My wish-list for the next YAML July 28, 2021 on Drew DeVault's blog

submited by

Style Pass

2021-07-28 09:00:04

YAML is both universally used, and universally reviled. It has a lot of problems, but it also is so useful in solving specific tasks that it’s hard to replace. Some new kids on the block (such as TOML) have successfully taken over a portion of its market share, but it remains in force in places where those alternatives show their weaknesses.

I think it’s clear to most that YAML is in dire need of replacement, which is why many have tried. But many have also failed. So what are the key features of YAML which demonstrate its strengths, and key weaknesses that could be improved upon?

Hierarchical relationships emphasized with whitespace. There is no better way of representing a hierarchical data structure than by actually organizing your information visually. Note that semantically meaningful whitespace is not actually required — the use of tokens like { is acceptable — so long as, by convention, hierarchies are visually apparent.

Defined independently of its implementation. There should not be a canonical implementation of the format (though a reference implementation is, perhaps, acceptable). It should not be defined as “a config library for $language”. Interoperability is key. It must have a specification.