Before we implement SDL package format for DUB

[Jonathan Marler via Digitalmars-d]

> If you are going to use a superset of JSON (which I heartily 
> agree with)
> then should just go ahead and use one of the many existing ones 
> rather than
> rolling yet another.
>
> Google turns up quite a few, pretty much all of which are 
> equivalent to
> ASON in features.  Find one that has decent support and run 
> with it.

Yes there are some reasonable ones out there.  I would be happy 
using some of the other JSON variants.  FWIW, here's what makes 
ASON unique from other JSON variants:

1. Singular named list elements

   Helps solve the deep nesting issue with DUB package files.

2. Supports nameless fields

   This is an interesting feature that isn't very useful for DUB 
but could be very useful for other applications.  I designed ASON 
to be useful in the general case so it could be more widely 
accepted.

3. Supports tables

   As a data interchange format, this feature can really cut down 
on the size and maintenance of long lists of objects.  Another 
feature that could make ASON more useful in general cases.

For the details on each of these features, see the ASON spec: 
https://github.com/marler8997/mored/wiki/ASON-(Application-Specific-Object-Notation)