Basic TOML to JSON Conversion

Converting TOML to JSON is a common task when integrating TOML-based configuration files with systems that expect JSON input. TOML (Tom's Obvious, Minimal Language) is designed to be easy to read due to its minimal syntax, and it maps cleanly to a JSON object (hash table).

A simple TOML document:

name = "devtoolbox"
version = "1.0.0"
private = true
port = 3000

Converts to this JSON:

{
  "name": "devtoolbox",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "private": true,
  "port": 3000
}

Key differences in the conversion:

1. Equals signs become colons. TOML uses = to separate keys and values, while JSON uses :.
2. All keys get quoted in JSON. TOML keys are bare (unquoted) by default; JSON requires double quotes around every key.
3. No commas between entries in TOML. Each key-value pair is on its own line. JSON requires commas between properties.
4. Curly braces wrap the JSON object. TOML's top-level is implicitly a table (object); JSON requires explicit {}.

Data types are preserved:

• TOML "hello" (string) stays "hello" in JSON
• TOML 42 (integer) stays 42 in JSON
• TOML 3.14 (float) stays 3.14 in JSON
• TOML true (boolean) stays true in JSON

Unlike YAML, TOML has strict, unambiguous typing. There are no implicit type coercions -- true is always a boolean, "true" is always a string, and bare words without quotes are never valid string values. This makes TOML-to-JSON conversion highly predictable and safe.