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/or 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)
Any combination and ordering of keyed and unkeyed values

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.

🧩 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  = entry *( "," entry )

entry          = keyedValue | unkeyedValue
keyedValue     = key ":" value
unkeyedValue   = 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. Keyed and unkeyed values can appear in any order.

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 and Keyed Values (Any Order)

name: John, Doe, 25
John, age: 25, gender: M
name: John, age: 25, gender: M, T
John Doe, 25, T

Closed Object with Mixed Values

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

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

# ✗ Missing commas between values
{name: John Doe 25}
{John age: 25 gender: M}

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.
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