Introduction

Zoko is a JSON-like format designed for data storage, offering a more flexible and human-readable alternative to traditional JSON. It provides additional features while maintaining compatibility with JSON structures.

Features

• Human-Readable Syntax: Clean and intuitive syntax that's easy to read and write
• Maps and Objects: Support for both maps (with IDs and values) and objects (with IDs and values)
• Comments: Single-line (//) and multi-line (/* */) comments for better documentation
• Trailing Commas: No need to worry about trailing commas - they're fully supported
• Multiple String Types: Support for double-quoted, single-quoted, and multi-line backtick strings
• JSON Compatible: Easy conversion between Zoko and JSON formats
• Order Preservation: Maintains the original order of objects and maps

Why Zoko?

While JSON is excellent for data interchange, Zoko adds features that make it more suitable for configuration files and human-edited data:

• Comments for documentation
• Trailing commas for easier editing
• Multiple string delimiters for different use cases
• More lenient syntax rules
• Better support for complex nested structures

Quick Example

name: "@Main/Hello",
channel: "main",
branch: "Production",
status: "Release",
version: "1.0.0",
description: "Hello package for Zoil",
tags: ["Hello", "Zoil"],
website: "https://hello.nel.co",
dependencies: [
  {name: "Hola", version: "1.0.2"},
  {name: "@German/Hallo", channel: "main", version: "latest"},
],

Use Cases

• Configuration Files: Perfect for application configuration with comments
• Data Storage: Human-readable format for data persistence
• API Responses: More expressive than standard JSON
• Documentation: Mixed data and documentation in a single file

Next Steps

• Getting Started - Install and start using Zoko
• Syntax Reference - Learn the Zoko syntax in detail
• CLI Reference - Command-line interface documentation