Head Rush Ajax

you’re on your way �

387

xml versus json

So which is the better data format?

Joe: I know how to make Brussels sprouts, too. That

doesn’t mean I like them!

Frank: I just don’t see what you really gain by using

JSON. Maybe it’s a little easier for you to use, but it’s a

total pain for me to work with.

Joe: I don’t know. That JSON.php library looked pretty

easy to get running.

Frank: Sure, but now I’ve got to teach all my

programmers how to use JSON. They already know

XML, and that doesn’t require any special libraries.

Joe: Well, I still think it’s obvious. JSON rocks! I was just

reading an article that says it’s much faster than XML to

send over a network.

Frank: Yeah, I was just reading another article that said

the exact opposite! I think it totally depends on the data...

you can’t prove that JSON is always faster than XML in

every situation...

Joe: ...or that XML is faster than JSON!

Frank: Right. I guess we’re just not gonna agree on

this.?

Joe: Well, we have to pick one format or the other, right?

Well, it seems pretty obvious... JSON is new,

it’s JavaScript-friendly, and I don’t need to

do any weird DOM navigation to get my data.

Obvious to whom? I still think XML is the

clear winner. It’s a standard, and I don’t have

to download any libraries to use it in my PHP.

Besides, you know the DOM. What’s the big deal?

388

Chapter 7

choosing a data format

Look, I’d rather be climbing a mountain