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Revision 1.11 by root, Sat Nov 30 18:42:27 2013 UTC

21 # data was decoded 21 # data was decoded
22 substr $many_cbor_strings, 0, $length, ""; # remove decoded cbor string 22 substr $many_cbor_strings, 0, $length, ""; # remove decoded cbor string
23 } 23 }
24 24
25DESCRIPTION 25DESCRIPTION
26 WARNING! THIS IS A PRE-ALPHA RELEASE! IT WILL CRASH, CORRUPT YOUR DATA
27 AND EAT YOUR CHILDREN! (Actually, apart from being untested and a bit
28 feature-limited, it might already be useful).
29
30 This module converts Perl data structures to the Concise Binary Object 26 This module converts Perl data structures to the Concise Binary Object
31 Representation (CBOR) and vice versa. CBOR is a fast binary 27 Representation (CBOR) and vice versa. CBOR is a fast binary
32 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
33 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
34 represent it in CBOR. 30 should be able to represent it in CBOR.
35 31
36 This makes it a faster and more compact binary alternative to JSON, with 32 In short, CBOR is a faster and quite compact binary alternative to JSON,
37 the added ability of supporting serialising of perl objects. 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" and "allow_cycles"), string deduplication (see
50 "pack_strings") and scalar references (always enabled).
38 51
39 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
40 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.
41 54
42 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
64 *disabled*. 77 *disabled*.
65 78
66 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
67 calls can be chained: 80 calls can be chained:
68 81
69 #TODO my $cbor = CBOR::XS->new->encode ({a => [1,2]}); 82 my $cbor = CBOR::XS->new->encode ({a => [1,2]});
70 83
71 $cbor = $cbor->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth]) 84 $cbor = $cbor->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])
72 $max_depth = $cbor->get_max_depth 85 $max_depth = $cbor->get_max_depth
73 Sets the maximum nesting level (default 512) accepted while encoding 86 Sets the maximum nesting level (default 512) accepted while encoding
74 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
105 as when 0 is specified). 118 as when 0 is specified).
106 119
107 See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is 120 See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is
108 useful. 121 useful.
109 122
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 (which need "allow_cycles" to ne
147 enabled to be decoded by this module).
148
149 It is recommended to leave it off unless you know your communication
150 partner supports the value sharing extensions to CBOR
151 (<http://cbor.schmorp.de/value-sharing>), as without decoder
152 support, the resulting data structure might be unusable.
153
154 Detecting shared values incurs a runtime overhead when values are
155 encoded that have a reference counter large than one, and might
156 unnecessarily increase the encoded size, as potentially shared
157 values are encode as shareable whether or not they are actually
158 shared.
159
160 At the moment, only targets of references can be shared (e.g.
161 scalars, arrays or hashes pointed to by a reference). Weirder
162 constructs, such as an array with multiple "copies" of the *same*
163 string, which are hard but not impossible to create in Perl, are not
164 supported (this is the same as with Storable).
165
166 If $enable is false (the default), then "encode" will encode shared
167 data structures repeatedly, unsharing them in the process. Cyclic
168 data structures cannot be encoded in this mode.
169
170 This option does not affect "decode" in any way - shared values and
171 references will always be decoded properly if present.
172
173 $cbor = $cbor->allow_cycles ([$enable])
174 $enabled = $cbor->get_allow_cycles
175 If $enable is true (or missing), then "decode" will happily decode
176 self-referential (cyclic) data structures. By default these will not
177 be decoded, as they need manual cleanup to avoid memory leaks, so
178 code that isn't prepared for this will not leak memory.
179
180 If $enable is false (the default), then "decode" will throw an error
181 when it encounters a self-referential/cyclic data structure.
182
183 This option does not affect "encode" in any way - shared values and
184 references will always be decoded properly if present.
185
186 $cbor = $cbor->pack_strings ([$enable])
187 $enabled = $cbor->get_pack_strings
188 If $enable is true (or missing), then "encode" will try not to
189 encode the same string twice, but will instead encode a reference to
190 the string instead. Depending on your data format, this can save a
191 lot of space, but also results in a very large runtime overhead
192 (expect encoding times to be 2-4 times as high as without).
193
194 It is recommended to leave it off unless you know your
195 communications partner supports the stringref extension to CBOR
196 (<http://cbor.schmorp.de/stringref>), as without decoder support,
197 the resulting data structure might not be usable.
198
199 If $enable is false (the default), then "encode" will encode strings
200 the standard CBOR way.
201
202 This option does not affect "decode" in any way - string references
203 will always be decoded properly if present.
204
205 $cbor = $cbor->filter ([$cb->($tag, $value)])
206 $cb_or_undef = $cbor->get_filter
207 Sets or replaces the tagged value decoding filter (when $cb is
208 specified) or clears the filter (if no argument or "undef" is
209 provided).
210
211 The filter callback is called only during decoding, when a
212 non-enforced tagged value has been decoded (see "TAG HANDLING AND
213 EXTENSIONS" for a list of enforced tags). For specific tags, it's
214 often better to provide a default converter using the
215 %CBOR::XS::FILTER hash (see below).
216
217 The first argument is the numerical tag, the second is the (decoded)
218 value that has been tagged.
