YAML
YAML, which stands for "YAML Ain't Markup Language" (a recursive acronym), is a human-readable data serialization standard for all programming languages. YAML is often used for configuration files, data exchange, and for applications where data is being stored or transmitted in a structured way.
History and Development
- Clark Evans first proposed YAML in 2001 as an attempt to make a data serialization language that was both simple and powerful, with an emphasis on human readability.
- In 2001, Ingy döt Net and Oren Ben-Kiki joined Clark to refine the language, leading to the release of version 1.0 of the YAML specification in 2004.
- Over time, YAML has seen several updates to enhance its capabilities and address issues, with the current version being 1.2, released in 2009.
Features and Characteristics
- Readability: YAML uses a minimalistic syntax that makes it easy for humans to read and understand. It employs indentation to denote nesting, similar to Python's syntax.
- Support for Complex Data Structures: YAML supports basic data types like strings, numbers, and booleans, but also complex structures such as lists, maps (associative arrays), and even custom types.
- Language Independence: Designed to be interoperable between different languages, YAML can be used in virtually any programming environment.
- Serialization: It provides a way to serialize object instances to a text format and deserialize them back into objects, which is particularly useful in scenarios involving data storage or transmission.
- Unicode Support: YAML is fully Unicode compliant, allowing for the representation of international characters.
Usage
YAML is commonly used in:
- Configuration files for applications like Docker Compose files, Ansible playbooks, and Kubernetes manifests.
- Data exchange between languages with different data representation formats.
- As a data format in various software projects to specify settings, metadata, or other structured data.
Examples of YAML
A simple example of a YAML document:
- name: John Smith
age: 33
address:
street: 123 Main St
city: New York
state: NY
External Links
Related Topics