More verbose, yes, but not that much. Node's console.log would have inlined it all.
Syntax is well-defined and all implementations behave the same
?!
Are you sure about that? That's quite a statement since YAML is a superset if JSON (really!), so any problem with parsing JSON is transmitted to YAML. Plus you have YAML's own syntax.
Moreover, YAML is extensible, meaning that it can be impossible to parse a YAML file that's been extended for another platform.
There's plenty of reasons why one could prefer YAML over JSON, and you explained quite some, but IMO these two aren't ones.
Whitespace is significant, so the file has to be properly indented.
While this sounds nice for readability, this also means that you need a validator to be fairly sure that your config file is ok, because if you mess up with the indentation the file is still considered valid YAML. If you miss a parenthesis in JSON or a closing tag in XML it wouldn't parse.
If you don't want any, the rule of the thumb is to avoid deeply nested YAML documents, which means this perk loses most of its meaning:
See seriot.ch/parsing_json.php. True, most of the time you won't have any problem using different implementations of JSON parsers, but the devil is in the details. (Things like dates, text encoding, trailing comas or not-a-number floats).
YAML is a superset of JSON but its specification is more precise.
you need a validator to be fairly sure that your config file is ok,
Not sure what you mean by that. Personally, whenever I'm editing json, xml or yaml files, I have a linter that tells me if the syntax is OK.
If you mess up with the indentation the file is still considered valid YAML.
True. That's an argument that always comes back when you talk about whitespace significance. Python has the same problem, but personally I don't care that much. Fortunately, if this is an issue for you there are lots of alternatives.
avoid deeply nested (YAML) documents,
This is good advice and it applies to any configuration file ;)
YAML is a superset of JSON but its specification is more precise.
I'm not sure I'm following you here. The format specification of JSON is flawless (as far as we know); the parser implementation specification, on the other hand, is left with more freedom as it's intended as an interoperable format and thus the result depends on the language that has to deal with it.
Now, I doubt YAML is re-defining JSON format spec, but maybe you're talking about the implentation?
Anyway, the page you posted, although it provides a lot of useful tests, it's all about edge cases. Now, it's probably very odd if you have an edge case in a configuration file.
Not sure what you mean by that. Personally, whenever I'm editing json, xml or yaml files, I have a linter that tells me if the syntax is OK.
I have to clarify indeed: I meant that you need a schema to validate your YAML. As an example, consider the following:
If I mess up the indentation, I still have a good JSON. If I do the same with YAML it's quite different
Right. I see what you mean. Again, nothing new under the sun. You have exactly the same problem in Python.
Trivia: in a big Python project I was working on for quite a long time I only had a few bugs caused by incorrect indentation, but I can see why it's a big deal for lots of people :)
And the solution is the same: keep your code "flat" by using nice little helper functions.
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Well that's just your preference of writing a JSON file. I'd have written something like this:
More verbose, yes, but not that much. Node's
console.logwould have inlined it all.?!
Are you sure about that? That's quite a statement since YAML is a superset if JSON (really!), so any problem with parsing JSON is transmitted to YAML. Plus you have YAML's own syntax.
Moreover, YAML is extensible, meaning that it can be impossible to parse a YAML file that's been extended for another platform.
There's plenty of reasons why one could prefer YAML over JSON, and you explained quite some, but IMO these two aren't ones.
While this sounds nice for readability, this also means that you need a validator to be fairly sure that your config file is ok, because if you mess up with the indentation the file is still considered valid YAML. If you miss a parenthesis in JSON or a closing tag in XML it wouldn't parse.
If you don't want any, the rule of the thumb is to avoid deeply nested YAML documents, which means this perk loses most of its meaning:
Thanks for the feedback! Few remarks.
See seriot.ch/parsing_json.php. True, most of the time you won't have any problem using different implementations of JSON parsers, but the devil is in the details. (Things like dates, text encoding, trailing comas or not-a-number floats).
YAML is a superset of JSON but its specification is more precise.
Not sure what you mean by that. Personally, whenever I'm editing json, xml or yaml files, I have a linter that tells me if the syntax is OK.
True. That's an argument that always comes back when you talk about whitespace significance. Python has the same problem, but personally I don't care that much. Fortunately, if this is an issue for you there are lots of alternatives.
This is good advice and it applies to any configuration file ;)
I'm not sure I'm following you here. The format specification of JSON is flawless (as far as we know); the parser implementation specification, on the other hand, is left with more freedom as it's intended as an interoperable format and thus the result depends on the language that has to deal with it.
Now, I doubt YAML is re-defining JSON format spec, but maybe you're talking about the implentation?
Anyway, the page you posted, although it provides a lot of useful tests, it's all about edge cases. Now, it's probably very odd if you have an edge case in a configuration file.
I have to clarify indeed: I meant that you need a schema to validate your YAML. As an example, consider the following:
If I mess up the indentation, I still have a good JSON. If I do the same with YAML it's quite different:
A linter wouldn't catch it. That's why I suggest to keep config files as flat as possible :/
Oh yes. Sorry.
Right. I see what you mean. Again, nothing new under the sun. You have exactly the same problem in Python.
Trivia: in a big Python project I was working on for quite a long time I only had a few bugs caused by incorrect indentation, but I can see why it's a big deal for lots of people :)
And the solution is the same: keep your code "flat" by using nice little helper functions.