Which of the following JSON data formats is better? (Array of arrays vs Array of Objects)

Question

Which of the following JSON data formats is better as a server response for mobile apps and any graphing, tabular and repeater widgets that may display the data.

Format 1 Array of Arrays

{"Columns":["SETTLE_DATE","AMOUNT"],"Data":[["03/01/2011",365267.03],["03/02/2011",377867.03],["03/03/2011",390467.03],["03/07/2011",754067.03],["03/08/2011",766667.03],["03/09/2011",779267.03],["03/10/2011",793667.03],["03/11/2011",817067.03],["03/12/2011",1132067.03],["03/13/2011",1144667.03],["03/14/2011",1157267.03],["03/15/2011",1169867.03],["03/17/2011",1195067.03],["03/18/2011",1207667.03],["03/19/2011",1524467.03],["03/20/2011",1537067.03],["03/21/2011",1549667.03],["03/22/2011",1562267.03],["03/23/2011",1576667.03],["03/31/2011",10600.03]],"TotalCount":20}

Format 2 Array of Objects

{ Data: [ { “date”: “20110301”, “amt”: 36527.03}, { “date”: 20110301, “amt”: 36527.03}, { “date”: “20110301”, “amt”: 36527.03} ], “TotalCount”: 20 }

What are the pros/cons of one over another?

Dave Newton · Accepted Answer · 2011-11-04 21:33:39Z

3

"Better" is subjective.

IMO objects are more communicative, to both humans and code (e.g., Android's GSON stuff). Otherwise you're unmarshaling untyped tuples, which is error-prone.

On the JS side, some client libraries just work better if you're dealing with named values, and again, it's more difficult to make non-obvious mistakes.

edited Nov 4, 2011 at 21:33

answered Nov 4, 2011 at 20:34

Dave Newton

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