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Douglas Crockford: The JSON Saga

YUI Library · talk · Watch on YouTube

Web developmentTech pioneers & interviewsSoftware practice, open source & careers

What it is

Douglas Crockford tells how JSON was discovered rather than invented, and how its simplicity made it a dominant data interchange format. He also covers surrounding history such as earlier Netscape usage and the 'Good, not Evil' license story.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN commenters cite it as Crockford's first-hand account of JSON's origins and of the no-evil license anecdote.

  • 2 people recommended it
  • 2 different months
  • 0 strong recommendations
  • first 2012, last 2025

What HN commenters said

  1. “See also this YouTube video, where Douglas Crockford explains it himself”

    Crockford explains in his own words why JSON requires quoted keys.

    xrstf, 2016-08 · Recommendation · in “Fixing JSON”

  2. “You may also get a chuckle out of an anecdote about the license that Douglas Crockford gave”

    Amusing Crockford anecdote about his no-evil license.

    Figs, 2019-09 · Recommendation · in “Do we need to rethink what free software is?”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: json, douglas crockford, javascript, xml, open source licensing

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