Go can decode numbers losslessly as strings: https://pkg.go.dev/encoding/json#Nu...

eadmund · 2025-05-24T13:14:43 1748092483

> Go can decode numbers losslessly as strings: https://pkg.go.dev/encoding/json#Number

Yup, and if you’re using JSON in Go you really do need to be using Number exclusively. Anything else will lead to pain.

> I'm half joking, but I'm not sure why S-expressions would be better here. There are LISPs that don't do arbitrary precision math.

Sure, but I’m referring specifically to https://www.ietf.org/archive/id/draft-rivest-sexp-13.html, which only has lists and bytes, and so number are always just strings and it’s up to the program to interpret them.

mise_en_place · 2025-05-23T21:11:56 1748034716

For actual SERDES, JSON becomes very brittle. It's better to use something like protobuf or cap'n'proto for such cases.