ViewVC Help
View File | Revision Log | Show Annotations | Download File
/cvs/CBOR-XS/README
(Generate patch)

Comparing CBOR-XS/README (file contents):
Revision 1.4 by root, Sat Oct 26 23:02:55 2013 UTC vs.
Revision 1.20 by root, Tue Dec 1 01:50:01 2020 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).
27 37
28 The primary goal of this module is to be *correct* and the secondary 38 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. 39 goal is to be *fast*. To reach the latter goal it was written in C.
40
41 To give you a general idea about speed, with texts in the megabyte
42 range, "CBOR::XS" usually encodes roughly twice as fast as Storable or
43 JSON::XS and decodes about 15%-30% faster than those. The shorter the
44 data, the worse Storable performs in comparison.
45
46 Regarding compactness, "CBOR::XS"-encoded data structures are usually
47 about 20% smaller than the same data encoded as (compact) JSON or
48 Storable.
49
50 In addition to the core CBOR data format, this module implements a
51 number of extensions, to support cyclic and shared data structures (see
52 "allow_sharing" and "allow_cycles"), string deduplication (see
53 "pack_strings") and scalar references (always enabled).
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
32 vice versa. 56 vice versa.
33 57
34FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE 58FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE
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]});
83
84 $cbor = new_safe CBOR::XS
85 Create a new, safe/secure CBOR::XS object. This is similar to "new",
86 but configures the coder object to be safe to use with untrusted
87 data. Currently, this is equivalent to:
88
89 my $cbor = CBOR::XS
90 ->new
91 ->forbid_objects
92 ->filter (\&CBOR::XS::safe_filter)
93 ->max_size (1e8);
94
95 But is more future proof (it is better to crash because of a change
96 than to be exploited in other ways).
59 97
60 $cbor = $cbor->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth]) 98 $cbor = $cbor->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])
61 $max_depth = $cbor->get_max_depth 99 $max_depth = $cbor->get_max_depth
62 Sets the maximum nesting level (default 512) accepted while encoding 100 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 101 or decoding. If a higher nesting level is detected in CBOR data or a
77 115
78 Note that nesting is implemented by recursion in C. The default 116 Note that nesting is implemented by recursion in C. The default
79 value has been chosen to be as large as typical operating systems 117 value has been chosen to be as large as typical operating systems
80 allow without crashing. 118 allow without crashing.
81 119
82 See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is 120 See "SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS", below, for more info on why this is
83 useful. 121 useful.
84 122
85 $cbor = $cbor->max_size ([$maximum_string_size]) 123 $cbor = $cbor->max_size ([$maximum_string_size])
86 $max_size = $cbor->get_max_size 124 $max_size = $cbor->get_max_size
87 Set the maximum length a CBOR string may have (in bytes) where 125 Set the maximum length a CBOR string may have (in bytes) where
91 exception. This setting has no effect on "encode" (yet). 129 exception. This setting has no effect on "encode" (yet).
92 130
93 If no argument is given, the limit check will be deactivated (same 131 If no argument is given, the limit check will be deactivated (same
94 as when 0 is specified). 132 as when 0 is specified).
95 133
96 See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is 134 See "SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS", below, for more info on why this is
97 useful. 135 useful.
136
137 $cbor = $cbor->allow_unknown ([$enable])
138 $enabled = $cbor->get_allow_unknown
139 If $enable is true (or missing), then "encode" will *not* throw an
140 exception when it encounters values it cannot represent in CBOR (for
141 example, filehandles) but instead will encode a CBOR "error" value.
142
143 If $enable is false (the default), then "encode" will throw an
144 exception when it encounters anything it cannot encode as CBOR.
145
146 This option does not affect "decode" in any way, and it is
147 recommended to leave it off unless you know your communications
148 partner.
149
150 $cbor = $cbor->allow_sharing ([$enable])
151 $enabled = $cbor->get_allow_sharing
152 If $enable is true (or missing), then "encode" will not
153 double-encode values that have been referenced before (e.g. when the
154 same object, such as an array, is referenced multiple times), but
155 instead will emit a reference to the earlier value.
156
157 This means that such values will only be encoded once, and will not
158 result in a deep cloning of the value on decode, in decoders
159 supporting the value sharing extension. This also makes it possible
160 to encode cyclic data structures (which need "allow_cycles" to be
161 enabled to be decoded by this module).
162
163 It is recommended to leave it off unless you know your communication
164 partner supports the value sharing extensions to CBOR
165 (<http://cbor.schmorp.de/value-sharing>), as without decoder
166 support, the resulting data structure might be unusable.
167
168 Detecting shared values incurs a runtime overhead when values are
169 encoded that have a reference counter large than one, and might
170 unnecessarily increase the encoded size, as potentially shared
171 values are encoded as shareable whether or not they are actually
172 shared.
173
174 At the moment, only targets of references can be shared (e.g.
175 scalars, arrays or hashes pointed to by a reference). Weirder
176 constructs, such as an array with multiple "copies" of the *same*
177 string, which are hard but not impossible to create in Perl, are not
178 supported (this is the same as with Storable).
179
180 If $enable is false (the default), then "encode" will encode shared
181 data structures repeatedly, unsharing them in the process. Cyclic
182 data structures cannot be encoded in this mode.
183
184 This option does not affect "decode" in any way - shared values and
185 references will always be decoded properly if present.
186
187 $cbor = $cbor->allow_cycles ([$enable])
188 $enabled = $cbor->get_allow_cycles
189 If $enable is true (or missing), then "decode" will happily decode
190 self-referential (cyclic) data structures. By default these will not
191 be decoded, as they need manual cleanup to avoid memory leaks, so
192 code that isn't prepared for this will not leak memory.
193
194 If $enable is false (the default), then "decode" will throw an error
195 when it encounters a self-referential/cyclic data structure.
196
197 FUTURE DIRECTION: the motivation behind this option is to avoid
198 *real* cycles - future versions of this module might chose to decode
199 cyclic data structures using weak references when this option is
200 off, instead of throwing an error.
201
202 This option does not affect "encode" in any way - shared values and
203 references will always be encoded properly if present.
