Objects

Objects in Internet Object

Objects are a fundamental element in Internet Object documents, providing a clear and intuitive way to represent structured data.

An object is expressed as a sequence of values (and key/value pairs) separated by commas (, U+002C). For simplicity, clarity, and ease of reading, Internet Object supports two modes for objects:

Open Objects — do not require curly braces and are allowed only at the top level.
Closed Objects — are enclosed in {} and may appear at any level.

Objects may contain:

Sequential (unkeyed) values
Inline keyed values (key: value)
A combination — but only if unkeyed values appear before any keys

All values in an object are accessed by position (0-based). If a value has a key, it may also be accessed by key — especially when a schema is applied.

Once a keyed value appears, all subsequent values must also be keyed. Mixing unkeyed values after a key is invalid.

🧩 Design Note: In the early stages of its design, Internet Object was envisioned as a compact, expressive serialization format focused on transmitting structured objects across the internet. The name “Internet Object” was born out of this object-oriented serialization model — structurally similar to formats like JSON.

As the format evolved, it adopted a document-oriented approach, enabling richer representation through sections, schemas, metadata, and stream-friendly constructs. However, the object remains the core unit of structure, and the compact syntax continues to reflect its original vision.

⚙️ Implementation Note: In many programming languages, the term Object refers to a built-in or base type. To avoid conflicts, libraries and parsers implementing Internet Object may use a distinct class or type name such as InternetObject. For example, in JavaScript:

const obj = new InternetObject()

Here, obj is an instance of a class that represents an Internet Object — conforming fully to the object syntax and behavior defined in this specification.

Syntax

Closed Object

object         = "{" [ objectEntries ] "}"
objectEntries  = [ unkeyedSegment [ "," keyedSegment ] ]

unkeyedSegment = unkeyedValue *( "," unkeyedValue )
keyedSegment   = keyedValue *( "," keyedValue )

unkeyedValue   = value
keyedValue     = key ":" value

key            = string
value          = any valid Internet Object value

Open Object

objectOpen = objectEntries

Keys must be valid strings. Values must be valid Internet Object values. Once a keyed value appears, no unkeyed values may follow.

Structural Characters

Symbol

Name

Unicode

Description

{

Open Curly Bracket

U+007B

Begins a closed object

}

Close Curly Bracket

U+007D

Ends a closed object

:

Colon

U+003A

Separates keys from values

,

Comma

U+002C

Separates values or key–value entries

Valid Forms

Open Object with Unkeyed Values

John Doe, 25, T

Closed Object with Unkeyed Values

{John Doe, 25, T}

Mixed (Unkeyed → Keyed)

John Doe, age: 25, gender: M

{
  John Doe,
  25,
  isActive: T,
  address: {Bond Street, New York, NY}
}

Fully Keyed Object

{
  name: John Doe,
  age: 25,
  gender: M,
  isActive: T
}

Keys as Strings (Quoted Forms)

{
  "name": John Doe,
  'isActive': T,
  address: {Bond Street, New York, NY}
}

JSON-Compatible Object Example

The following Internet Object is also a valid JSON object:

{"name": "John", "age": 30, "isActive": true}

Keys are double-quoted strings and all values use standard JSON types.

Child objects must always be enclosed in curly braces {}. Only the top-level object may use the open form. All nested or embedded objects must use closed object syntax.

Invalid Forms

~ name: John, Doe, 25        # Unkeyed values after a key
~ {a: 1, b}                  # Unkeyed value follows keyed entry
~ {1, 2, x: 3, y: 4, 5}      # Final value is unkeyed

Optional Behaviors

Whitespace and Formatting

Whitespace is allowed and ignored:

{ name : John , age : 25 }

Empty Objects

{}     # ✅ Valid

Empty Values

Empty value positions (via ,,) are valid:

John Doe,,true,,{NY}

Trailing Commas

Trailing commas are allowed and ignored:

John, 25, T,,,,

Comments

Comments are allowed between entries or alongside values:

{
  name: John,     # name of person
  age: 25,        # years old
  isActive: T
}

Comments must not appear inside string literals or values.

Access Semantics

All values are accessed by their position (0-based).
If a key is provided, the value may also be accessed via key, especially when schema is applied.
Keys do not affect the value’s index position.
Once a key appears, all following values must be keyed.
Keys are optional but must be well-formed strings.

Preservation of Structure

Internet Object preserves:

Value order and keyed/unkeyed structure
Whitespace (non-significant)
Optional comments

It does not enforce:

Key uniqueness
Key-based access without schema
Required presence of keys