Progressive JSON (overreacted.io)

Article summary

The article discusses the idea of Progressive JSON, which is inspired by Progressive JPEGs. It proposes a way to stream JSON data in a breadth-first manner, allowing clients to process the data as it arrives, rather than waiting for the entire JSON object to be loaded. This approach can improve the performance and user experience of applications that rely on JSON data. The article also explores the potential benefits and challenges of implementing Progressive JSON, including the need for clients to handle incomplete or missing data.

Main themes

• Progressive JSON
• Streaming Data
• JSON Performance
• API Design
• Data Formats
• Over-Engineering
• GraphQL
• Protocol Buffers
• Low-Latency Data Transfer
• Application Performance
• Data Processing
• Client-Server Architecture

What commenters say

• Some commenters argue that the proposed approach is over-engineering and that simpler solutions, such as making multiple API calls or using caching, would be more effective.
• Others suggest that the idea of Progressive JSON is interesting, but it may not be suitable for all use cases, and that other formats, such as Protocol Buffers, may be more efficient.
• A few commenters point out that GraphQL was designed to solve similar problems, but it has its own limitations and drawbacks.
• Some argue that the article's approach is too focused on JSON and that a more general solution would be more useful.
• There is a discussion about the trade-offs between over-engineering and having off-the-shelf options that are nice to use.
• Some commenters think that the idea of Progressive JSON could be useful for certain applications, such as those that require low-latency data transfer.
• Others are skeptical about the benefits of Progressive JSON and think that it may not be worth the added complexity.
• A few commenters suggest that the idea of Progressive JSON could be applied to other data formats, such as CSV or XML.