204
205 $cbor = $cbor->forbid_objects ([$enable])
206 $enabled = $cbor->get_forbid_objects
207 Disables the use of the object serialiser protocol.
208
209 If $enable is true (or missing), then "encode" will will throw an
210 exception when it encounters perl objects that would be encoded
211 using the perl-object tag (26). When "decode" encounters such tags,
212 it will fall back to the general filter/tagged logic as if this were
213 an unknown tag (by default resulting in a "CBOR::XC::Tagged"
214 object).
215
216 If $enable is false (the default), then "encode" will use the
217 Types::Serialiser object serialisation protocol to serialise objects
218 into perl-object tags, and "decode" will do the same to decode such
219 tags.
220
221 See "SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS", below, for more info on why
222 forbidding this protocol can be useful.
223
224 $cbor = $cbor->pack_strings ([$enable])
225 $enabled = $cbor->get_pack_strings
226 If $enable is true (or missing), then "encode" will try not to
227 encode the same string twice, but will instead encode a reference to
228 the string instead. Depending on your data format, this can save a
229 lot of space, but also results in a very large runtime overhead
230 (expect encoding times to be 2-4 times as high as without).
231
232 It is recommended to leave it off unless you know your
233 communications partner supports the stringref extension to CBOR
234 (<http://cbor.schmorp.de/stringref>), as without decoder support,
235 the resulting data structure might not be usable.
236
237 If $enable is false (the default), then "encode" will encode strings
238 the standard CBOR way.
239
240 This option does not affect "decode" in any way - string references
241 will always be decoded properly if present.
242
243 $cbor = $cbor->text_keys ([$enable])
244 $enabled = $cbor->get_text_keys
245 If $enabled is true (or missing), then "encode" will encode all perl
246 hash keys as CBOR text strings/UTF-8 string, upgrading them as
247 needed.
248
249 If $enable is false (the default), then "encode" will encode hash
250 keys normally - upgraded perl strings (strings internally encoded as
251 UTF-8) as CBOR text strings, and downgraded perl strings as CBOR
252 byte strings.
253
254 This option does not affect "decode" in any way.
255
256 This option is useful for interoperability with CBOR decoders that
257 don't treat byte strings as a form of text. It is especially useful
258 as Perl gives very little control over hash keys.
259
260 Enabling this option can be slow, as all downgraded hash keys that
261 are encoded need to be scanned and converted to UTF-8.
262
263 $cbor = $cbor->text_strings ([$enable])
264 $enabled = $cbor->get_text_strings
265 This option works similar to "text_keys", above, but works on all
266 strings (including hash keys), so "text_keys" has no further effect
267 after enabling "text_strings".
268
269 If $enabled is true (or missing), then "encode" will encode all perl
270 strings as CBOR text strings/UTF-8 strings, upgrading them as
271 needed.
272
273 If $enable is false (the default), then "encode" will encode strings
274 normally (but see "text_keys") - upgraded perl strings (strings
275 internally encoded as UTF-8) as CBOR text strings, and downgraded
276 perl strings as CBOR byte strings.
277
278 This option does not affect "decode" in any way.
279
280 This option has similar advantages and disadvantages as "text_keys".
281 In addition, this option effectively removes the ability to
282 automatically encode byte strings, which might break some "FREEZE"
283 and "TO_CBOR" methods that rely on this.
284
285 A workaround is to use explicit type casts, which are unaffected by
286 this option.
287
288 $cbor = $cbor->validate_utf8 ([$enable])
289 $enabled = $cbor->get_validate_utf8
290 If $enable is true (or missing), then "decode" will validate that
291 elements (text strings) containing UTF-8 data in fact contain valid
292 UTF-8 data (instead of blindly accepting it). This validation
293 obviously takes extra time during decoding.
294
295 The concept of "valid UTF-8" used is perl's concept, which is a
296 superset of the official UTF-8.
297
298 If $enable is false (the default), then "decode" will blindly accept
299 UTF-8 data, marking them as valid UTF-8 in the resulting data
300 structure regardless of whether that's true or not.
301
302 Perl isn't too happy about corrupted UTF-8 in strings, but should
303 generally not crash or do similarly evil things. Extensions might be
304 not so forgiving, so it's recommended to turn on this setting if you
305 receive untrusted CBOR.
306
307 This option does not affect "encode" in any way - strings that are
308 supposedly valid UTF-8 will simply be dumped into the resulting CBOR
309 string without checking whether that is, in fact, true or not.
310
311 $cbor = $cbor->filter ([$cb->($tag, $value)])
312 $cb_or_undef = $cbor->get_filter
313 Sets or replaces the tagged value decoding filter (when $cb is
314 specified) or clears the filter (if no argument or "undef" is
315 provided).
316
317 The filter callback is called only during decoding, when a
318 non-enforced tagged value has been decoded (see "TAG HANDLING AND
319 EXTENSIONS" for a list of enforced tags). For specific tags, it's
320 often better to provide a default converter using the
321 %CBOR::XS::FILTER hash (see below).
322
323 The first argument is the numerical tag, the second is the (decoded)
324 value that has been tagged.
325
326 The filter function should return either exactly one value, which
327 will replace the tagged value in the decoded data structure, or no
328 values, which will result in default handling, which currently means
329 the decoder creates a "CBOR::XS::Tagged" object to hold the tag and
330 the value.
331
332 When the filter is cleared (the default state), the default filter
333 function, "CBOR::XS::default_filter", is used. This function simply
334 looks up the tag in the %CBOR::XS::FILTER hash. If an entry exists
335 it must be a code reference that is called with tag and value, and
336 is responsible for decoding the value. If no entry exists, it
337 returns no values. "CBOR::XS" provides a number of default filter
338 functions already, the the %CBOR::XS::FILTER hash can be freely
339 extended with more.
340
341 "CBOR::XS" additionally provides an alternative filter function that
342 is supposed to be safe to use with untrusted data (which the default
343 filter might not), called "CBOR::XS::safe_filter", which works the
344 same as the "default_filter" but uses the %CBOR::XS::SAFE_FILTER
345 variable instead. It is prepopulated with the tag decoding functions
346 that are deemed safe (basically the same as %CBOR::XS::FILTER
347 without all the bignum tags), and can be extended by user code as
348 wlel, although, obviously, one should be very careful about adding
349 decoding functions here, since the expectation is that they are safe
350 to use on untrusted data, after all.
