Which statement about JSON vs XML is true?

Which statement about JSON vs XML is true?

• A. XML is verbose and supports schemas and namespaces.
• B. JSON is verbose and supports schemas and namespaces.
• C. XML is lighter than JSON for data interchange.
• D. JSON cannot represent hierarchical data.

Answer: (A)

XML tends to be verbose because every piece of data is wrapped in opening and closing tags, which adds a lot of text. It also supports schemas (like XML Schema or DTD) to define the structure and data types, and namespaces to prevent element name collisions when combining vocabularies. JSON, by contrast, is designed for compact data interchange and represents data as nested objects and arrays, without built-in schemas or namespaces in the core specification (though external specifications like JSON Schema exist). That combination makes the statement about XML being verbose and supporting schemas and namespaces the accurate one. The other options misstate JSON’s verbosity and capabilities, or incorrectly claim XML is lighter than JSON, or that JSON cannot represent hierarchical data.