"A lightweight data-interchange format that is based on the object-literal notation of JavaScript. JSON is programming-language neutral but uses conventions from various languages." (IBM, "Informix Servers 12.1", 2014)
"Although originated from Javascript, the Javascript Object Notation is a language-independent and open data format that can be used to transmit human-readable text-based object information, across domains, using an attribute-value pair’s notation." (José Moura & Carlos Serrão, "Security and Privacy Issues of Big Data", 2015)
"JavaScript Object Notation, is an open standard format that uses human-readable text to transmit data objects consisting of attribute–value pairs. It is used primarily to transmit data between a server and web application, as an alternative to XML." (D P Misra & Alka Mishra, "Societal and Economical Impact on Citizens through Innovations Using Open Government Data: Indian Initiative on Open Government Data", 2015)
"The Javascript Object Notation (JSON) is a language-independent and open data format that can be used to transmit human-readable text-based object information, across domains, using an attribute-value pair’s notation and easy-to-access manner." (José Moura et al, "Intelligent Management and Efficient Operation of Big Data", 2015)
"JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) is a textual format for exchanging data that borrows its metamodel from the JavaScript programming language. Specifically, the JSON metamodel consists of two kinds of structures found in JavaScript: lists (called 'arrays' in JavaScript) and dictionaries (called 'objects' in JavaScript)." (Robert J Glushko, "The Discipline of Organizing: Professional Edition" 4th Ed., 2016)
"The JavaScript Object Notation is the binary format to represent data like list, map, date, Boolean and different precision numbers." (Maristela Holanda & Jane A Souza, "Query Languages in NoSQL Databases", Handbook of Research on Innovative Database Query Processing Techniques, 2016)
"Is a lightweight, text-based, open standard format for exchanging data between applications. Though it is originally derived from the JavaScript language, it is a language-neutral data format." (Venkat Gudivada & Dhana L Rao, "Database Systems for Big Data Storage and Retrieval", 2018)
"JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a binary and typed data model which is applied to represent data like list, map, date, Boolean as well as different precision numbers." (Zongmin Ma & Li Yan, "Towards Massive RDF Storage in NoSQL Databases: A Survey", 2019)
"JavaScript object notation is a lightweight data-interchange format which is easy for humans to read and write and for machines to parse and generate. It is based on a subset of the JavaScript programming language." (Amany Sarhan, "Cloud-Based IoT Platform: Challenges and Applied Solutions", 2019)
"A text-based open standard format for exchanging data between applications." (Gülay Ekren, "The Potential and Capabilities of NoSQL Databases for ERP Systems", 2020)
"A human-readable, plain text format for expressing structured data with support in many programming languages." (MongoDb)
"JavaScript Object Notation, a simple but powerful format for data. It can describe complex data structures, is highly machine-readable as well as reasonably human-readable, and is independent of platform and programming language, and is therefore a popular format for data interchange between programs and systems." (Open Data Handbook)