Comparing JSON and XML

Name:

Date:

Class:

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Which format is usually shorter for the same data?

A XML

B JSON

2. Which snippet is JSON?

A {"name": "Ava", "year": 12}

B <student><name>Ava</name></student>

3. Which format uses opening and closing tags to wrap each value?

A JSON

B XML

4. Which format can carry attributes, like <item id="7">?

A XML

B JSON

5. Which statement is correct?

A Both JSON and XML are self-describing text formats

B Only XML is self-describing; JSON is not

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1{"name": "Ava", "year": 12}		AXML: opening and closing tags, with an attribute carrying extra information
2<student year="12"><name>Ava</name></student>		B<xs:element name="age" type="xs:integer"/>
3Both JSON and XML are self-describing: the field names travel with the data		CJSON: compact key-value pairs in braces, short and easy to read
4XML can be checked against a schema, so the receiver can confirm the structure is valid		D{"city": "Brisbane"} and <city>Brisbane</city>
5<name>Ava</nme>		EThe closing tag does not match the opening tag. XML needs every element closed with a matching tag.
6{name: 'Ava', year: 12,}		FJSON keys and strings need double quotes, and a trailing comma is not allowed.

Definitions

JSON vs XML

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

{"name"_ "Ava", "year": 12}

<?xml _______="1.0"?>

{"marks": _88, 74, 91]}

<xs:element name="age" ____="xs:integer"/>

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A {'name': 'Ava',

B "year": 12,

C "active": true}

Question 2

A <student>

B <name>Ava</nam>

C <year>12</year>

D </student>

Question 3

A {

B "name": "Ava"

C "year": 12

D }

Question 4

A <book id="7">

B <title>Dune</title>

C <cost cur=AUD>12</cost>

D </book>

Question 5

A import json

B text = '{"id": 7}'

C data = json.loads(text)

D print(data.id)

Answer Key

Comparing JSON and XML

Section A: Quick Questions

B — JSON

A — {"name": "Ava", "year": 12}

B — XML

A — XML

A — Both JSON and XML are self-describing text formats

Section B: Match the Pairs

{"name": "Ava", "year": 12} → JSON: compact key-value pairs in braces, short and easy to read

<student year="12"><name>Ava</name></student> → XML: opening and closing tags, with an attribute carrying extra information

Both JSON and XML are self-describing: the field names travel with the data → {"city": "Brisbane"} and <city>Brisbane</city>

XML can be checked against a schema, so the receiver can confirm the structure is valid → <xs:element name="age" type="xs:integer"/>

<name>Ava</nme> → The closing tag does not match the opening tag. XML needs every element closed with a matching tag.

{name: 'Ava', year: 12,} → JSON keys and strings need double quotes, and a trailing comma is not allowed.

Section C: Definitions

JSON vs XML — JSON is shorter and easier to read. XML uses tags and can carry attributes and schemas. Both are self-describing text formats for exchanging data between systems.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

<name>Ava</name>

{"name": "Ava", "year": 12}

<?xml version="1.0"?>

{"marks": [88, 74, 91]}

<xs:element name="age" type="xs:integer"/>

Section E: Spot the Error

A — JSON keys and strings must use double quotes, not single quotes. The line should be {"name": "Ava",

B — Every XML opening tag needs a matching closing tag. The closing tag must be </name>, not </nam>.

B — JSON separates key-value pairs with commas. This line is missing the comma after "Ava" and should be "name": "Ava",

C — XML attribute values must be inside quotes. Attributes are something JSON does not have, and the line should be <cost cur="AUD">12</cost>.

D — json.loads() returns a Python dictionary, so you read a value with square brackets and the key name: data["id"]. Dot notation does not work on a dictionary.