XML
- Markup language, to store and process data into computer readable-format
- Not a programming language since it does not perform algorithms or computation
- Process and format objects due to the tag structures
- Complex and hard to read by human
- XML is older, this markup language was able to define a set of rules and structure to make the interchange of data universal and further produce documents that are both human and computer-readable.
- XML plays a significant role in data storage,
JSON
- Data format in JS applications
- Receives data from a web server and transmits it to a web page
- Simplify data transfer due to no processing/ computation
- Empty tags/data
- More modern approach to the same purpose as XML. However, it's favored for data delivery between browsers and servers due to the lighter and faster files it produces
- JSON is the fastest and easiest way to fulfill the data structuring and exchanging mechanism.
- surpass in performance
The comparison
First, as previously mentioned, while XML is a markup language, JSON, on the other hand, is a data format. One of the most significant advantages of using JSON is that the file size is smaller; thus, transferring data is faster than XML. Moreover, since JSON is compact and very easy to read, the files look cleaner and more organized without empty tags and data. The simplicity of its structure and minimal syntax makes JSON easier to be used and read by humans. Contrarily, XML is often characterized for its complexity and old-fashioned standard due to the tag structure that makes files bigger and harder to read.
However, JSON vs. XML is not entirely a fair comparison. JSON is often wrongly perceived as a substitute for XML, but while JSON is a great choice to make simple data transfers, it does not perform any processing or computation. XML might be "old" and complex, but its complexity is what enables this language to not only transfer data but also to process and format objects and documents.
