[x3d-public] X3D JSON encoding: Purpose and Comments

[Leonard Daly]

I have been following the discussion on JSON for a while. I got behind 
on email reading, so I don't know if this was addressed after this email.

I think there is one question that need to be asked first:

*What is the purpose of the JSON encoding?*

JSON is used for a variety of purposes, including efficient data 
transfer, storage, and archive. Each of these purposes has its own 
requirements. For example for transfer you typically want a compact 
format that takes little time and memory to process on the receiving 
end. Small sizes are important for archive formats, but they also need 
to have longevity. Taking additional time to unpack is generally not a 
problem.

If a file is hand-created or edited; then comments are important. While 
auto-generated, intermediate, or data-base generated files typically do 
not have comments (or contain only minimal comments).

So, back to my question. If the JSON format is primarily for transfer, 
then it should be compact and without non-essential data. Since comments 
are not part of the X3D content model; they are non-essential data to 
the file and should not be included in it.

If the purpose is for archival or non-archival storage, then comments 
are important and need to be included (unless the JSON format is 
strictly an intermediate format).

I do not think it reasonable to state that all X3D encodings are storage 
(or all choices). That ignores the best features of any encoding and 
forces all encodings to support the worst features of each.



-- 
*Leonard Daly*
3D Systems & Cloud Consultant
X3D Co-Chair on Sabbatical
LA ACM SIGGRAPH Chair
President, Daly Realism - /Creating the Future/
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