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it's true JS doesn't support this, and it's also true that any JSON that supported it would therefore no longer be _JavaScript_ object notation. However, it's

it's true JS doesn't support this, and it's also true that any JSON that supported it would therefore no longer be _JavaScript_ object notation. However, it's equally true that a better language and object notation would support non-string scalar keys.

kevingadd 6y ago
JavaScript wouldn't be able to consume those resulting objects, so it would be pretty diminished as an alternative to JSON. Object keys are all strings.
- wruza 6y ago
  Not that I find this idea useful for otherwise limited DTO format, which JSON is, but JS has Map, which may be used for such maps.
  - kevingadd 6y ago
    Sadly because arrays are not immutable you can't meaningfully use them as Map keys. You'd need a tuple type, which does not currently exist.
xpe 6y ago
I can see why you want non-string scalar keys. In general, I do too. (I'm writing a data language that has them.) However, I don't think it is useful to prod JSON (or a variant) to go in this direction.
- pseudalopex 6y ago
  Why not?
  - xpe 6y ago
    JSON is extremely closely linked with JavaScript. Trying to move it in a different direction, in my opinion, would require a lot of effort, without much benefit, and is unlikely to succeed.
    - pseudalopex 6y ago
      JSON is used lots of places JavaScript isn't. It hasn't been closely linked with JavaScript since people realized eval is dangerous. People are more interested in JSON derivatives like JSON5 or Ion than more complex languages like Dhall in my experience.
      - xpe 6y ago
        All fair points. Dhall is new to me. Would you tell me more about other configuration languages you seen? I often use TOML myself.