What is a .NDJSON file?
An NDJSON file is a special type of file that is used to store information in a structured way, similar to a regular JSON file, but with a key difference. NDJSON stands for Newline Delimited JSON, which means that each piece of structured data is separated by a new line. This format is very useful for sending and receiving data that needs to be processed one piece at a time, making it easier to handle large amounts of data without needing to load everything at once.
Imagine you have a list of people's names and their favorite colors. In a regular JSON file, this list would be all together in one big chunk. But in an NDJSON file, each person's name and favorite color would be on its own line. This makes it much simpler for computers to read and process each person's information one at a time, especially when dealing with lots of data.
You can open NDJSON files with several programs. Simple text editing programs that you might already have on your computer, like Microsoft Notepad (which comes with Windows) or Apple TextEdit (included with macOS), can open these files. These programs let you see the contents of the NDJSON file in plain text. However, if you're working with these files often or need more advanced features, you might use specialized text editors like Vim. Although Github Atom was also mentioned, it's important to note that it has been discontinued and is no longer available for new users.
For those who prefer working in a web environment, web browsers like Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox can also be used to view NDJSON files. This is particularly handy for developers working with web technologies or for quickly checking the contents of an NDJSON file without needing to open a separate program.
NDJSON files are particularly favored by developers and people working with large datasets because they are compatible with many programming and data processing tools. The format's design makes it easy to stream data over the internet or through other communication protocols like TCP or UNIX Pipes, and it works well with UNIX-style text processing tools and shell pipelines. This makes NDJSON a versatile choice for logging activities, exchanging messages between different software processes, and other tasks that involve structured data handling.
In summary, NDJSON files are a practical way to store and manage structured data, especially when dealing with large volumes or streaming data. They can be opened and edited with basic text editors found on most computers, as well as with more specialized software and web browsers.
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