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Revision 1.10 by root, Thu Nov 28 16:09:04 2013 UTC

8 $perl_value = decode_cbor $binary_cbor_data; 8 $perl_value = decode_cbor $binary_cbor_data;
9 9
10 # OO-interface 10 # OO-interface
11 11
12 $coder = CBOR::XS->new; 12 $coder = CBOR::XS->new;
13 #TODO 13 $binary_cbor_data = $coder->encode ($perl_value);
14 $perl_value = $coder->decode ($binary_cbor_data);
15
16 # prefix decoding
17
18 my $many_cbor_strings = ...;
19 while (length $many_cbor_strings) {
20 my ($data, $length) = $cbor->decode_prefix ($many_cbor_strings);
21 # data was decoded
22 substr $many_cbor_strings, 0, $length, ""; # remove decoded cbor string
23 }
14 24
15DESCRIPTION 25DESCRIPTION
16 WARNING! THIS IS A PRE-ALPHA RELEASE! IT WILL CRASH, CORRUPT YOUR DATA
17 AND EAT YOUR CHILDREN! (Actually, apart from being untested and a bit
18 feature-limited, it might already be useful).
19
20 This module converts Perl data structures to the Concise Binary Object 26 This module converts Perl data structures to the Concise Binary Object
21 Representation (CBOR) and vice versa. CBOR is a fast binary 27 Representation (CBOR) and vice versa. CBOR is a fast binary
22 serialisation format that aims to use a superset of the JSON data model, 28 serialisation format that aims to use an (almost) superset of the JSON
23 i.e. when you can represent something in JSON, you should be able to 29 data model, i.e. when you can represent something useful in JSON, you
24 represent it in CBOR. 30 should be able to represent it in CBOR.
25 31
26 This makes it a faster and more compact binary alternative to JSON. 32 In short, CBOR is a faster and quite compact binary alternative to JSON,
33 with the added ability of supporting serialisation of Perl objects.
34 (JSON often compresses better than CBOR though, so if you plan to
35 compress the data later and speed is less important you might want to
36 compare both formats first).
37
38 To give you a general idea about speed, with texts in the megabyte
39 range, "CBOR::XS" usually encodes roughly twice as fast as Storable or
40 JSON::XS and decodes about 15%-30% faster than those. The shorter the
41 data, the worse Storable performs in comparison.
42
43 Regarding compactness, "CBOR::XS"-encoded data structures are usually
44 about 20% smaller than the same data encoded as (compact) JSON or
45 Storable.
46
47 In addition to the core CBOR data format, this module implements a
48 number of extensions, to support cyclic and shared data structures (see
49 "allow_sharing"), string deduplication (see "pack_strings") and scalar
50 references (always enabled).
27 51
28 The primary goal of this module is to be *correct* and the secondary 52 The primary goal of this module is to be *correct* and the secondary
29 goal is to be *fast*. To reach the latter goal it was written in C. 53 goal is to be *fast*. To reach the latter goal it was written in C.
30 54
31 See MAPPING, below, on how CBOR::XS maps perl values to CBOR values and 55 See MAPPING, below, on how CBOR::XS maps perl values to CBOR values and
53 *disabled*. 77 *disabled*.
54 78
55 The mutators for flags all return the CBOR object again and thus 79 The mutators for flags all return the CBOR object again and thus
56 calls can be chained: 80 calls can be chained:
57 81
58 #TODO my $cbor = CBOR::XS->new->encode ({a => [1,2]}); 82 my $cbor = CBOR::XS->new->encode ({a => [1,2]});
59 83
60 $cbor = $cbor->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth]) 84 $cbor = $cbor->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])
61 $max_depth = $cbor->get_max_depth 85 $max_depth = $cbor->get_max_depth
62 Sets the maximum nesting level (default 512) accepted while encoding 86 Sets the maximum nesting level (default 512) accepted while encoding
63 or decoding. If a higher nesting level is detected in CBOR data or a 87 or decoding. If a higher nesting level is detected in CBOR data or a
94 as when 0 is specified). 118 as when 0 is specified).
95 119
96 See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is 120 See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is
97 useful. 121 useful.
