Parse and stringify JSON, the standard data format for web APIs.
JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight data-interchange format that is easy for humans to read and write and easy for machines to parse and generate. It has become the de facto standard for data exchange between web clients and servers. Its syntax is a subset of JavaScript's object literal syntax, consisting of key-value pairs. Keys must be double-quoted strings, and values can be strings, numbers, booleans, arrays, or other JSON objects. JavaScript provides a built-in global `JSON` object with two essential methods for working with this format. `JSON.parse()` is used to convert a JSON string into a JavaScript object. This is what you typically do after receiving data from an API. Be aware that this method will throw an error if the string is not valid JSON, so it's good practice to wrap it in a `try...catch` block. The other method, `JSON.stringify()`, does the opposite: it converts a JavaScript object or value into a JSON string. This is what you use when you need to send data to a server in the body of a POST or PUT request. Mastering these two methods is fundamental for any web developer interacting with APIs.