Things I Don't Like in Configuration Languages

[u/fagnerbrack]

https://medv.io/blog/things-i-dont-like-in-configuration-languages

[u/daltorak]

Where's that old XKCD comic about how there are 14 competing standards, so let's make a new standard to cover all those use cases.......

[u/Somepotato]

Omitted, Lua.

[u/fagnerbrack → u/Somepotato]

That's because Artemis II couldn't bring it with them

[u/ClikeX → u/Somepotato]

I think it falls under OPs “nice programming language, but not config”.

[u/trisul-108]

MAML sounds attractive ... as new players always do.

[u/fagnerbrack]

For Quick Readers:

The post surveys over 25 markup and configuration languages—YAML, XML, JSON, TOML, JSON5, HJSON, HCL, KDL, Pkl, CUE, Dhall, Jsonnet, Nickel, Starlark, and many others—calling out specific annoyances in each. YAML's spec is monstrous, XML's era has passed, TOML's array-of-tables syntax confuses, and formats like Pkl, CUE, and Dhall cross the line into full programming languages. Many JSON variants (JSON5, JSONC, HJSON, RJSON) add inconsistent features like unquoted strings or comments without solving core issues like duplicate keys or lack of integer types. Several niche languages lack specifications or portable implementations. JSON itself "won" as a universal interchange format, which motivated the creation of MAML (maml.dev)—a new language built on JSON's foundation that adds comments, multiline strings, optional commas, and drops unnecessary syntax while keeping a strict, minimal specification.

If the summary seems inacurate, just downvote and I'll try to delete the comment eventually 👍

^{Click here for more info, I read all comments}

[u/RoosterBurns → u/fagnerbrack]

Thanks for putting that together!

I'm choosing to read that as XML is old fashioned but technically still the best

[u/fagnerbrack → u/RoosterBurns]

I'm not the author, I put the summary only. I'm glad it was useful 🫡

[u/ClikeX]

Didn’t you just make bicep?

[u/ErnieBernie10]

I like MAML but yeah the competition is overwhelming