98 122
123 $cbor = $cbor->allow_unknown ([$enable])
124 $enabled = $cbor->get_allow_unknown
125 If $enable is true (or missing), then "encode" will *not* throw an
126 exception when it encounters values it cannot represent in CBOR (for
127 example, filehandles) but instead will encode a CBOR "error" value.
128
129 If $enable is false (the default), then "encode" will throw an
130 exception when it encounters anything it cannot encode as CBOR.
131
132 This option does not affect "decode" in any way, and it is
133 recommended to leave it off unless you know your communications
134 partner.
135
136 $cbor = $cbor->allow_sharing ([$enable])
137 $enabled = $cbor->get_allow_sharing
138 If $enable is true (or missing), then "encode" will not
139 double-encode values that have been referenced before (e.g. when the
140 same object, such as an array, is referenced multiple times), but
141 instead will emit a reference to the earlier value.
142
143 This means that such values will only be encoded once, and will not
144 result in a deep cloning of the value on decode, in decoders
145 supporting the value sharing extension. This also makes it possible
146 to encode cyclic data structures.
147
148 It is recommended to leave it off unless you know your communication
149 partner supports the value sharing extensions to CBOR
150 (<http://cbor.schmorp.de/value-sharing>), as without decoder
151 support, the resulting data structure might be unusable.
152
153 Detecting shared values incurs a runtime overhead when values are
154 encoded that have a reference counter large than one, and might
155 unnecessarily increase the encoded size, as potentially shared
156 values are encode as sharable whether or not they are actually
157 shared.
158
159 At the moment, only targets of references can be shared (e.g.
160 scalars, arrays or hashes pointed to by a reference). Weirder
161 constructs, such as an array with multiple "copies" of the *same*
162 string, which are hard but not impossible to create in Perl, are not
163 supported (this is the same as with Storable).
164
165 If $enable is false (the default), then "encode" will encode shared
166 data structures repeatedly, unsharing them in the process. Cyclic
167 data structures cannot be encoded in this mode.
168
169 This option does not affect "decode" in any way - shared values and
170 references will always be decoded properly if present.
171
172 $cbor = $cbor->pack_strings ([$enable])
173 $enabled = $cbor->get_pack_strings
174 If $enable is true (or missing), then "encode" will try not to
175 encode the same string twice, but will instead encode a reference to
176 the string instead. Depending on your data format, this can save a
177 lot of space, but also results in a very large runtime overhead
178 (expect encoding times to be 2-4 times as high as without).
179
180 It is recommended to leave it off unless you know your
181 communications partner supports the stringref extension to CBOR
182 (<http://cbor.schmorp.de/stringref>), as without decoder support,
183 the resulting data structure might not be usable.
184
185 If $enable is false (the default), then "encode" will encode strings
186 the standard CBOR way.
187
188 This option does not affect "decode" in any way - string references
189 will always be decoded properly if present.
190
191 $cbor = $cbor->filter ([$cb->($tag, $value)])
192 $cb_or_undef = $cbor->get_filter
193 Sets or replaces the tagged value decoding filter (when $cb is
194 specified) or clears the filter (if no argument or "undef" is
195 provided).
196
197 The filter callback is called only during decoding, when a
198 non-enforced tagged value has been decoded (see "TAG HANDLING AND
199 EXTENSIONS" for a list of enforced tags). For specific tags, it's
200 often better to provide a default converter using the
201 %CBOR::XS::FILTER hash (see below).
202
203 The first argument is the numerical tag, the second is the (decoded)
204 value that has been tagged.
205
206 The filter function should return either exactly one value, which
207 will replace the tagged value in the decoded data structure, or no
208 values, which will result in default handling, which currently means
209 the decoder creates a "CBOR::XS::Tagged" object to hold the tag and
210 the value.
211
212 When the filter is cleared (the default state), the default filter
213 function, "CBOR::XS::default_filter", is used. This function simply
214 looks up the tag in the %CBOR::XS::FILTER hash. If an entry exists
215 it must be a code reference that is called with tag and value, and
216 is responsible for decoding the value. If no entry exists, it
217 returns no values.
