AST representation of JSON documents based on RFC 8259 internet standard.
What is this project about?
This is a community effort to standardize the AST representation of JSON documents.
Why do we have to generate a JSON AST?
JSON is the de-facto data format for communicating. First appeared in web applications, the use of JSON has dramatically increased in recent years. The increasing research interest in IoT and embed systems, resulted in a wider adoption of JSON documents. Code generators and server implementations rely on JSON schemas to feed them with required data. There are also many tools like documentation generators, specification validators, IDEs and others that have to analyze, parse, validate, and even transform, files written as JSON documents. Those requirements changed the way we handle these kind of documents. We cannot rely strictly in parsing mechanisms anymore, but need a way to store metadata such as location and range information.
None real-world software would do that...
There are already libraries that parse JSON documents into some sort of AST structure like json-to-ast. These libraries are used in hundred of packages and modules.
So there are already established solutions. What are you trying to achieve then?
The generated AST from those libraries does not depend on some standard or specification, thus allowing each library to implement its own way to represent the information.
The living internet standard that describes the JSON format is RFC 8259. This specification takes the exact various components defined by the specification and propose the best matching AST structure to meet all the requirements.
Where can I read the specification?
The complete specification can be found in jsontree.md. Examples are provided under examples folder.
We are on the road to finalize the JSONTree and start spreading the idea to wider audiences. This repository will serve as the main point of reference for JSONTree standard, where people can propose, reject and evolve the specification to meet the community needs.
You are very welcome to participate in our effort. If you have any suggestion, objection or any other general question, file a new issue.
- George Gkasdrogkas (@georgegkas)
There are many other use cases that we have not imagined yet. We expect that tools which parse, analyze and manipulate JSON documents will rise in the next years, increasing the need for a formal way to operate on JSON documents. This specification is intended to act as a community standard for people involving in building and maintaining such tools.