Consider JSON output formats, and jq as your swiss army knife between operations. The disadvantage of "first class values" is that now you need a type system t

Consider JSON output formats, and jq as your swiss army knife between operations. The disadvantage of "first class values" is that now you need a type system to help determine what values can be used in what way, and it becomes complicated to use a data stream in a manner which was not anticipated when it was authored. If you keep the exchange format as close to plain text as possible, it's much more straightforward to do new things with it.