218
219 Example: decode all tags not handled internally into
220 "CBOR::XS::Tagged" objects, with no other special handling (useful
221 when working with potentially "unsafe" CBOR data).
222
223 CBOR::XS->new->filter (sub { })->decode ($cbor_data);
224
225 Example: provide a global filter for tag 1347375694, converting the
226 value into some string form.
227
228 $CBOR::XS::FILTER{1347375694} = sub {
229 my ($tag, $value);
230
231 "tag 1347375694 value $value"
232 };
233
99 $cbor_data = $cbor->encode ($perl_scalar) 234 $cbor_data = $cbor->encode ($perl_scalar)
100 Converts the given Perl data structure (a scalar value) to its CBOR 235 Converts the given Perl data structure (a scalar value) to its CBOR
101 representation. 236 representation.
102 237
103 $perl_scalar = $cbor->decode ($cbor_data) 238 $perl_scalar = $cbor->decode ($cbor_data)
131 integers 266 integers
132 CBOR integers become (numeric) perl scalars. On perls without 64 bit 267 CBOR integers become (numeric) perl scalars. On perls without 64 bit
133 support, 64 bit integers will be truncated or otherwise corrupted. 268 support, 64 bit integers will be truncated or otherwise corrupted.
134 269
135 byte strings 270 byte strings
136 Byte strings will become octet strings in Perl (the byte values 271 Byte strings will become octet strings in Perl (the Byte values
137 0..255 will simply become characters of the same value in Perl). 272 0..255 will simply become characters of the same value in Perl).
138 273
139 UTF-8 strings 274 UTF-8 strings
140 UTF-8 strings in CBOR will be decoded, i.e. the UTF-8 octets will be 275 UTF-8 strings in CBOR will be decoded, i.e. the UTF-8 octets will be
141 decoded into proper Unicode code points. At the moment, the validity 276 decoded into proper Unicode code points. At the moment, the validity
145 arrays, maps 280 arrays, maps
146 CBOR arrays and CBOR maps will be converted into references to a 281 CBOR arrays and CBOR maps will be converted into references to a
147 Perl array or hash, respectively. The keys of the map will be 282 Perl array or hash, respectively. The keys of the map will be
148 stringified during this process. 283 stringified during this process.
149 284
150 true, false 285 null
151 These CBOR values become "CBOR::XS::true" and "CBOR::XS::false", 286 CBOR null becomes "undef" in Perl.
287
288 true, false, undefined
289 These CBOR values become "Types:Serialiser::true",
290 "Types:Serialiser::false" and "Types::Serialiser::error",
152 respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the 291 respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the
153 numbers 1 and 0. You can check whether a scalar is a CBOR boolean by 292 numbers 1 and 0 (for true and false) or to throw an exception on
154 using the "CBOR::XS::is_bool" function. 293 access (for error). See the Types::Serialiser manpage for details.
155 294
156 null, undefined 295 tagged values
157 CBOR null and undefined values becomes "undef" in Perl (in the
158 future, Undefined may raise an exception or something else).
159
160 tags
161 Tagged items consists of a numeric tag and another CBOR value. The 296 Tagged items consists of a numeric tag and another CBOR value.
162 tag 55799 is ignored (this tag implements the magic header).
163 297
164 All other tags are currently converted into a CBOR::XS::Tagged 298 See "TAG HANDLING AND EXTENSIONS" and the description of "->filter"
165 object, which is simply a blessed array reference consistsing of the 299 for details on which tags are handled how.
166 numeric tag value followed by the (decoded) BOR value.
167 300
168 anything else 301 anything else
169 Anything else (e.g. unsupported simple values) will raise a decoding 302 Anything else (e.g. unsupported simple values) will raise a decoding
170 error. 303 error.
171 304
172 PERL -> CBOR 305 PERL -> CBOR
173 The mapping from Perl to CBOR is slightly more difficult, as Perl is a 306 The mapping from Perl to CBOR is slightly more difficult, as Perl is a
174 truly typeless language, so we can only guess which CBOR type is meant 307 typeless language. That means this module can only guess which CBOR type
175 by a Perl value. 308 is meant by a perl value.
