JSON file type?

I’ve been wondering about this for a while…

One of my apps reads/writes JSON data. This is technically a subset of JavaScript so I’ve been using the JSScript (F81) file type. However, JSON has its own MIME type (application/json) and on most other platforms it has its own .json extension.

Do you think I should request a RISC OS file type allocation specifically for JSON, or should I just continue to use JSScript?

On my system JSON files are plain text, my apps that use JSON files just read the file and do what I want them to do.

Yep, any app that can read the files isn’t going to care what the type is. I’m thinking more from a semantic point of view to keep things nicely categorised.

We have a filetype for XML. JSON is ubiquitous enough that I think it would make sense to have one for that as well.

JSScript is F81. I use that. But we’re not short of filetypes. I wonder whether I should register PSON for the same reason.

Now I’ll have to make a new icon. Uggh.

We now have an allocation: F75 :)

And what, pray tell, did you submit as the icon?

Because this is all dreadful…

There’s a weak consensus for {;} I think (which is weird, considering).

There’s this meaningless doodle from Crockford’s site, but it really doesn’t say anything does it?

I’m torn.

It ought to be more texty.

There’s a “style” for RO5 sprites (and to some degree RO4 ones) where the text description appears in the icon (eg. “Wav”,“AVI” etc) usually across the bottom (RO5).

That’d typically result in something like the purple one at position 2,2 (with top left origin) in nemo’s chart. RISC OS tends to use the bottom left corner for the “turn-up” though – we’re always different!

There’s a weak consensus for {;} I think (which is weird, considering).

It’s not just weird, it’s dumb. JSON is quite late to the party of brace-and-semicolon languages. If anything has the right to wear that crown, it’s either C (as the most prolific) or BCPL (the first, back in 1966).

There’s this meaningless doodle from Crockford’s site, but it really doesn’t say anything does it?

Reminds me of Opera’s logo, only in grey shades.

Although there’s no shortage of things to rant about in the world, taking an OS that does not use file extensions and then putting file extensions into the file icons is one of my pet peeves.

It’s not just weird, it’s dumb.

More to the point it’s dead wrong. Semicolons appear conspicuously in JavaScript (though they are usually superfluous), but cannot appear in JSON. Hence my experiment with quotes (because you have to use quotes in JSON, unlike JavaScript).

I think it has to be Crockford’s ouroborosic O, sadly. No doubt clarified by text saying “JSON” because we should have just used file extensions like everybody else and be done with it. <seethes>

The sticking the text on came in with 3.8 didn’t it? That was when the BASIC icon suddenly got a “Basic” label, and I think a lot of the other did too.

In 3.1 days there were a few, I think data said “DATA” but they were mostly just .. icons.

What was I thinking?! The solution is obvious…(!)

There’s this meaningless doodle

Looks a bit like Stagecoach’s meaningless doodle – and a meaningless doodle that a once-upon-a-time Secretary of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Physiology was absolutely convinced would be perfect for the Journal of Physiology (at just about the same time as Stagecoach adopted it).

I don’t think anyone under the age of 55 will get this.

Some almost 70 won’t…

Last one, I promise…

We are heading right into Aldershot territory. Still, I can’t resist.

Some almost 70 won’t…

Some over 73 don’t!

Although there’s no shortage of things to rant about in the world,

My current pet peeve – just because I’ve been listening to Eagle 80s, is the song “We Built The City” (which, admittedly, is a LONG way and a rename or two from the days of White Rabbit) which has the line:
Marconi plays the mamba
Yeah… Mambo is a Latin dance from Cuba.
Mambo, on the other hand, is a large scary snake. Or a Russian dating website, which probably isn’t so different…

taking an OS that does not use file extensions and then putting file extensions into the file icons is one of my pet peeves.

Hmm, hasn’t Data and App said as much for a long time? It seems to me like the internal filetypes (App, BASIC, Util, Module, etc) have carried descriptions while the common user visible types (Sprite, Draw…) have been iconic pictures.

I have nothing against descriptions in less common types – it would perhaps be useful to look at JSON and know it’s a JSON without looking at the file info and/or remembering the icon. That said, the JSON one with the text in a red box on the centre-left, haven’t I seen an icon that looked a lot like that which said “PDF”?

Semicolons […] cannot appear in JSON.

Wait… what? Then… {;}…
<shrug>

S’pose it makes about as much sense as anything else these days.

The solution is obvious…(!)

What’s that, a Richard Stallman icon?

Your late sixties icon is about eight years before my time, but it looks annoyingly familiar.

Last one, I promise…

Killing a zombie? Surely that should be a filetype allocated for “26 bit stuff”? :-)

For those mystified by my groovy iconography, baby: Jason King worked at Department S. Yeah!

haven’t I seen an icon that looked a lot like that which said “PDF”?

And every other TLA FFS, LOL.

I think he’s doing a “JSON and the Argonauts” (Jason) reference. And a Friday 13th hockeymask Jason reference. Still wracking my brain on the other!

Edit – no, I wouldn’t have got Department S – that one completely passed me by. Any good?

Well done nemo, you’ve found LOLCODE. But can you read it without your brain aching?

For those who haven’t seen this yet, here’s a snippet of part of a Brainf*** interpreter:

BOTH SAEM THING AN "<", O RLY?
    YA RLY
      RPTR IN MAH RTAPE R CELL
      RPTR R SUM OF RPTR AN 1
      BOTH SAEM LPTR AN 0, O RLY?
        YA RLY
          CELL R 0
        NO WAI
          LPTR R DIFF OF LPTR AN 1
          CELL R LPTR IN MAH LTAPE
      OIC
  OIC

Full code at https://gist.github.com/listochkin/94e2e9af7292a9877fff

Language at http://www.lolcode.org/

Looks like it is written in C, so ought to be reasonably portable. Any one fancy giving RISC OS some LOLs for the lulz?

And what, pray tell, did you submit as the icon?

I didn’t :)

There’s a “style” for RO5 sprites (and to some degree RO4 ones) where the text description appears in the icon (eg. “Wav”,“AVI” etc) usually across the bottom (RO5).

If I was to come up with one myself then I’d try to match that theme. I presume there’s a master (ArtWorks?) file floating around somewhere that can be used as a template.

Friday 13th hockeymask Jason reference

Oh my god, it’s a hockey mask, not… https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Stallman
< bursts out laughing >

I wouldn’t have got Department S – that one completely passed me by. Any good?

Ah yes. Back when ITC was a thing and everybody liked spy dramas. It’s kind of dated, but these days that’s more a sense of nostalgia than a reason to complain. Knock yourself out, here’s the first: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4atvyWaSfY