Parsing JSON is a Minefield
Before JSON, XML and standard binary formats, there were just CSV&#x2F;TSV and random binary formats which was a bigger minefield. Simply exchanging data was a project in itself.<p>At least JSON and XML are text based when it comes to data exchange. Back in the day before APIs that needed to exchange data cleanly, without JSON&#x2F;XML, exchanging data was not only a minefield but one with constant carpet bombing. The fact that edge cases that are rarely run into is all that is left of data exchange issues is a huge advancement.<p>What is great is in most cases JSON works fantastic and simplifies data exchange and APIs all the way to front ends and backends.  XML is available if needed. So are binary standard formats now for really compact areas like messaging for performance that humans may never see or you may never have a third party that needs to parse it. The task of parsing xml in client side javascript is not fun especially, neither is binary parsing where adding a value can break the whole object, JSON keys can come and go.<p>The engineer can choose the tool for the job but there better be a good reason to use anything over simple JSON, almost any problem can be solved with it.  Engineers should aim to take data complexity and make it as simple as possible, not take simple and make it complex for job security, real engineers always move more simple when possible and away from vogon ways.<p>For data that is exchanged between services and front-end&#x2F;backend, JSON is the simplified format that makes things move faster.  XML got tarred and devolved into vogon sludge with SOAP services and nested namespacing&#x2F;schemas but still is needed in some areas. Binary standard formats when you control both sides or noone else needs to connect to it or you don&#x27;t need it on the front end maybe or possibly you need performant real-time messaging. There is also YAML if you need more typing or BSON where binary needed but still simple. All formats have good uses and bad but using binary when JSON will suffice is not being as simple as possible.<p>JSON is easy to get around and is more lightweight, if you run into a problem you can just restructure your JSON to make it work where binary or XML take more work to change without breaking changes, especially downstream causing many more versions and conversions. JSON is a data messaging format meant to simplify. Most of the issues in the OP article could be solved storing the values in a string with a &quot;type&quot; or &quot;info&quot; key that allows conversion in the backend i.e. long numbers or hex etc or storing binary as base64 etc.<p>JSON is based on basic CS types in objects, lists, simple data types like string, number, bool, date, this makes for a simplifying of all systems that serialize and deserialize to it.  JSON helps spread simplicity while being dynamic.<p>JSON works best with ever changing dynamic data&#x2F;code&#x2F;projects we build today and in seconds you can be consuming data from third party APIs faster than any other format and more simplistically, that is why it won.