176 309
177 hash references 310 hash references
178 Perl hash references become CBOR maps. As there is no inherent 311 Perl hash references become CBOR maps. As there is no inherent
179 ordering in hash keys (or CBOR maps), they will usually be encoded 312 ordering in hash keys (or CBOR maps), they will usually be encoded
180 in a pseudo-random order. 313 in a pseudo-random order. This order can be different each time a
314 hahs is encoded.
181 315
182 Currently, tied hashes will use the indefinite-length format, while 316 Currently, tied hashes will use the indefinite-length format, while
183 normal hashes will use the fixed-length format. 317 normal hashes will use the fixed-length format.
184 318
185 array references 319 array references
186 Perl array references become fixed-length CBOR arrays. 320 Perl array references become fixed-length CBOR arrays.
187 321
188 other references 322 other references
189 Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause 323 Other unblessed references will be represented using the indirection
190 an exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers 0 324 tag extension (tag value 22098,
191 and 1, which get turned into false and true in CBOR. 325 <http://cbor.schmorp.de/indirection>). CBOR decoders are guaranteed
326 to be able to decode these values somehow, by either "doing the
327 right thing", decoding into a generic tagged object, simply ignoring
328 the tag, or something else.
192 329
193 CBOR::XS::Tagged objects 330 CBOR::XS::Tagged objects
194 Objects of this type must be arrays consisting of a single "[tag, 331 Objects of this type must be arrays consisting of a single "[tag,
195 value]" pair. The (numerical) tag will be encoded as a CBOR tag, the 332 value]" pair. The (numerical) tag will be encoded as a CBOR tag, the
196 value will be encoded as appropriate for the value. 333 value will be encoded as appropriate for the value. You must use
334 "CBOR::XS::tag" to create such objects.
197 335
198 CBOR::XS::true, CBOR::XS::false 336 Types::Serialiser::true, Types::Serialiser::false,
337 Types::Serialiser::error
199 These special values become CBOR true and CBOR false values, 338 These special values become CBOR true, CBOR false and CBOR undefined
200 respectively. You can also use "\1" and "\0" directly if you want. 339 values, respectively. You can also use "\1", "\0" and "\undef"
340 directly if you want.
201 341
202 blessed objects 342 other blessed objects
203 Other blessed objects currently need to have a "TO_CBOR" method. It 343 Other blessed objects are serialised via "TO_CBOR" or "FREEZE". See
204 will be called on every object that is being serialised, and must 344 "TAG HANDLING AND EXTENSIONS" for specific classes handled by this
205 return something that can be encoded in CBOR. 345 module, and "OBJECT SERIALISATION" for generic object serialisation.
206 346
207 simple scalars 347 simple scalars
208 TODO Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are 348 Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the
209 the most difficult objects to encode: CBOR::XS will encode undefined 349 most difficult objects to encode: CBOR::XS will encode undefined
210 scalars as CBOR null values, scalars that have last been used in a 350 scalars as CBOR null values, scalars that have last been used in a
211 string context before encoding as CBOR strings, and anything else as 351 string context before encoding as CBOR strings, and anything else as
212 number value: 352 number value:
213 353
214 # dump as number 354 # dump as number
215 encode_cbor [2] # yields [2] 355 encode_cbor [2] # yields [2]
216 encode_cbor [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17] 356 encode_cbor [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17]
217 my $value = 5; encode_cbor [$value] # yields [5] 357 my $value = 5; encode_cbor [$value] # yields [5]
218 358
219 # used as string, so dump as string 359 # used as string, so dump as string (either byte or text)
220 print $value; 360 print $value;
221 encode_cbor [$value] # yields ["5"] 361 encode_cbor [$value] # yields ["5"]
222 362
223 # undef becomes null 363 # undef becomes null
224 encode_cbor [undef] # yields [null] 364 encode_cbor [undef] # yields [null]
227 367
228 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number 368 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number
229 "$x"; # stringified 369 "$x"; # stringified
230 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify 370 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify
231 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often 371 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often
372
373 You can force whether a string ie encoded as byte or text string by
374 using "utf8::upgrade" and "utf8::downgrade"):
375
376 utf8::upgrade $x; # encode $x as text string
377 utf8::downgrade $x; # encode $x as byte string
378
379 Perl doesn't define what operations up- and downgrade strings, so if
380 the difference between byte and text is important, you should up- or
381 downgrade your string as late as possible before encoding.
