Plain Text Formats
Plain text formats refer to file formats that store data as human-readable text without any binary encoding or complex markup, using standard character sets like ASCII or UTF-8. They are simple, portable, and widely supported across different operating systems and applications, making them ideal for configuration files, data exchange, and documentation. Examples include .txt, .csv, .json, .xml, and .md files, which rely on plain text to represent structured or unstructured information.
Developers should learn and use plain text formats for tasks requiring simplicity, interoperability, and version control, such as storing configuration settings, logging data, or exchanging information between systems. They are essential in scenarios like scripting, data processing pipelines, and collaborative documentation, where readability and ease of editing are prioritized over rich formatting or binary efficiency.