undefined | Better HN

Skip to content

Top Best Ask Show New Jobs

0 pointsdiggan6y ago0 comments

> hostile json format

This is new. Is "hostile" referring to a data format that has been created to be as un-portable as possible? Feels like a more accurate description would be to just saw "poorly designed format" as you cannot know their intent (unless they published their intent of course)

0 comments

6 comments · 3 top-level

Avamander6y ago· 3 in thread

Nothing to do with json, if someone wants then data can be always represented in hard to understand formats.

json is a good file format, but the way that fitbit exports the data is strangely partitioned by file and object depth. Machine readable certainly, but most machines will need a lot of guidance to turn it into a useful dataset.

Avamander6y ago

Yeah and you could make an XML or a TOML that requires just as much guidance for computers to parse. That was my point.

megaremote6y ago

No one is attacking json here.

Either their storage systems and file formatting philosophy are too sophisticated for me to understand or they're intentionally delivered in a way that requires moderately advanced data processing skills to use.

setr6y ago

You can derive/assume intent; it'd be pointless to only claim intent when specifically stated (you can't always assume stated intent isn't actual intent either...).

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse