JSON, JavaScript Object Notation, is a lightweight, text-based data format for representing structured data as nested objects, arrays and primitive values, defined by ECMA-404 and RFC 8259. Its syntax is a strict subset of JavaScript object literal notation, making it directly parseable in browsers while remaining language-independent, with parsers available in essentially every programming language. It is the dominant format for web API payloads, configuration files and document-oriented data storage.