JSON vs. JavaScript vs. MoonScript vs. Nova Comparison Chart

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight data-interchange format. It is easy for humans to read and write. It is easy for machines to parse and generate. It is based on a subset of the JavaScript Programming Language Standard ECMA-262 3rd Edition - December 1999. JSON is a text format that is completely language independent but uses conventions that are familiar to programmers of the C-family of languages, including C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Perl, Python, and many others. These properties make JSON an ideal data-interchange language. JSON is built on two structures: 1. A collection of name/value pairs. In various languages, this is realized as an object, record, struct, dictionary, hash table, keyed list, or associative array. 2. An ordered list of values. In most languages, this is realized as an array, vector, list, or sequence. These are universal data structures. Virtually all modern programming languages support them in one form or another.

MoonScript is a dynamic scripting language that compiles into Lua. It gives you the power of one of the fastest scripting languages combined with a rich set of features. MoonScript can either be compiled into Lua and run at a later time, or it can be dynamically compiled and run using the moonloader. Because it compiles right into Lua code, it is completely compatible with alternative Lua implementations like LuaJIT, and it is also compatible with all existing Lua code and libraries. The command line tools also let you run MoonScript directly from the command line, like any first-class scripting language. MoonScript provides a clean syntax using significant whitespace that avoids all the keyword noise typically seen in a Lua script. It also adds table comprehensions, implicit return on functions, classes, inheritance, scope management statements import & export, and a convenient object creation statement called with.