Worse is better: JSON versus XML

JSON is not a good data-interchange format. This article is part of a series called Worse is better, in which I muse on technologies and techniques that became popular despite superior alternatives. Think VHS versus Betamax. In this article, I will argue that XML is superior to JSON in most respects. Lightweight XML # Depending on how old you are, I guess that you have one of two reactions. If you started programming around 2015 you may simply ask: "What's XML?" If your programming career reaches further back, your reaction may be one of incredulity: "Oh my God, how can you say that?! Good riddance that SOAP, WS-(death)*, and XSLT are things of the past." Indeed, and I don't miss them, either. While that reaction is typical, it confuses cause and effect. SOAP and similar standards weren't cumbersome and overly complex because of XML. They managed to be awkward and enterprisey all by themselves. As a thought experiment, you could define all the payloads and specifications of SOAP as…