v2.0.0-preview

[2.0.0-preview] - 2025-01-14

🚀 Major Release - ASON 2.0

Complete rewrite of ASON with new syntax, architecture, and optimizations.

Added

• New ASON 2.0 Syntax - Cleaner, more intuitive format

  • Sections with @section syntax (replaces object references)
  • Semantic references $var instead of numeric #0
  • Tabular arrays [N]{fields} with pipe | delimiter
  • Dot notation for nested objects config.debug:true
  • Support for inline objects {key:value} and inline arrays [a,b,c]

• Lexer → Parser → AST → Compiler Architecture

  • Complete modular parsing pipeline
  • Token-based lexer (src/lexer/Lexer.js, TokenType.js, Token.js)
  • Recursive descent parser (src/parser/Parser.js)
  • AST nodes (src/parser/nodes/)
  • Optimized compiler/serializer (src/compiler/Serializer.js)

• Advanced Optimizations

  • Inline Compact Objects: Small objects serialized as {key:value} without spaces
  • Dot Notation in Schemas: Nested objects flattened in tabular arrays [N]{id,price.amount,price.currency}
  • Array Fields in Schemas: Arrays marked with [] suffix [N]{id,tags[]}
  • minRowsForTabular = 2: Tabular optimization from just 2 rows

• Smart Analyzers

  • ReferenceAnalyzer: Detects repeated strings for $def: section
  • SectionAnalyzer: Identifies large objects for @section markers
  • TabularAnalyzer: Finds uniform arrays with support for nested objects and arrays
  • DefinitionBuilder: Manages reference definitions

Changed

• Breaking: Complete syntax change from ASON 1.x to ASON 2.0

  • &obj0 → @section (sections instead of object references)
  • #0 → $var (semantic variable names)
  • @field1,field2 → [N]{field1,field2} (explicit count + schema)
  • , → | (pipe delimiter in tabular arrays)

• Improved Compression

  • Better detection of optimization opportunities
  • Combined optimizations (dot notation + arrays + inline objects)
  • Smarter decisions on when to use each format

• Enhanced Round-Trip Fidelity

  • 100% lossless compression/decompression
  • Proper handling of edge cases (negative numbers, nested structures)
  • Fixed YAML-style list parsing at root level

Fixed

• Parser Bugs

  • Fixed YAML-style lists (-) not working at root level
  • Fixed nested object parsing in arrays
  • Fixed negative number tokenization
  • Fixed empty object/array handling

• Serializer Issues

  • Fixed duplicate properties in sections
  • Fixed illogical ordering (sections now appear after primitives)
  • Fixed proper newline handling

Documentation

• Updated /docs/index.html - ASON 2.0 Playground
• Updated /docs/docs.html - ASON 2.0 Documentation
• Updated /docs/benchmarks.html - ASON 2.0 Benchmarks
• Updated /docs/tokenizer.html - Token Comparison Tool
• All examples updated to ASON 2.0 syntax

Performance

• 20-60% token reduction vs JSON (maintained from 1.x)
• Improved human readability with semantic references
• Better LLM compatibility with cleaner syntax
• Scalable format suitable for large datasets

Migration Guide

ASON 1.x is not compatible with ASON 2.0. To migrate:

1. Recompress your data with ASON 2.0
2. Update any manual ASON strings to new syntax
3. See /docs/docs.html for complete syntax reference

Internal Changes

• Complete rewrite of codebase (Lexer → Parser → AST → Compiler)
• Improved test coverage (30 passing tests)
• Better separation of concerns
• Modular analyzer system
• Cleaner code organization