351
352 Example: decode all tags not handled internally into
353 "CBOR::XS::Tagged" objects, with no other special handling (useful
354 when working with potentially "unsafe" CBOR data).
355
356 CBOR::XS->new->filter (sub { })->decode ($cbor_data);
357
358 Example: provide a global filter for tag 1347375694, converting the
359 value into some string form.
360
361 $CBOR::XS::FILTER{1347375694} = sub {
362 my ($tag, $value);
363
364 "tag 1347375694 value $value"
365 };
366
367 Example: provide your own filter function that looks up tags in your
368 own hash:
369
370 my %my_filter = (
371 998347484 => sub {
372 my ($tag, $value);
373
374 "tag 998347484 value $value"
375 };
376 );
377
378 my $coder = CBOR::XS->new->filter (sub {
379 &{ $my_filter{$_[0]} or return }
380 });
381
382 Example: use the safe filter function (see "SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS"
383 for more considerations on security).
384
385 CBOR::XS->new->filter (\&CBOR::XS::safe_filter)->decode ($cbor_data);
98 386
99 $cbor_data = $cbor->encode ($perl_scalar) 387 $cbor_data = $cbor->encode ($perl_scalar)
100 Converts the given Perl data structure (a scalar value) to its CBOR 388 Converts the given Perl data structure (a scalar value) to its CBOR
101 representation. 389 representation.
102 390
110 will silently stop parsing there and return the number of characters 398 will silently stop parsing there and return the number of characters
111 consumed so far. 399 consumed so far.
112 400
113 This is useful if your CBOR texts are not delimited by an outer 401 This is useful if your CBOR texts are not delimited by an outer
114 protocol and you need to know where the first CBOR string ends amd 402 protocol and you need to know where the first CBOR string ends amd
115 the next one starts. 403 the next one starts - CBOR strings are self-delimited, so it is
404 possible to concatenate CBOR strings without any delimiters or size
405 fields and recover their data.
116 406
117 CBOR::XS->new->decode_prefix ("......") 407 CBOR::XS->new->decode_prefix ("......")
118 => ("...", 3) 408 => ("...", 3)
409
410 INCREMENTAL PARSING
411 In some cases, there is the need for incremental parsing of JSON texts.
412 While this module always has to keep both CBOR text and resulting Perl
413 data structure in memory at one time, it does allow you to parse a CBOR
414 stream incrementally, using a similar to using "decode_prefix" to see if
415 a full CBOR object is available, but is much more efficient.
416
417 It basically works by parsing as much of a CBOR string as possible - if
418 the CBOR data is not complete yet, the pasrer will remember where it
419 was, to be able to restart when more data has been accumulated. Once
420 enough data is available to either decode a complete CBOR value or raise
421 an error, a real decode will be attempted.
422
423 A typical use case would be a network protocol that consists of sending
424 and receiving CBOR-encoded messages. The solution that works with CBOR
425 and about anything else is by prepending a length to every CBOR value,
426 so the receiver knows how many octets to read. More compact (and
427 slightly slower) would be to just send CBOR values back-to-back, as
428 "CBOR::XS" knows where a CBOR value ends, and doesn't need an explicit
429 length.
430
431 The following methods help with this:
432
433 @decoded = $cbor->incr_parse ($buffer)
434 This method attempts to decode exactly one CBOR value from the
435 beginning of the given $buffer. The value is removed from the
436 $buffer on success. When $buffer doesn't contain a complete value
437 yet, it returns nothing. Finally, when the $buffer doesn't start
438 with something that could ever be a valid CBOR value, it raises an
439 exception, just as "decode" would. In the latter case the decoder
440 state is undefined and must be reset before being able to parse
441 further.
442
443 This method modifies the $buffer in place. When no CBOR value can be
444 decoded, the decoder stores the current string offset. On the next
445 call, continues decoding at the place where it stopped before. For
446 this to make sense, the $buffer must begin with the same octets as
447 on previous unsuccessful calls.
448
449 You can call this method in scalar context, in which case it either
450 returns a decoded value or "undef". This makes it impossible to
451 distinguish between CBOR null values (which decode to "undef") and
452 an unsuccessful decode, which is often acceptable.
453
454 @decoded = $cbor->incr_parse_multiple ($buffer)
455 Same as "incr_parse", but attempts to decode as many CBOR values as
456 possible in one go, instead of at most one. Calls to "incr_parse"
457 and "incr_parse_multiple" can be interleaved.
458
459 $cbor->incr_reset
460 Resets the incremental decoder. This throws away any saved state, so
461 that subsequent calls to "incr_parse" or "incr_parse_multiple" start
462 to parse a new CBOR value from the beginning of the $buffer again.
463
464 This method can be called at any time, but it *must* be called if
465 you want to change your $buffer or there was a decoding error and
466 you want to reuse the $cbor object for future incremental parsings.
119 467
120MAPPING 468MAPPING
121 This section describes how CBOR::XS maps Perl values to CBOR values and 469 This section describes how CBOR::XS maps Perl values to CBOR values and
122 vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most 470 vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most
123 circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics 471 circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics
131 integers 479 integers
132 CBOR integers become (numeric) perl scalars. On perls without 64 bit 480 CBOR integers become (numeric) perl scalars. On perls without 64 bit
133 support, 64 bit integers will be truncated or otherwise corrupted. 481 support, 64 bit integers will be truncated or otherwise corrupted.
134 482
135 byte strings 483 byte strings
136 Byte strings will become octet strings in Perl (the byte values 484 Byte strings will become octet strings in Perl (the Byte values
137 0..255 will simply become characters of the same value in Perl). 485 0..255 will simply become characters of the same value in Perl).
