GSON

Granular Structured Object Notation.

Features

GSON is a superset of JSON with:

• Fast parsing through Unicode markers.
• A simple syntax for:
  • Multiline strings
  • File inclusion
  • UUID and TUID generation

Sample

{
    "path":
        "test.json",
    "text":
        ‴first line
        second line
        third line ‗
        ‗ fourth line
        fifth line‴,
    "person":
        {
            "name":
                "Jack",
            "age":
                48
        },
    "personArray":
        [
            {
                "name":
                    "Mike",
                "age":
                    35
            },
            {
                "name":
                    "Nina",
                "age":
                    32
            },
            {
                "name":
                    "Pete",
                "age":
                    38
            }
        },
    "personByIdMap":
        {
            "mike":
                {
                    "name":
                        "Mike",
                    "age":
                        35
                },
            "nina":
                {
                    "name":
                        "Nina",
                    "age":
                        32
                },
            "pete":
                {
                    "name":
                        "Pete",
                    "age":
                        38
                }
        ],
    "escaped":
        "\u2034",
    "uuid":
        ‴‼#jack‴,
    "tuid":
        ‴‼%jack‴,
    "included":
        ‴‼@included.gson‴
}

Syntax

Any JSON file is also a GSON file, since GSON is a superset of JSON.

Multiline strings are enclosed by ‴ characters, and use the ‗ character to represent a non-trimmable space:

‴first line
second line
third line ‗
‗ fourth line
fifth line‴

Command strings are also enclosed by ‴ characters, but start with a ‼ character:

• ‴‼#id‴ generates an MD5-based UUID.
• ‴‼%id‴ generates an MD5-based TUID.
• ‴‼@path/to/file.gson‴ includes the contents of another GSON file.

Use Cases

GSON is designed to extend JSON in scenarios where additional flexibility and expressiveness are beneficial.

It is particularly well suited for configuration files where readability matters, especially when working with multiline text.

It also helps organize large configurations or datasets by allowing them to be split into multiple files and included where needed.

Additionally, GSON supports generating consistent identifiers such as UUIDs and TUIDs directly within the data.

Limitations

When used as literal text:

• The ‴ character must be escaped in string literals.
• The ‼ and ‗ characters must be escaped in multiline string literals.

Version

0.4

Author

Eric Pelzer (ecstatic.coder@gmail.com).

License

This project is licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License version 3.

See the LICENSE.md file for details.