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<html><head><meta charset="utf-8"><title>Hjson, a user interface for JSON</title><meta name="description" content="Hjson, a user interface for JSON. Adds comments, makes it nicer to read and avoids comma mistakes."><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width"><link rel="canonical" href="https://hjson.github.io"><link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/twitter-bootstrap/3.3.6/css/bootstrap.min.css" crossorigin="anonymous"><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="css/md.css"><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="css/pg5.css"><script type="text/javascript">0<window.location.href.indexOf("hjson.org")&&(window.location.href="https://hjson.github.io")</script><meta name="twitter:card" content="summary" f=""><meta name="twitter:site" content="@laktakk"><meta name="twitter:creator" content="@laktakk"><meta name="twitter:title" content="Hjson, a user interface for JSON"><meta name="twitter:description" content="Hjson, a user interface for JSON. Adds comments, makes it nicer to read and avoids comma mistakes."><meta name="twitter:image" content="https://hjson.github.io/icon/hjson-s.png"><link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="192x192" href="fav/icon-192x192.png"><link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="32x32" href="fav/icon-32x32.png"><link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="96x96" href="fav/icon-96x96.png"><link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="fav/icon-192x192.png"><meta name="msapplication-TileImage" content="fav/icon-192x192.png"></head><body><script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.2.1/jquery.min.js"></script><script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/twitter-bootstrap/3.3.6/js/bootstrap.min.js" crossorigin="anonymous"></script><nav class="navbar navbar-inverse navbar-fixed-top" role="navigation"><div class="container"><div class="navbar-header"><button type="button" class="navbar-toggle" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="#navbar-collapse-1"><span class="sr-only">Toggle navigation</span> <span class="icon-bar"></span> <span class="icon-bar"></span> <span class="icon-bar"></span></button> <a class="navbar-brand" href="."><img src="icon/hjson-st.png">Hjson</a></div><div class="collapse navbar-collapse" id="navbar-collapse-1"><ul class="nav navbar-nav"><li><a class="btn navbar-btn btn-success" href="users.html">Users</a></li><li><a class="btn navbar-btn btn-success" href="download.html">Developers</a></li><li><a href="syntax.html">Syntax</a></li><li><a class="btn navbar-btn btn-danger" href="try.html">Try</a></li><li><a href="faq.html">FAQ</a></li><li><a aria-label="Star hjson on GitHub" data-count-aria-label="# stargazers on GitHub" data-count-api="/repos/hjson/hjson#stargazers_count" data-count-href="/hjson/hjson/stargazers" data-style="mega" data-icon="octicon-star" href="https://github.com/hjson/hjson" class="github-button">Star</a></li></ul></div></div></nav><div id="main"><div class="content"><h2 id="-a-id-faq-a-div-class-hicon-div-hjson-faq"><a id="faq"></a><div class="hicon"></div>Hjson FAQ</h2><div class="sam"><div><h3 id="what-are-good-uses-for-hjson-">What are good uses for Hjson?</h3></div><div class="aa"><p><strong>"I'd like to use Hjson everywhere!"</strong></p><p>Use it for</p><ul><li>config files</li><li>resource files (e.g. a language definition)</li><li>inspection/debugging (e.g. the watch output)</li><li>anytime where the primary purpose is for a Human to view or edit</li></ul></div><div class="bb"><pre><code>/*
 * Hjson is for Humans,
 * not machines!
 *
 * You should convert Hjson to JSON
 * before you send it to one.
 */
</code></pre></div><div class="clear"></div><hr><div><h3 id="what-are-bad-uses-for-hjson-">What are bad uses for Hjson?</h3></div><div class="aa"><p><strong>"Hjson is a bad idea!"</strong></p><p>Do not use it for</p><ul><li>protocols</li><li>databases</li></ul><p>Something like a REST service should never use Hjson. If you are writing a REST debugger you can convert to/from Hjson when the data is viewed by a human.</p></div><div class="bb"><pre><code>/*
 * Always use the right tool for the job.
 */
</code></pre></div><div class="clear"></div><hr><div><h3 id="but-javascript-">But JavaScript!?</h3></div><div class="aa"><p><strong>"OMG, you broke JavaScript!"</strong></p><p>JSON is not JavaScript, it's a data interchange format that can be used in many languages (50+, see <a href="https://hjson.github.io">hjson.github.io</a>).</p></div><div class="bb"><pre><code>/*
 * Hjson, like JSON, is not limited
 * to JavaScript.
 */
</code></pre></div><div class="clear"></div><hr><div><h3 id="but-json-">But JSON!?</h3></div><div class="aa"><p><strong>"OK but OMG, now you broke JSON!"</strong></p><p>JSON is a great data format that can be edited by hand but it has a very strict syntax.</p><p>A more forgiving format makes it easier for Humans to write, it reduces unnecessary mistakes and is also nicer to read.</p></div><div class="bb"><pre><code>/*
 * Hjson does not replace JSON.
 * Use it for configuration files
 * and things like debug dumps.
 *
 * For protocols and anything
 * else use JSON.
 */
</code></pre></div><div class="clear"></div><hr><div><h3 id="but-yaml-hocon-">But YAML/HOCON/...!?</h3></div><div class="aa"><p><strong>"OK but still, do we need another YAML/HOCON/etc.?"</strong></p><p>A lot of projects use JSON for config. Why don't they use YAML or another config format?</p><p>IMHO it's because</p><ul><li>JSON is easier to explain (compare the JSON and YAML specs)</li><li>JSON does not suffer from significant whitespace</li><li>JSON is not bloated (it does not have anchors, substitutions or concatenation).</li><li>JSON is easier to implement</li></ul><p>So there is obviously a need for a better config format.</p></div><div class="bb"><pre><code>/*
 * A data format for Humans
 * should be lean and simple.
 *
 * Human !== Developer
 * Human != Developer
 * Human &lt;&gt; Developer
 * Human .NE. Developer
 * Human ne Developer
 * Human /= Developer
 * Human '= Developer
 * Human ~= Developer
 * Human -ne Developer
 */
</code></pre></div><div class="clear"></div><hr><div><h3 id="what-does-the-h-in-hjson-stand-for-">What does the H in Hjson stand for?</h3></div><div class="aa"><p>It's H for Human, Human JSON.</p></div><div class="bb"></div><div class="clear"></div><hr><div><h3 id="can-i-minify-hjson-">Can I minify Hjson?</h3></div><div class="aa"><p><strong>"Just because!"</strong></p><p>Hjson is for Humans so minifying it would kind of defeat its purpose.</p></div><div class="bb"><pre><code>/*
 * Er... no!
 */
</code></pre></div><div class="clear"></div><hr><div><h3 id="round-trip">Round trip</h3></div><div class="aa"><p><strong>"Can Hjson keep my comments when updating a config file?"</strong></p><p>Yes, Hjson allows you to round-trip your data, including your comments.</p><p>* But not yet with all implementations, PRs welcome :)</p></div><div class="bb"><pre><code>var data = Hjson.rt.parse(text);