138 486
139 UTF-8 strings 487 UTF-8 strings
140 UTF-8 strings in CBOR will be decoded, i.e. the UTF-8 octets will be 488 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 489 decoded into proper Unicode code points. At the moment, the validity
145 arrays, maps 493 arrays, maps
146 CBOR arrays and CBOR maps will be converted into references to a 494 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 495 Perl array or hash, respectively. The keys of the map will be
148 stringified during this process. 496 stringified during this process.
149 497
150 true, false 498 null
151 These CBOR values become "CBOR::XS::true" and "CBOR::XS::false", 499 CBOR null becomes "undef" in Perl.
500
501 true, false, undefined
502 These CBOR values become "Types:Serialiser::true",
503 "Types:Serialiser::false" and "Types::Serialiser::error",
152 respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the 504 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 505 numbers 1 and 0 (for true and false) or to throw an exception on
154 using the "CBOR::XS::is_bool" function. 506 access (for error). See the Types::Serialiser manpage for details.
155 507
156 null, undefined 508 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 509 Tagged items consists of a numeric tag and another CBOR value.
162 tag 55799 is ignored (this tag implements the magic header).
163 510
164 All other tags are currently converted into a CBOR::XS::Tagged 511 See "TAG HANDLING AND EXTENSIONS" and the description of "->filter"
165 object, which is simply a blessed array reference consistsing of the 512 for details on which tags are handled how.
166 numeric tag value followed by the (decoded) BOR value.
167 513
168 anything else 514 anything else
169 Anything else (e.g. unsupported simple values) will raise a decoding 515 Anything else (e.g. unsupported simple values) will raise a decoding
170 error. 516 error.
171 517
172 PERL -> CBOR 518 PERL -> CBOR
173 The mapping from Perl to CBOR is slightly more difficult, as Perl is a 519 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 520 typeless language. That means this module can only guess which CBOR type
175 by a Perl value. 521 is meant by a perl value.
176 522
177 hash references 523 hash references
178 Perl hash references become CBOR maps. As there is no inherent 524 Perl hash references become CBOR maps. As there is no inherent
179 ordering in hash keys (or CBOR maps), they will usually be encoded 525 ordering in hash keys (or CBOR maps), they will usually be encoded
180 in a pseudo-random order. 526 in a pseudo-random order. This order can be different each time a
527 hash is encoded.
181 528
182 Currently, tied hashes will use the indefinite-length format, while 529 Currently, tied hashes will use the indefinite-length format, while
183 normal hashes will use the fixed-length format. 530 normal hashes will use the fixed-length format.
184 531
185 array references 532 array references
186 Perl array references become fixed-length CBOR arrays. 533 Perl array references become fixed-length CBOR arrays.
187 534
188 other references 535 other references
189 Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause 536 Other unblessed references will be represented using the indirection
190 an exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers 0 537 tag extension (tag value 22098,
191 and 1, which get turned into false and true in CBOR. 538 <http://cbor.schmorp.de/indirection>). CBOR decoders are guaranteed
539 to be able to decode these values somehow, by either "doing the
540 right thing", decoding into a generic tagged object, simply ignoring
541 the tag, or something else.
192 542
193 CBOR::XS::Tagged objects 543 CBOR::XS::Tagged objects
194 Objects of this type must be arrays consisting of a single "[tag, 544 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 545 value]" pair. The (numerical) tag will be encoded as a CBOR tag, the
196 value will be encoded as appropriate for the value. 546 value will be encoded as appropriate for the value. You must use
547 "CBOR::XS::tag" to create such objects.
197 548
198 CBOR::XS::true, CBOR::XS::false 549 Types::Serialiser::true, Types::Serialiser::false,
550 Types::Serialiser::error
199 These special values become CBOR true and CBOR false values, 551 These special values become CBOR true, CBOR false and CBOR undefined
200 respectively. You can also use "\1" and "\0" directly if you want. 552 values, respectively. You can also use "\1", "\0" and "\undef"
553 directly if you want.
201 554
202 blessed objects 555 other blessed objects
203 Other blessed objects currently need to have a "TO_CBOR" method. It 556 Other blessed objects are serialised via "TO_CBOR" or "FREEZE". See
204 will be called on every object that is being serialised, and must 557 "TAG HANDLING AND EXTENSIONS" for specific classes handled by this
205 return something that can be encoded in CBOR. 558 module, and "OBJECT SERIALISATION" for generic object serialisation.
206 559
207 simple scalars 560 simple scalars
208 TODO Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are 561 Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the
209 the most difficult objects to encode: CBOR::XS will encode undefined 562 most difficult objects to encode: CBOR::XS will encode undefined
210 scalars as CBOR null values, scalars that have last been used in a 563 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 564 string context before encoding as CBOR strings, and anything else as
212 number value: 565 number value:
213 566
214 # dump as number 567 # dump as number
215 encode_cbor [2] # yields [2] 568 encode_cbor [2] # yields [2]
216 encode_cbor [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17] 569 encode_cbor [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17]
217 my $value = 5; encode_cbor [$value] # yields [5] 570 my $value = 5; encode_cbor [$value] # yields [5]
218 571
219 # used as string, so dump as string 572 # used as string, so dump as string (either byte or text)
220 print $value; 573 print $value;
221 encode_cbor [$value] # yields ["5"] 574 encode_cbor [$value] # yields ["5"]
222 575
223 # undef becomes null 576 # undef becomes null
224 encode_cbor [undef] # yields [null] 577 encode_cbor [undef] # yields [null]
227 580
228 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number 581 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number
229 "$x"; # stringified 582 "$x"; # stringified
230 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify 583 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify
231 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often 584 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often
585
586 You can force whether a string is encoded as byte or text string by
587 using "utf8::upgrade" and "utf8::downgrade" (if "text_strings" is
588 disabled).
589
590 utf8::upgrade $x; # encode $x as text string
591 utf8::downgrade $x; # encode $x as byte string
592
593 More options are available, see "TYPE CASTS", below, and the
594 "text_keys" and "text_strings" options.
595
596 Perl doesn't define what operations up- and downgrade strings, so if
597 the difference between byte and text is important, you should up- or
598 downgrade your string as late as possible before encoding. You can
599 also force the use of CBOR text strings by using "text_keys" or
600 "text_strings".
