What Is YAML?

YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language) is a human-friendly data serialization standard for all programming languages. It is commonly used for configuration files and in applications where data is being stored or transmitted.

What is YAML syntax?

YAML syntax is designed to be human-readable and easy to write. It uses indentation to represent data structure, colons to separate key-value pairs, and dashes to denote list items. YAML supports scalars (strings, numbers, booleans), lists, and associative arrays (mappings). For example:

name: John Doe
age: 30
hobbies:
  - reading
  - cycling
address:
  street: 123 Main St
  city: Anytown

How is the YAML data format structure different from JSON?

While YAML and JSON are both data serialization formats, they have some key differences:

1. Syntax: YAML uses indentation for structure, while JSON uses braces and brackets [].
2. Comments: YAML supports comments, JSON does not.
3. Data types: YAML has more built-in data types, including dates and complex numbers.
4. Readability: YAML is generally considered more human-readable, especially for complex structures.
5. Multiline strings: YAML has better support for multiline strings.
6. References: YAML allows for references and aliases, which JSON doesn't support natively.