Challenge 3: YAML vs JSON on the Same Data — Solution

require "json"
require "yaml"

profile = { name: "Philip", email: "philip@example.com", tags: ["ruby", "php", "python"] }

yaml_string = profile.to_yaml
json_string = profile.to_json

puts "--- YAML ---"
puts yaml_string
puts "--- JSON ---"
puts json_string

yaml_loaded = YAML.load(yaml_string)
json_loaded = JSON.parse(json_string)

puts "YAML key class: #{yaml_loaded.keys.first.class}"
puts "JSON key class: #{json_loaded.keys.first.class}"

=begin
Output:
--- YAML ---
---
:name: Philip
:email: philip@example.com
:tags:
- ruby
- php
- python

--- JSON ---
{"name":"Philip","email":"philip@example.com","tags":["ruby","php","python"]}
YAML key class: Symbol
JSON key class: String

Notes:
- YAML's own output syntax literally shows the leading colon (:name,
  :email, :tags) because YAML has a real representation for Ruby symbols,
  and YAML.load faithfully reconstructs them as symbols afterward.
- JSON's output has no equivalent marker for symbols at all ("name" looks
  identical to how a string key would look), and JSON.parse (called here
  with no symbolize_names option) returns plain String keys as a result.
- This is the comparison table's "preserves symbols/custom classes?" row
  made concrete: YAML says yes, JSON says no, and the printed key classes
  confirm it directly.
=end