232 601
233 You can force the type to be a CBOR number by numifying it: 602 You can force the type to be a CBOR number by numifying it:
234 603
235 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string 604 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string
236 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number 605 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number
245 IEEE single format if possible without loss of precision, otherwise 614 IEEE single format if possible without loss of precision, otherwise
246 the IEEE double format will be used. Perls that use formats other 615 the IEEE double format will be used. Perls that use formats other
247 than IEEE double to represent numerical values are supported, but 616 than IEEE double to represent numerical values are supported, but
248 might suffer loss of precision. 617 might suffer loss of precision.
249 618
619 TYPE CASTS
620 EXPERIMENTAL: As an experimental extension, "CBOR::XS" allows you to
621 force specific cbor types to be used when encoding. That allows you to
622 encode types not normally accessible (e.g. half floats) as well as force
623 string types even when "text_strings" is in effect.
624
625 Type forcing is done by calling a special "cast" function which keeps a
626 copy of the value and returns a new value that can be handed over to any
627 CBOR encoder function.
628
629 The following casts are currently available (all of which are unary
630 operators):
631
632 CBOR::XS::as_int $value
633 Forces the value to be encoded as some form of (basic, not bignum)
634 integer type.
635
636 CBOR::XS::as_text $value
637 Forces the value to be encoded as (UTF-8) text values.
638
639 CBOR::XS::as_bytes $value
640 Forces the value to be encoded as a (binary) string value.
641
642 CBOR::XS::as_bool $value
643 Converts a Perl boolean (which can be any kind of scalar) into a
644 CBOR boolean. Strictly the same, but shorter to write, than:
645
646 $value ? Types::Serialiser::true : Types::Serialiser::false
647
648 CBOR::XS::as_float16 $value
649 Forces half-float (IEEE 754 binary16) encoding of the given value.
650
651 CBOR::XS::as_float32 $value
652 Forces single-float (IEEE 754 binary32) encoding of the given value.
653
654 CBOR::XS::as_float64 $value
655 Forces double-float (IEEE 754 binary64) encoding of the given value.
656
657 =item, CBOR::XS::as_cbor $cbor_text
658
659 Bot a type cast per-se, this type cast forces the argument to eb
660 encoded as-is. This can be used to embed pre-encoded CBOR data.
661
662 Note that no checking on the validity of the $cbor_text is done -
663 it's the callers responsibility to correctly encode values.
664
665 Example: encode a perl string as binary even though "text_strings" is in
666 effect.
667
668 CBOR::XS->new->text_strings->encode ([4, "text", CBOR::XS::bytes "bytevalue"]);
669
670 OBJECT SERIALISATION
671 This module implements both a CBOR-specific and the generic
672 Types::Serialier object serialisation protocol. The following
673 subsections explain both methods.
674
675 ENCODING
676 This module knows two way to serialise a Perl object: The CBOR-specific
677 way, and the generic way.
678
679 Whenever the encoder encounters a Perl object that it cannot serialise
680 directly (most of them), it will first look up the "TO_CBOR" method on
681 it.
682
683 If it has a "TO_CBOR" method, it will call it with the object as only
684 argument, and expects exactly one return value, which it will then
685 substitute and encode it in the place of the object.
686
687 Otherwise, it will look up the "FREEZE" method. If it exists, it will
688 call it with the object as first argument, and the constant string
689 "CBOR" as the second argument, to distinguish it from other serialisers.
690
691 The "FREEZE" method can return any number of values (i.e. zero or more).
692 These will be encoded as CBOR perl object, together with the classname.
693
694 These methods *MUST NOT* change the data structure that is being
695 serialised. Failure to comply to this can result in memory corruption -
696 and worse.
697
698 If an object supports neither "TO_CBOR" nor "FREEZE", encoding will fail
699 with an error.
700
701 DECODING
702 Objects encoded via "TO_CBOR" cannot (normally) be automatically
703 decoded, but objects encoded via "FREEZE" can be decoded using the
704 following protocol:
705
706 When an encoded CBOR perl object is encountered by the decoder, it will
707 look up the "THAW" method, by using the stored classname, and will fail
708 if the method cannot be found.
709
710 After the lookup it will call the "THAW" method with the stored
711 classname as first argument, the constant string "CBOR" as second
712 argument, and all values returned by "FREEZE" as remaining arguments.
713
714 EXAMPLES
715 Here is an example "TO_CBOR" method:
716
717 sub My::Object::TO_CBOR {
718 my ($obj) = @_;
719
720 ["this is a serialised My::Object object", $obj->{id}]
721 }
722
723 When a "My::Object" is encoded to CBOR, it will instead encode a simple
724 array with two members: a string, and the "object id". Decoding this
725 CBOR string will yield a normal perl array reference in place of the
726 object.
727
728 A more useful and practical example would be a serialisation method for
729 the URI module. CBOR has a custom tag value for URIs, namely 32:
730
731 sub URI::TO_CBOR {
732 my ($self) = @_;
733 my $uri = "$self"; # stringify uri
734 utf8::upgrade $uri; # make sure it will be encoded as UTF-8 string
735 CBOR::XS::tag 32, "$_[0]"
736 }
737
738 This will encode URIs as a UTF-8 string with tag 32, which indicates an
739 URI.
740
741 Decoding such an URI will not (currently) give you an URI object, but
742 instead a CBOR::XS::Tagged object with tag number 32 and the string -
743 exactly what was returned by "TO_CBOR".
744
745 To serialise an object so it can automatically be deserialised, you need
746 to use "FREEZE" and "THAW". To take the URI module as example, this
747 would be a possible implementation:
748
749 sub URI::FREEZE {
750 my ($self, $serialiser) = @_;
751 "$self" # encode url string
752 }
753
754 sub URI::THAW {
755 my ($class, $serialiser, $uri) = @_;
756 $class->new ($uri)
757 }
758
759 Unlike "TO_CBOR", multiple values can be returned by "FREEZE". For
760 example, a "FREEZE" method that returns "type", "id" and "variant"
761 values would cause an invocation of "THAW" with 5 arguments:
762
763 sub My::Object::FREEZE {
764 my ($self, $serialiser) = @_;
765
766 ($self->{type}, $self->{id}, $self->{variant})
767 }
768
769 sub My::Object::THAW {
770 my ($class, $serialiser, $type, $id, $variant) = @_;
771
772 $class-<new (type => $type, id => $id, variant => $variant)
773 }
774
250 MAGIC HEADER 775MAGIC HEADER
251 There is no way to distinguish CBOR from other formats programmatically. 776 There is no way to distinguish CBOR from other formats programmatically.
