Now you are half full.
'''
}