232 382
233 You can force the type to be a CBOR number by numifying it: 383 You can force the type to be a CBOR number by numifying it:
234 384
235 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string 385 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string
236 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number 386 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number
245 IEEE single format if possible without loss of precision, otherwise 395 IEEE single format if possible without loss of precision, otherwise
246 the IEEE double format will be used. Perls that use formats other 396 the IEEE double format will be used. Perls that use formats other
247 than IEEE double to represent numerical values are supported, but 397 than IEEE double to represent numerical values are supported, but
248 might suffer loss of precision. 398 might suffer loss of precision.
249 399
400 OBJECT SERIALISATION
401 This module knows two way to serialise a Perl object: The CBOR-specific
402 way, and the generic way.
403
404 Whenever the encoder encounters a Perl object that it cnanot serialise
405 directly (most of them), it will first look up the "TO_CBOR" method on
406 it.
407
408 If it has a "TO_CBOR" method, it will call it with the object as only
409 argument, and expects exactly one return value, which it will then
410 substitute and encode it in the place of the object.
411
412 Otherwise, it will look up the "FREEZE" method. If it exists, it will
413 call it with the object as first argument, and the constant string
414 "CBOR" as the second argument, to distinguish it from other serialisers.
415
416 The "FREEZE" method can return any number of values (i.e. zero or more).
417 These will be encoded as CBOR perl object, together with the classname.
418
419 If an object supports neither "TO_CBOR" nor "FREEZE", encoding will fail
420 with an error.
421
422 Objects encoded via "TO_CBOR" cannot be automatically decoded, but
423 objects encoded via "FREEZE" can be decoded using the following
424 protocol:
425
426 When an encoded CBOR perl object is encountered by the decoder, it will
427 look up the "THAW" method, by using the stored classname, and will fail
428 if the method cannot be found.
429
430 After the lookup it will call the "THAW" method with the stored
431 classname as first argument, the constant string "CBOR" as second
432 argument, and all values returned by "FREEZE" as remaining arguments.
433
434 EXAMPLES
435 Here is an example "TO_CBOR" method:
436
437 sub My::Object::TO_CBOR {
438 my ($obj) = @_;
439
440 ["this is a serialised My::Object object", $obj->{id}]
441 }
442
443 When a "My::Object" is encoded to CBOR, it will instead encode a simple
444 array with two members: a string, and the "object id". Decoding this
445 CBOR string will yield a normal perl array reference in place of the
446 object.
447
448 A more useful and practical example would be a serialisation method for
449 the URI module. CBOR has a custom tag value for URIs, namely 32:
450
451 sub URI::TO_CBOR {
452 my ($self) = @_;
453 my $uri = "$self"; # stringify uri
454 utf8::upgrade $uri; # make sure it will be encoded as UTF-8 string
455 CBOR::XS::tag 32, "$_[0]"
456 }
457
458 This will encode URIs as a UTF-8 string with tag 32, which indicates an
459 URI.
460
461 Decoding such an URI will not (currently) give you an URI object, but
462 instead a CBOR::XS::Tagged object with tag number 32 and the string -
463 exactly what was returned by "TO_CBOR".
464
465 To serialise an object so it can automatically be deserialised, you need
466 to use "FREEZE" and "THAW". To take the URI module as example, this
467 would be a possible implementation:
468
469 sub URI::FREEZE {
470 my ($self, $serialiser) = @_;
471 "$self" # encode url string
472 }
473
474 sub URI::THAW {
475 my ($class, $serialiser, $uri) = @_;
476
477 $class->new ($uri)
478 }
479
480 Unlike "TO_CBOR", multiple values can be returned by "FREEZE". For
481 example, a "FREEZE" method that returns "type", "id" and "variant"
482 values would cause an invocation of "THAW" with 5 arguments:
483
484 sub My::Object::FREEZE {
485 my ($self, $serialiser) = @_;
486
487 ($self->{type}, $self->{id}, $self->{variant})
488 }
489
490 sub My::Object::THAW {
491 my ($class, $serialiser, $type, $id, $variant) = @_;
492
493 $class-<new (type => $type, id => $id, variant => $variant)
494 }
495
250 MAGIC HEADER 496MAGIC HEADER
251 There is no way to distinguish CBOR from other formats programmatically. 497 There is no way to distinguish CBOR from other formats programmatically.