252 To make it easier to distinguish CBOR from other formats, the CBOR 777 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 778 specification has a special "magic string" that can be prepended to any
254 CBOR string without changing it's meaning. 779 CBOR string without changing its meaning.
255 780
256 This string is available as $CBOR::XS::MAGIC. This module does not 781 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 782 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 783 if present, so users can prepend this string as a "file type" indicator
259 as required. 784 as required.
260 785
786THE CBOR::XS::Tagged CLASS
787 CBOR has the concept of tagged values - any CBOR value can be tagged
788 with a numeric 64 bit number, which are centrally administered.
789
790 "CBOR::XS" handles a few tags internally when en- or decoding. You can
791 also create tags yourself by encoding "CBOR::XS::Tagged" objects, and
792 the decoder will create "CBOR::XS::Tagged" objects itself when it hits
793 an unknown tag.
794
795 These objects are simply blessed array references - the first member of
796 the array being the numerical tag, the second being the value.
797
798 You can interact with "CBOR::XS::Tagged" objects in the following ways:
799
800 $tagged = CBOR::XS::tag $tag, $value
801 This function(!) creates a new "CBOR::XS::Tagged" object using the
802 given $tag (0..2**64-1) to tag the given $value (which can be any
803 Perl value that can be encoded in CBOR, including serialisable Perl
804 objects and "CBOR::XS::Tagged" objects).
805
806 $tagged->[0]
807 $tagged->[0] = $new_tag
808 $tag = $tagged->tag
809 $new_tag = $tagged->tag ($new_tag)
810 Access/mutate the tag.
811
812 $tagged->[1]
813 $tagged->[1] = $new_value
814 $value = $tagged->value
815 $new_value = $tagged->value ($new_value)
816 Access/mutate the tagged value.
817
818 EXAMPLES
819 Here are some examples of "CBOR::XS::Tagged" uses to tag objects.
820
821 You can look up CBOR tag value and emanings in the IANA registry at
822 <http://www.iana.org/assignments/cbor-tags/cbor-tags.xhtml>.
823
824 Prepend a magic header ($CBOR::XS::MAGIC):
825
826 my $cbor = encode_cbor CBOR::XS::tag 55799, $value;
827 # same as:
828 my $cbor = $CBOR::XS::MAGIC . encode_cbor $value;
829
830 Serialise some URIs and a regex in an array:
831
832 my $cbor = encode_cbor [
833 (CBOR::XS::tag 32, "http://www.nethype.de/"),
834 (CBOR::XS::tag 32, "http://software.schmorp.de/"),
835 (CBOR::XS::tag 35, "^[Pp][Ee][Rr][lL]\$"),
836 ];
837
838 Wrap CBOR data in CBOR:
839
840 my $cbor_cbor = encode_cbor
841 CBOR::XS::tag 24,
842 encode_cbor [1, 2, 3];
843
844TAG HANDLING AND EXTENSIONS
845 This section describes how this module handles specific tagged values
846 and extensions. If a tag is not mentioned here and no additional filters
847 are provided for it, then the default handling applies (creating a
848 CBOR::XS::Tagged object on decoding, and only encoding the tag when
849 explicitly requested).
850
851 Tags not handled specifically are currently converted into a
852 CBOR::XS::Tagged object, which is simply a blessed array reference
853 consisting of the numeric tag value followed by the (decoded) CBOR
854 value.
855
856 Future versions of this module reserve the right to special case
857 additional tags (such as base64url).
858
859 ENFORCED TAGS
860 These tags are always handled when decoding, and their handling cannot
861 be overridden by the user.
862
863 26 (perl-object, <http://cbor.schmorp.de/perl-object>)
864 These tags are automatically created (and decoded) for serialisable
865 objects using the "FREEZE/THAW" methods (the Types::Serialier object
866 serialisation protocol). See "OBJECT SERIALISATION" for details.
867
868 28, 29 (shareable, sharedref, <http://cbor.schmorp.de/value-sharing>)
869 These tags are automatically decoded when encountered (and they do
870 not result in a cyclic data structure, see "allow_cycles"),
871 resulting in shared values in the decoded object. They are only
872 encoded, however, when "allow_sharing" is enabled.
873
874 Not all shared values can be successfully decoded: values that
875 reference themselves will *currently* decode as "undef" (this is not
876 the same as a reference pointing to itself, which will be
877 represented as a value that contains an indirect reference to itself
878 - these will be decoded properly).
879
880 Note that considerably more shared value data structures can be
881 decoded than will be encoded - currently, only values pointed to by
882 references will be shared, others will not. While non-reference
883 shared values can be generated in Perl with some effort, they were
884 considered too unimportant to be supported in the encoder. The
885 decoder, however, will decode these values as shared values.
886
887 256, 25 (stringref-namespace, stringref,
888 <http://cbor.schmorp.de/stringref>)
889 These tags are automatically decoded when encountered. They are only
890 encoded, however, when "pack_strings" is enabled.
891
892 22098 (indirection, <http://cbor.schmorp.de/indirection>)
893 This tag is automatically generated when a reference are encountered
894 (with the exception of hash and array references). It is converted
895 to a reference when decoding.
896
897 55799 (self-describe CBOR, RFC 7049)
898 This value is not generated on encoding (unless explicitly requested
899 by the user), and is simply ignored when decoding.
900
901 NON-ENFORCED TAGS
902 These tags have default filters provided when decoding. Their handling
903 can be overridden by changing the %CBOR::XS::FILTER entry for the tag,
904 or by providing a custom "filter" callback when decoding.
905
906 When they result in decoding into a specific Perl class, the module
907 usually provides a corresponding "TO_CBOR" method as well.
