I don't think YAML is great, but I still think it's the best format out there.
The only confusing problem I've run into was the sexagesimal number notation and even that was fairly obvious. Perhaps it's because I tend to overquote strings?
I mean sure, the on/off to boolean mappings are annoying, but they also become very obvious when you're parsing config because the type validation will fail. If `flush_cache` has an enum `on` but no key `True` then the type validator will instantly complain about both the missing key and the extra key in the dictionary.
Same with accidental numbers, any type check will show that the parsing failed.
I find JSON for config files to become unreadable quickly because of the non-obvious nesting and the lack of comments. You can pick a JSON extension but then you need to pick one that your tooling will support.
Exactly this. I hear so many people recommend TOML over YAML.
I see the logic in it. For simple Key-value configurations, TOML is superior and more straightforward to YAML. You can add sub-level values and it isn't too bad (if there aren't too many), but beyond two levels, TOML becomes difficult to use.
If you really work in YAML in any sort of more advanced capacity (kubernetes, Ansible, CI/CD Pipelines) then you really need the complexity that YAML provides. You also get used to the "gotchas" mentioned here. Navigating them is fairly straightfoward.
I think the article was vastly overblown. Is YAML perfect? Certainly not. But you find a better way to display such complex data structures in a more human-readable and human-writable way. The complexity is YAML's strength, but it comes with caveats as all complexity generally does. I really think its the best we have.
The only confusing problem I've run into was the sexagesimal number notation and even that was fairly obvious. Perhaps it's because I tend to overquote strings?
I mean sure, the on/off to boolean mappings are annoying, but they also become very obvious when you're parsing config because the type validation will fail. If `flush_cache` has an enum `on` but no key `True` then the type validator will instantly complain about both the missing key and the extra key in the dictionary.
Same with accidental numbers, any type check will show that the parsing failed.
I find JSON for config files to become unreadable quickly because of the non-obvious nesting and the lack of comments. You can pick a JSON extension but then you need to pick one that your tooling will support.