TOML vs YAML: Configuration File Format Parsers
Both packages help developers read and write configuration files in different formats. TOML and YAML are popular formats for storing settings and configuration data, similar to JSON but with different syntax styles. These packages allow you to convert these configuration files into JavaScript objects that your code can use, making it easier to manage application settings.
Configuration Parsersconfigurationparserfile formatsettingsdata
Detailed Comparison
Technical Analysis
featureComparison
Both toml and yaml are configuration file parsers, but yaml has more advanced features like anchors, aliases, and custom tags. Toml is more lightweight and focused on simplicity.
typescriptSupport
Both packages have TypeScript definitions, but yaml's are more comprehensive.
browserCompatibility
Both packages work in modern browsers, but yaml has better support for older browsers.
dependencies
Toml has no dependencies, while yaml depends on the argparse package.
performance
Toml is generally faster and more lightweight than yaml.
Ecosystem Analysis
frameworkCompatibility
Both packages work with popular frameworks like React, Angular, and Vue.
communityActivity
Yaml has a more active community and more contributors.
documentationQuality
Both packages have good documentation, but yaml's is more extensive.
maintenanceStatus
Both packages are actively maintained, but yaml's maintenance is more frequent.
Performance Comparison
bundleSizeAnalysis
Toml's bundle size is significantly smaller than yaml's.
runtimePerformance
Toml is generally faster than yaml, especially for large files.
loadingTime
Toml loads faster than yaml due to its smaller size.
memoryUsage
Toml uses less memory than yaml due to its simpler parsing algorithm.
Code Examples
Parsing a TOML file
1const toml = require('toml');
2const data = toml.parse('title = "Example"');
3console.log(data);This code parses a TOML file and logs the resulting data object.
Parsing a YAML file
1const yaml = require('yaml');
2const data = yaml.parse('title: Example');
3console.log(data);This code parses a YAML file and logs the resulting data object.
Recommendation
Summary
Choose toml for simple configuration files and yaml for more complex use cases.
Details
- Toml is faster and more lightweight, but yaml has more advanced features.
- Yaml is more widely used and has better community support.
Similar Packages
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Data Format ParserTOML Parser for Node.js
If you haven't heard of TOML, well you're just missing out. Go check it out now. Back? Good.
TOML Spec Support
toml-node supports version 0.4.0 the TOML spec as specified by mojombo/toml@v0.4.0
Installation
toml-node is available via npm.
npm install toml
toml-node also works with browser module bundlers like Browserify and webpack.
Usage
Standalone
Say you have some awesome TOML in a variable called someTomlString. Maybe it came from the web; maybe it came from a file; wherever it came from, it came asynchronously! Let's turn that sucker into a JavaScript object.
var toml = require('toml'); var data = toml.parse(someTomlString); console.dir(data);
toml.parse throws an exception in the case of a parsing error; such exceptions have a line and column property on them to help identify the offending text.
try { toml.parse(someCrazyKnuckleHeadedTrblToml); } catch (e) { console.error("Parsing error on line " + e.line + ", column " + e.column + ": " + e.message); }
Streaming
As of toml-node version 1.0, the streaming interface has been removed. Instead, use a module like concat-stream:
var toml = require('toml'); var concat = require('concat-stream'); var fs = require('fs'); fs.createReadStream('tomlFile.toml', 'utf8').pipe(concat(function(data) { var parsed = toml.parse(data); }));
Thanks @ForbesLindesay for the suggestion.
Requiring with Node.js
You can use the toml-require package to require() your .toml files with Node.js
Live Demo
You can experiment with TOML online at http://binarymuse.github.io/toml-node/, which uses the latest version of this library.
Building & Testing
toml-node uses the PEG.js parser generator.
npm install
npm run build
npm test
Any changes to src/toml.peg requires a regeneration of the parser with npm run build.
toml-node is tested on Travis CI and is tested against:
- Node 0.10
- Node 0.12
- Latest stable io.js
License
toml-node is licensed under the MIT license agreement. See the LICENSE file for more information.