908
909 When any of these need to load additional modules that are not part of
910 the perl core distribution (e.g. URI), it is (currently) up to the user
911 to provide these modules. The decoding usually fails with an exception
912 if the required module cannot be loaded.
913
914 0, 1 (date/time string, seconds since the epoch)
915 These tags are decoded into Time::Piece objects. The corresponding
916 "Time::Piece::TO_CBOR" method always encodes into tag 1 values
917 currently.
918
919 The Time::Piece API is generally surprisingly bad, and fractional
920 seconds are only accidentally kept intact, so watch out. On the plus
921 side, the module comes with perl since 5.10, which has to count for
922 something.
923
924 2, 3 (positive/negative bignum)
925 These tags are decoded into Math::BigInt objects. The corresponding
926 "Math::BigInt::TO_CBOR" method encodes "small" bigints into normal
927 CBOR integers, and others into positive/negative CBOR bignums.
928
929 4, 5, 264, 265 (decimal fraction/bigfloat)
930 Both decimal fractions and bigfloats are decoded into Math::BigFloat
931 objects. The corresponding "Math::BigFloat::TO_CBOR" method *always*
932 encodes into a decimal fraction (either tag 4 or 264).
933
934 NaN and infinities are not encoded properly, as they cannot be
935 represented in CBOR.
936
937 See "BIGNUM SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS" for more info.
938
939 30 (rational numbers)
940 These tags are decoded into Math::BigRat objects. The corresponding
941 "Math::BigRat::TO_CBOR" method encodes rational numbers with
942 denominator 1 via their numerator only, i.e., they become normal
943 integers or "bignums".
944
945 See "BIGNUM SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS" for more info.
946
947 21, 22, 23 (expected later JSON conversion)
948 CBOR::XS is not a CBOR-to-JSON converter, and will simply ignore
949 these tags.
950
951 32 (URI)
952 These objects decode into URI objects. The corresponding
953 "URI::TO_CBOR" method again results in a CBOR URI value.
954
261 CBOR and JSON 955CBOR and JSON
262 CBOR is supposed to implement a superset of the JSON data model, and is, 956 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 957 with some coercion, able to represent all JSON texts (something that
264 other "binary JSON" formats such as BSON generally do not support). 958 other "binary JSON" formats such as BSON generally do not support).
265 959
266 CBOR implements some extra hints and support for JSON interoperability, 960 CBOR implements some extra hints and support for JSON interoperability,
270 interoperability is improved in the future, then the goal will be to 964 interoperability is improved in the future, then the goal will be to
271 ensure that decoded JSON data will round-trip encoding and decoding to 965 ensure that decoded JSON data will round-trip encoding and decoding to
272 CBOR intact. 966 CBOR intact.
273 967
274SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS 968SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
275 When you are using CBOR in a protocol, talking to untrusted potentially 969 Tl;dr... if you want to decode or encode CBOR from untrusted sources,
276 hostile creatures requires relatively few measures. 970 you should start with a coder object created via "new_safe" (which
971 implements the mitigations explained below):
277 972
973 my $coder = CBOR::XS->new_safe;
974
975 my $data = $coder->decode ($cbor_text);
976 my $cbor = $coder->encode ($data);
977
978 Longer version: When you are using CBOR in a protocol, talking to
979 untrusted potentially hostile creatures requires some thought:
980
981 Security of the CBOR decoder itself
278 First of all, your CBOR decoder should be secure, that is, should not 982 First and foremost, your CBOR decoder should be secure, that is,
279 have any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and 983 should not have any buffer overflows or similar bugs that could
984 potentially be exploited. Obviously, this module should ensure that
280 I am trying hard on making that true, but you never know. 985 and I am trying hard on making that true, but you never know.
281 986
987 CBOR::XS can invoke almost arbitrary callbacks during decoding
988 CBOR::XS supports object serialisation - decoding CBOR can cause
989 calls to *any* "THAW" method in *any* package that exists in your
990 process (that is, CBOR::XS will not try to load modules, but any
991 existing "THAW" method or function can be called, so they all have
992 to be secure).
993
994 Less obviously, it will also invoke "TO_CBOR" and "FREEZE" methods -
995 even if all your "THAW" methods are secure, encoding data structures
996 from untrusted sources can invoke those and trigger bugs in those.
997
998 So, if you are not sure about the security of all the modules you
999 have loaded (you shouldn't), you should disable this part using
1000 "forbid_objects" or using "new_safe".
1001
1002 CBOR can be extended with tags that call library code
1003 CBOR can be extended with tags, and "CBOR::XS" has a registry of
1004 conversion functions for many existing tags that can be extended via
1005 third-party modules (see the "filter" method).
1006
1007 If you don't trust these, you should configure the "safe" filter
1008 function, "CBOR::XS::safe_filter" ("new_safe" does this), which by
1009 default only includes conversion functions that are considered
1010 "safe" by the author (but again, they can be extended by third party
1011 modules).
1012
1013 Depending on your level of paranoia, you can use the "safe" filter:
1014
1015 $cbor->filter (\&CBOR::XS::safe_filter);
1016
1017 ... your own filter...
1018
1019 $cbor->filter (sub { ... do your stuffs here ... });
1020
1021 ... or even no filter at all, disabling all tag decoding:
1022
1023 $cbor->filter (sub { });
1024
1025 This is never a problem for encoding, as the tag mechanism only
1026 exists in CBOR texts.
1027
1028 Resource-starving attacks: object memory usage
282 Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you 1029 You need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you should
283 should limit the size of CBOR data you accept, or make sure then when 1030 limit the size of CBOR data you accept, or make sure then when your
284 your resources run out, that's just fine (e.g. by using a separate 1031 resources run out, that's just fine (e.g. by using a separate
285 process that can crash safely). The size of a CBOR string in octets is 1032 process that can crash safely). The size of a CBOR string in octets
286 usually a good indication of the size of the resources required to 1033 is usually a good indication of the size of the resources required
287 decode it into a Perl structure. While CBOR::XS can check the size of 1034 to decode it into a Perl structure. While CBOR::XS can check the
1035 size of the CBOR text (using "max_size" - done by "new_safe"), it
288 the CBOR text, it might be too late when you already have it in memory, 1036 might be too late when you already have it in memory, so you might
289 so you might want to check the size before you accept the string. 1037 want to check the size before you accept the string.