252 To make it easier to distinguish CBOR from other formats, the CBOR 498 To make it easier to distinguish CBOR from other formats, the CBOR
253 specification has a special "magic string" that can be prepended to any 499 specification has a special "magic string" that can be prepended to any
254 CBOR string without changing it's meaning. 500 CBOR string without changing its meaning.
255 501
256 This string is available as $CBOR::XS::MAGIC. This module does not 502 This string is available as $CBOR::XS::MAGIC. This module does not
257 prepend this string tot he CBOR data it generates, but it will ignroe it 503 prepend this string to the CBOR data it generates, but it will ignore it
258 if present, so users can prepend this string as a "file type" indicator 504 if present, so users can prepend this string as a "file type" indicator
259 as required. 505 as required.
260 506
507THE CBOR::XS::Tagged CLASS
508 CBOR has the concept of tagged values - any CBOR value can be tagged
509 with a numeric 64 bit number, which are centrally administered.
510
511 "CBOR::XS" handles a few tags internally when en- or decoding. You can
512 also create tags yourself by encoding "CBOR::XS::Tagged" objects, and
513 the decoder will create "CBOR::XS::Tagged" objects itself when it hits
514 an unknown tag.
515
516 These objects are simply blessed array references - the first member of
517 the array being the numerical tag, the second being the value.
518
519 You can interact with "CBOR::XS::Tagged" objects in the following ways:
520
521 $tagged = CBOR::XS::tag $tag, $value
522 This function(!) creates a new "CBOR::XS::Tagged" object using the
523 given $tag (0..2**64-1) to tag the given $value (which can be any
524 Perl value that can be encoded in CBOR, including serialisable Perl
525 objects and "CBOR::XS::Tagged" objects).
526
527 $tagged->[0]
528 $tagged->[0] = $new_tag
529 $tag = $tagged->tag
530 $new_tag = $tagged->tag ($new_tag)
531 Access/mutate the tag.
532
533 $tagged->[1]
534 $tagged->[1] = $new_value
535 $value = $tagged->value
536 $new_value = $tagged->value ($new_value)
537 Access/mutate the tagged value.
538
539 EXAMPLES
540 Here are some examples of "CBOR::XS::Tagged" uses to tag objects.
541
542 You can look up CBOR tag value and emanings in the IANA registry at
543 <http://www.iana.org/assignments/cbor-tags/cbor-tags.xhtml>.
544
545 Prepend a magic header ($CBOR::XS::MAGIC):
546
547 my $cbor = encode_cbor CBOR::XS::tag 55799, $value;
548 # same as:
549 my $cbor = $CBOR::XS::MAGIC . encode_cbor $value;
550
551 Serialise some URIs and a regex in an array:
552
553 my $cbor = encode_cbor [
554 (CBOR::XS::tag 32, "http://www.nethype.de/"),
555 (CBOR::XS::tag 32, "http://software.schmorp.de/"),
556 (CBOR::XS::tag 35, "^[Pp][Ee][Rr][lL]\$"),
557 ];
558
559 Wrap CBOR data in CBOR:
560
561 my $cbor_cbor = encode_cbor
562 CBOR::XS::tag 24,
563 encode_cbor [1, 2, 3];
564
565TAG HANDLING AND EXTENSIONS
566 This section describes how this module handles specific tagged values
567 and extensions. If a tag is not mentioned here and no additional filters
568 are provided for it, then the default handling applies (creating a
569 CBOR::XS::Tagged object on decoding, and only encoding the tag when
570 explicitly requested).
