Jared Westover shreds a bit of JSON:
Most databases I see nowadays have at least one column that stores JSON objects as NVARCHAR(MAX). If you look hard enough, I bet you have one. How do you convert JSON objects with arrays into a structured format of columns and rows? Not long ago, a developer asked me that exact question. It’s an important question given how rampant JSON is as a data exchange format, especially for web APIs.
This is a primer on SQL Server’s JSON functionality, at least when it comes to turning JSON into standard tabular data. I think, on the whole, SQL Server does a pretty good job of that, at least as long as your JSON data ultimately fits a tabular format.