[SOLVED] XML, JSON, YAML, or CSV for storing articles on server?

XML, JSON, YAML, or CSV for storing articles on server?

Help me decide between the following formats for storing articles on a server:

I am looking for objective criteria, not subjective opinions.

Solution

XML vs JSON vs YAML vs CSV

Here are some considerations you might use to guide your decision:

Choose XML if

You have to represent mixed content (tags mixed within text). [This would appear to be a major concern in your case. You might even consider HTML for this reason.]
There's already an industry standard XSD to follow.
You need to transform the data to another XML/HTML format. (XSLT is great for transformations.)

Choose JSON if

You have to represent data records, and a closer fit to JavaScript is valuable to your team or your community.

Choose YAML if

You have to represent data records, and you value some additional features missing from JSON: comments, strings without quotes, order-preserving maps, and extensible data types.

Choose CSV if

You have to represent data records, and you value ease of import/export with databases and spreadsheets.