571
572 Tags not handled specifically are currently converted into a
573 CBOR::XS::Tagged object, which is simply a blessed array reference
574 consisting of the numeric tag value followed by the (decoded) CBOR
575 value.
576
577 Future versions of this module reserve the right to special case
578 additional tags (such as base64url).
579
580 ENFORCED TAGS
581 These tags are always handled when decoding, and their handling cannot
582 be overriden by the user.
583
584 26 (perl-object, <http://cbor.schmorp.de/perl-object>)
585 These tags are automatically created (and decoded) for serialisable
586 objects using the "FREEZE/THAW" methods (the Types::Serialier object
587 serialisation protocol). See "OBJECT SERIALISATION" for details.
588
589 28, 29 (sharable, sharedref, L <http://cbor.schmorp.de/value-sharing>)
590 These tags are automatically decoded when encountered, resulting in
591 shared values in the decoded object. They are only encoded, however,
592 when "allow_sharable" is enabled.
593
594 256, 25 (stringref-namespace, stringref, L
595 <http://cbor.schmorp.de/stringref>)
596 These tags are automatically decoded when encountered. They are only
597 encoded, however, when "pack_strings" is enabled.
598
599 22098 (indirection, <http://cbor.schmorp.de/indirection>)
600 This tag is automatically generated when a reference are encountered
601 (with the exception of hash and array refernces). It is converted to
602 a reference when decoding.
603
604 55799 (self-describe CBOR, RFC 7049)
605 This value is not generated on encoding (unless explicitly requested
606 by the user), and is simply ignored when decoding.
607
608 NON-ENFORCED TAGS
609 These tags have default filters provided when decoding. Their handling
610 can be overriden by changing the %CBOR::XS::FILTER entry for the tag, or
611 by providing a custom "filter" callback when decoding.
612
613 When they result in decoding into a specific Perl class, the module
614 usually provides a corresponding "TO_CBOR" method as well.
615
616 When any of these need to load additional modules that are not part of
617 the perl core distribution (e.g. URI), it is (currently) up to the user
618 to provide these modules. The decoding usually fails with an exception
619 if the required module cannot be loaded.
620
621 2, 3 (positive/negative bignum)
622 These tags are decoded into Math::BigInt objects. The corresponding
623 "Math::BigInt::TO_CBOR" method encodes "small" bigints into normal
624 CBOR integers, and others into positive/negative CBOR bignums.
625
626 4, 5 (decimal fraction/bigfloat)
627 Both decimal fractions and bigfloats are decoded into Math::BigFloat
628 objects. The corresponding "Math::BigFloat::TO_CBOR" method *always*
629 encodes into a decimal fraction.
630
631 CBOR cannot represent bigfloats with *very* large exponents -
632 conversion of such big float objects is undefined.
633
634 Also, NaN and infinities are not encoded properly.
635
636 21, 22, 23 (expected later JSON conversion)
637 CBOR::XS is not a CBOR-to-JSON converter, and will simply ignore
638 these tags.
639
640 32 (URI)
641 These objects decode into URI objects. The corresponding
642 "URI::TO_CBOR" method again results in a CBOR URI value.
643
261 CBOR and JSON 644CBOR and JSON
262 CBOR is supposed to implement a superset of the JSON data model, and is, 645 CBOR is supposed to implement a superset of the JSON data model, and is,
263 with some coercion, able to represent all JSON texts (something that 646 with some coercion, able to represent all JSON texts (something that
264 other "binary JSON" formats such as BSON generally do not support). 647 other "binary JSON" formats such as BSON generally do not support).
265 648
266 CBOR implements some extra hints and support for JSON interoperability, 649 CBOR implements some extra hints and support for JSON interoperability,
340 723
341SEE ALSO 724SEE ALSO
342 The JSON and JSON::XS modules that do similar, but human-readable, 725 The JSON and JSON::XS modules that do similar, but human-readable,
343 serialisation. 726 serialisation.
344 727
728 The Types::Serialiser module provides the data model for true, false and
729 error values.
730
345AUTHOR 731AUTHOR
346 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 732 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
347 http://home.schmorp.de/ 733 http://home.schmorp.de/
348 734

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