CSV, JSON, AND LINE-ORIENTED JSON
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By the webmaster. Published 2026-09-22.

Three ways to represent the same small collection:

CSV - convenient for a rectangular table:

  name,count
  pencils,3
  notebooks,2

JSON - an array of objects, with numeric values kept as numbers:

  [{"name":"pencils","count":3},{"name":"notebooks","count":2}]

Line-oriented JSON - one complete JSON value per line:

  {"name":"pencils","count":3}
  {"name":"notebooks","count":2}

Useful distinctions:

- CSV needs an agreed column order and handling for empty values. A field
  containing a comma belongs in double quotes; a quote inside it is doubled.
- JSON distinguishes strings, numbers, booleans, null, arrays, and objects.
  Quotes around "3" make it a string rather than a number.
- A line-oriented JSON file can be processed one complete line at a time.
  Pretty-printing a record across several lines breaks that convention.
- A newline inside a JSON string is written as \n, not a literal line break.
- File extensions are hints. Validate the contents before trusting them.

These examples contain invented stationery counts, not site activity.