Is JSON5 a better JSON?
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:category:  Misc
:date:      2025-04-16 06:10:00 +0300
:tags:      configuration, json, json5

Yes it is, at least when it comes to configuration files.

`As I said earlier <file-formats_>`_, JSON is a good serialization language but a terrible config language.
JSON5 builds on its strong sides: it's backwards compatible with JSON and is still a subset of JavaScript and
it is still relatively easy to parse.
Then it adds all the good stuff like unquoted keys, trailing commas, and a must-have thing for any config, comments.
For me it has only two real downsides, both really minor.
First is, as most config-oriented languages, it's tricky for automated modification, a feature it shares with TOML and YAML.
The second one is JSON6_, while ES6 syntax sugar is nice, it's just a `15th competing standard <xkcd_>`_, and the worst, competing with itself.

.. _file-formats: link://slug/file-formats-misuse
.. _JSON6: https://github.com/d3x0r/JSON6
.. _xkcd: https://xkcd.com/927/