Schema-first data serialization for high-performance structured data transport.
NONF (New Object Notation Format) is a schema-first, human-readable data serialization format designed to efficiently transmit large structured datasets.
It eliminates repeated field names, enforces type safety, and enables deterministic parsing while remaining readable and tooling-friendly.
NONF is not intended to replace JSON for small payloads. It is designed for large, schema-stable datasets where redundancy becomes costly.
Modern APIs waste bandwidth by repeating field names thousands of times.
NONF defines structure once and transmits only values.
Benefits:
✔ eliminates redundant payload size
✔ deterministic parsing
✔ built-in type safety
✔ optimized for large datasets
✔ streaming-friendly processing
✔ performance scales efficiently as record counts grow
Use NONF when:
• transmitting large datasets (hundreds to millions of records)
• bandwidth efficiency matters
• schema is stable and known
• performance & parsing speed matter
Use JSON when:
• schema is dynamic
• payloads are small
• interoperability is the primary concern
NONF may not be beneficial when:
• datasets are small • schema structure changes frequently • human self-describing payloads are required • interoperability with existing JSON-only systems is critical
NONF separates structure from data, allowing schema reuse and predictable parsing.
{
"vehicles": [
{
"vehicleNumber": "KA05AJ1732",
"modelName": "ACTIVA"
}
]
}Vehicle = vehicleNumber: str, modelName: str
$$root = vehicles: $Vehicle[]
vehicles:
"KA05AJ1732", "ACTIVA"
;
Result: no repeated keys, deterministic structure.
• Schema-first design
• Positional data encoding
• Explicit typing
• Self-documenting nulls
• Deterministic grammar
• Streaming-friendly parsing
• Version directives
• Canonical serialization for deterministic output
Production dataset: 8,154 vehicles (~30,000 nested documents)
JSON payload: 12.5 MB
NONF payload: 2.8 MB
≈ 78% reduction
Actual performance improvements vary based on transport latency, database design, and application architecture.
NONF v1.0 specification is stable.
📘 Read the specification:
👉 docs/spec/NONF-v1.0.md
• NONF.Net — .NET reference implementation
• NONF.CLI — command-line tooling
• syntax highlighting
• VS Code extension
• JSON ⇄ NONF converters
• validation tools & playground
Status: Stable Specification (v1.0)
The format is stable.
Reference implementations are in development.
Contributions, feedback, and tooling ideas are welcome.
Please open an issue or discussion to get started.
This project is created to support learning, collaboration, and constructive technological progress.
It is intended to:
• empower developers and students • promote knowledge sharing and accessibility • enable efficient and responsible software systems • serve as long-term, stable infrastructure
This software must not be used to:
• harm individuals or communities • violate human rights or dignity • enable surveillance abuse, exploitation, or oppression • support criminal activity or deliberate wrongdoing
Any use for harmful purposes is against the intent of the authors.
The responsibility for how this software is used lies solely with the user.
For a detailed statement of intent and ethical boundaries, see ETHICS.md.
This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPLv3).
You are free to use, modify, and distribute this software under the terms of the GPL.
Commercial use is permitted provided derivative works remain open source under GPLv3.
See the LICENSE file for full details.
Copyright © 2026 Mohammad Shoeb Akhtar Maintained by RayeenLabs
Maintained by RayeenLabs.