// use data like a normal object
data.foo = "text";

// stringify with comments
text = Hjson.rt.stringify(data);
</code></pre></div><div class="clear"></div><hr><div><h3 id="-insert-name-here-does-not-yet-support-hjson-can-i-still-use-it-">[insert name here] does not yet support Hjson, can I still use it?</h3></div><div class="aa"><p><strong>"I really need comments in my config!"</strong></p><p>If <em>[insert name here]</em> supports at least JSON configs you can.</p></div><div class="bb"><pre><code># convert to Hjson (once)
$ hjson config.json &gt; config.hjson

# edit/document the config
$ nano config.hjson

# then convert back to json
# every time you update config.hjson
$ hjson -j config.hjson &gt; config.json
</code></pre></div><div class="clear"></div><hr><div><h3 id="-a-id-pronounce-a-how-do-i-pronounce-hjson-"><a id="pronounce"></a> How do I pronounce Hjson?</h3></div><div class="aa"><p><strong>What should I call this thing?</strong></p><p>You should pronounce it H-json ("aitch-jason").</p><p>As for how to pronounce JSON, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhVdWQWKRqM">watch this</a>.</p></div><div class="bb"><pre><code>/*
 * h-jason
 */
</code></pre></div><div class="clear"></div></div></div><div class="ynav"><a href="users.html">Users</a> <a href="download.html">Developers</a> <a href="syntax.html">Syntax</a> <a href="try.html">Try</a> <a href="faq.html">FAQ</a> <a href="https://github.com/hjson/hjson/issues">Feedback</a> <a href="history.html">History</a></div></div><script>!function(a,e,t,n,c,o,g){a.GoogleAnalyticsObject=c,a.ga=a.ga||function(){(a.ga.q=a.ga.q||[]).push(arguments)},a.ga.l=1*new Date,o=e.createElement(t),g=e.getElementsByTagName(t)[0],o.async=1,o.src="//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js",g.parentNode.insertBefore(o,g)}(window,document,"script",0,"ga"),ga("create","UA-49208230-1","auto"),ga("send","pageview"),$(document).on("click",".navbar-collapse.in",function(a){$(a.target).is("a")&&"dropdown-toggle"!=$(a.target).attr("class")&&$(this).collapse("hide")})</script><script async="" defer="" id="github-bjs" src="https://buttons.github.io/buttons.js"></script></body></html>