One thing to remember is that YAML is about 20 years old. It was created when XML was at peak popularity. JSON didn't exist (YAML is a parallel, contemporary effort). Even articulating the problems with XML's approach was an uphill battle. What you would replace it with is also hard. What use cases matter? What is the core model? A simple hierarchy? Typed nodes? A graph? What sort of syntax is needed for it to be usable? These were all questions. Seen in context, we got quite a bit correct. And yes... it has a few embarrassing warts and a few deep problems. Ah well.
A second thing to consider... YAML was created before it was common that tech companies actively contributed to open source development. There are lots of things we could have done differently if we had more than a few hours per week... even a tiny bit of financial support would have helped.
Finally, YAML isn't just a spec, it has multiple implementations. Getting consensus among the excellent contributors is a team effort, and particularly challenging when no one is getting paid for the work. Once you have a few implementations and dependent applications, you're kinda stuck in time.
It was an special pleasure for me to have had the opportunity to work with such amazing collaborators.
We did it gratis. We are so glad that so many have found it useful.
A second thing to consider... YAML was created before it was common that tech companies actively contributed to open source development. There are lots of things we could have done differently if we had more than a few hours per week... even a tiny bit of financial support would have helped.
Finally, YAML isn't just a spec, it has multiple implementations. Getting consensus among the excellent contributors is a team effort, and particularly challenging when no one is getting paid for the work. Once you have a few implementations and dependent applications, you're kinda stuck in time.
It was an special pleasure for me to have had the opportunity to work with such amazing collaborators.
We did it gratis. We are so glad that so many have found it useful.