290 1038
1039 As for encoding, it is possible to construct data structures that
1040 are relatively small but result in large CBOR texts (for example by
1041 having an array full of references to the same big data structure,
1042 which will all be deep-cloned during encoding by default). This is
1043 rarely an actual issue (and the worst case is still just running out
1044 of memory), but you can reduce this risk by using "allow_sharing".
1045
1046 Resource-starving attacks: stack overflows
291 Third, CBOR::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and 1047 CBOR::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and
292 arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64 1048 arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64
293 machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays 1049 machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested
294 but only 14k nested CBOR objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on 1050 arrays but only 14k nested CBOR objects (due to perl itself
295 croak to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. 1051 recursing deeply on croak to free the temporary). If that is
296 To be conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your 1052 exceeded, the program crashes. To be conservative, the default
297 process has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly 1053 nesting limit is set to 512. If your process has a smaller stack,
298 with the "max_depth" method. 1054 you should adjust this setting accordingly with the "max_depth"
1055 method.
299 1056
1057 Resource-starving attacks: CPU en-/decoding complexity
1058 CBOR::XS will use the Math::BigInt, Math::BigFloat and Math::BigRat
1059 libraries to represent encode/decode bignums. These can be very slow
1060 (as in, centuries of CPU time) and can even crash your program (and
1061 are generally not very trustworthy). See the next section on bignum
1062 security for details.
1063
1064 Data breaches: leaking information in error messages
1065 CBOR::XS might leak contents of your Perl data structures in its
1066 error messages, so when you serialise sensitive information you
1067 might want to make sure that exceptions thrown by CBOR::XS will not
1068 end up in front of untrusted eyes.
1069
1070 Something else...
300 Something else could bomb you, too, that I forgot to think of. In that 1071 Something else could bomb you, too, that I forgot to think of. In
301 case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, though... 1072 that case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints,
1073 though...
302 1074
303 Also keep in mind that CBOR::XS might leak contents of your Perl data 1075BIGNUM SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
304 structures in its error messages, so when you serialise sensitive 1076 CBOR::XS provides a "TO_CBOR" method for both Math::BigInt and
305 information you might want to make sure that exceptions thrown by 1077 Math::BigFloat that tries to encode the number in the simplest possible
306 CBOR::XS will not end up in front of untrusted eyes. 1078 way, that is, either a CBOR integer, a CBOR bigint/decimal fraction (tag
1079 4) or an arbitrary-exponent decimal fraction (tag 264). Rational numbers
1080 (Math::BigRat, tag 30) can also contain bignums as members.
1081
1082 CBOR::XS will also understand base-2 bigfloat or arbitrary-exponent
1083 bigfloats (tags 5 and 265), but it will never generate these on its own.
1084
1085 Using the built-in Math::BigInt::Calc support, encoding and decoding
1086 decimal fractions is generally fast. Decoding bigints can be slow for
1087 very big numbers (tens of thousands of digits, something that could
1088 potentially be caught by limiting the size of CBOR texts), and decoding
1089 bigfloats or arbitrary-exponent bigfloats can be *extremely* slow
1090 (minutes, decades) for large exponents (roughly 40 bit and longer).
1091
1092 Additionally, Math::BigInt can take advantage of other bignum libraries,
1093 such as Math::GMP, which cannot handle big floats with large exponents,
1094 and might simply abort or crash your program, due to their code quality.
1095
1096 This can be a concern if you want to parse untrusted CBOR. If it is, you
1097 might want to disable decoding of tag 2 (bigint) and 3 (negative bigint)
1098 types. You should also disable types 5 and 265, as these can be slow
1099 even without bigints.
1100
1101 Disabling bigints will also partially or fully disable types that rely
1102 on them, e.g. rational numbers that use bignums.
307 1103
308CBOR IMPLEMENTATION NOTES 1104CBOR IMPLEMENTATION NOTES
309 This section contains some random implementation notes. They do not 1105 This section contains some random implementation notes. They do not
310 describe guaranteed behaviour, but merely behaviour as-is implemented 1106 describe guaranteed behaviour, but merely behaviour as-is implemented
311 right now. 1107 right now.
319 Only the double data type is supported for NV data types - when Perl 1115 Only the double data type is supported for NV data types - when Perl
320 uses long double to represent floating point values, they might not be 1116 uses long double to represent floating point values, they might not be
321 encoded properly. Half precision types are accepted, but not encoded. 1117 encoded properly. Half precision types are accepted, but not encoded.
322 1118
323 Strict mode and canonical mode are not implemented. 1119 Strict mode and canonical mode are not implemented.
1120
1121LIMITATIONS ON PERLS WITHOUT 64-BIT INTEGER SUPPORT
1122 On perls that were built without 64 bit integer support (these are rare
1123 nowadays, even on 32 bit architectures, as all major Perl distributions
1124 are built with 64 bit integer support), support for any kind of 64 bit
1125 value in CBOR is very limited - most likely, these 64 bit values will be
1126 truncated, corrupted, or otherwise not decoded correctly. This also
1127 includes string, float, array and map sizes that are stored as 64 bit
1128 integers.
324 1129
325THREADS 1130THREADS
326 This module is *not* guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no plans 1131 This module is *not* guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no plans
327 to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the 1132 to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the
328 horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated 1133 horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated
340 1145
341SEE ALSO 1146SEE ALSO
342 The JSON and JSON::XS modules that do similar, but human-readable, 1147 The JSON and JSON::XS modules that do similar, but human-readable,
343 serialisation. 1148 serialisation.
344 1149
1150 The Types::Serialiser module provides the data model for true, false and
1151 error values.
1152
345AUTHOR 1153AUTHOR
346 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 1154 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
347 http://home.schmorp.de/ 1155 http://home.schmorp.de/
348 1156

Diff Legend

Removed lines
+ Added lines
< Changed lines
> Changed lines