Standard data formats used in APIs and web services
XML (eXtensible Markup Language) and JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) are the two dominant data interchange formats used in APIs and web services. JSON has largely superseded XML in modern SaaS APIs due to its simplicity, readability, and native compatibility with JavaScript.
When you call the Stripe API to create a charge, it returns a JSON object with the payment status, amount, and customer ID — readable by both humans and code.