Which file format is used for defining product attributes in SFCC?

In Salesforce Commerce Cloud (SFCC), JSON is the preferred file format for defining product attributes. JSON, which stands for JavaScript Object Notation, is widely used in web applications for its lightweight data interchange format. It allows for easy reading and writing by both humans and machines. In the context of SFCC, JSON is particularly effective because it works seamlessly with JavaScript, the underlying programming language of many web development environments.

Using JSON to define product attributes provides a structured way to represent data, enabling developers to leverage its hierarchy and easy parsing capabilities. This structured approach supports complex data types and relationships, which are essential in e-commerce applications to manage product details, variations, and custom attributes efficiently.

Other formats like XML, CSV, and YAML have their own uses, but they do not align as well with the needs of defining product attributes in SFCC. XML is often heavier and more verbose; CSV is great for flat data but lacks support for complex data structures; while YAML is human-readable and often used for configuration, it is not the standard for product attributes in SFCC. Thus, JSON stands out as the most suitable and commonly used format for this purpose in the platform.