---
title: JSON vs XML
description: "> Both JSON and XML can be used to receive data from a web server. The following JSON and XML examples both define an employees object, with an array of 3 employees: ### JSON Example `{\"employees\":[ { \"firstName\":\"John\", \"lastName\":\"Doe\" },…"
url: "https://apprentice.mn/docs/json-vs-xml/"
updated: "2021-05-19"
category: Javascript
---

# JSON vs XML

> Both JSON and XML can be used to receive data from a web server.

The following JSON and XML examples both define an employees object, with an array of 3 employees:

### JSON Example

      `{"employees":[
  { "firstName":"John", "lastName":"Doe" },
  { "firstName":"Anna", "lastName":"Smith" },
  { "firstName":"Peter", "lastName":"Jones" }
]}`

### XML Example

             `<employees>
  <employee>
    <firstName>John</firstName> <lastName>Doe</lastName>
  </employee>
  <employee>
    <firstName>Anna</firstName> <lastName>Smith</lastName>
  </employee>
  <employee>
    <firstName>Peter</firstName> <lastName>Jones</lastName>
  </employee>
</employees>`

##  JSON is Like XML Because

- Both JSON and XML are “self describing” (human readable)
- Both JSON and XML are hierarchical (values within values)
- Both JSON and XML can be parsed and used by lots of programming languages
- Both JSON and XML can be fetched with an XMLHttpRequest

## JSON is Unlike XML Because

- JSON doesn’t use end tag
- JSON is shorter
- JSON is quicker to read and write
- JSON can use arrays

The biggest difference is:

 XML has to be parsed with an XML parser. JSON can be parsed by a standard JavaScript function.

## Why JSON is Better Than XML

XML is much more difficult to parse than JSON.
JSON is parsed into a ready-to-use JavaScript object.

For AJAX applications, JSON is faster and easier than XML:

Using XML

- Fetch an XML document
- Use the XML DOM to loop through the document
- Extract values and store in variables

Using JSON

- Fetch a JSON string
- JSON.Parse the JSON string

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