219
220 The filter function should return either exactly one value, which
221 will replace the tagged value in the decoded data structure, or no
222 values, which will result in default handling, which currently means
223 the decoder creates a "CBOR::XS::Tagged" object to hold the tag and
224 the value.
225
226 When the filter is cleared (the default state), the default filter
227 function, "CBOR::XS::default_filter", is used. This function simply
228 looks up the tag in the %CBOR::XS::FILTER hash. If an entry exists
229 it must be a code reference that is called with tag and value, and
230 is responsible for decoding the value. If no entry exists, it
231 returns no values.
232
233 Example: decode all tags not handled internally into
234 "CBOR::XS::Tagged" objects, with no other special handling (useful
235 when working with potentially "unsafe" CBOR data).
236
237 CBOR::XS->new->filter (sub { })->decode ($cbor_data);
238
239 Example: provide a global filter for tag 1347375694, converting the
240 value into some string form.
241
242 $CBOR::XS::FILTER{1347375694} = sub {
243 my ($tag, $value);
244
245 "tag 1347375694 value $value"
246 };
247
110 $cbor_data = $cbor->encode ($perl_scalar) 248 $cbor_data = $cbor->encode ($perl_scalar)
111 Converts the given Perl data structure (a scalar value) to its CBOR 249 Converts the given Perl data structure (a scalar value) to its CBOR
112 representation. 250 representation.
113 251
114 $perl_scalar = $cbor->decode ($cbor_data) 252 $perl_scalar = $cbor->decode ($cbor_data)
142 integers 280 integers
143 CBOR integers become (numeric) perl scalars. On perls without 64 bit 281 CBOR integers become (numeric) perl scalars. On perls without 64 bit
144 support, 64 bit integers will be truncated or otherwise corrupted. 282 support, 64 bit integers will be truncated or otherwise corrupted.
145 283
146 byte strings 284 byte strings
147 Byte strings will become octet strings in Perl (the byte values 285 Byte strings will become octet strings in Perl (the Byte values
148 0..255 will simply become characters of the same value in Perl). 286 0..255 will simply become characters of the same value in Perl).
149 287
150 UTF-8 strings 288 UTF-8 strings
151 UTF-8 strings in CBOR will be decoded, i.e. the UTF-8 octets will be 289 UTF-8 strings in CBOR will be decoded, i.e. the UTF-8 octets will be
152 decoded into proper Unicode code points. At the moment, the validity 290 decoded into proper Unicode code points. At the moment, the validity
166 "Types:Serialiser::false" and "Types::Serialiser::error", 304 "Types:Serialiser::false" and "Types::Serialiser::error",
167 respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the 305 respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the
168 numbers 1 and 0 (for true and false) or to throw an exception on 306 numbers 1 and 0 (for true and false) or to throw an exception on
169 access (for error). See the Types::Serialiser manpage for details. 307 access (for error). See the Types::Serialiser manpage for details.
170 308
171 CBOR tag 256 (perl object) 309 tagged values
172 The tag value 256 (TODO: pending iana registration) will be used to
173 deserialise a Perl object serialised with "FREEZE". See "OBJECT
174 SERIALISATION", below, for details.
175
176 CBOR tag 55799 (magic header)
177 The tag 55799 is ignored (this tag implements the magic header).
178
179 other CBOR tags
180 Tagged items consists of a numeric tag and another CBOR value. Tags 310 Tagged items consists of a numeric tag and another CBOR value.
181 not handled internally are currently converted into a
182 CBOR::XS::Tagged object, which is simply a blessed array reference
183 consisting of the numeric tag value followed by the (decoded) CBOR
184 value.
185 311
186 In the future, support for user-supplied conversions might get 312 See "TAG HANDLING AND EXTENSIONS" and the description of "->filter"
187 added. 313 for details on which tags are handled how.
188 314
189 anything else 315 anything else
190 Anything else (e.g. unsupported simple values) will raise a decoding 316 Anything else (e.g. unsupported simple values) will raise a decoding
191 error. 317 error.
192 318
193 PERL -> CBOR 319 PERL -> CBOR
194 The mapping from Perl to CBOR is slightly more difficult, as Perl is a 320 The mapping from Perl to CBOR is slightly more difficult, as Perl is a
195 truly typeless language, so we can only guess which CBOR type is meant 321 typeless language. That means this module can only guess which CBOR type
196 by a Perl value. 322 is meant by a perl value.
197 323
198 hash references 324 hash references
199 Perl hash references become CBOR maps. As there is no inherent 325 Perl hash references become CBOR maps. As there is no inherent
200 ordering in hash keys (or CBOR maps), they will usually be encoded 326 ordering in hash keys (or CBOR maps), they will usually be encoded
201 in a pseudo-random order. 327 in a pseudo-random order. This order can be different each time a
328 hahs is encoded.
202 329
203 Currently, tied hashes will use the indefinite-length format, while 330 Currently, tied hashes will use the indefinite-length format, while
204 normal hashes will use the fixed-length format. 331 normal hashes will use the fixed-length format.
205 332
206 array references 333 array references
207 Perl array references become fixed-length CBOR arrays. 334 Perl array references become fixed-length CBOR arrays.
208 335
209 other references 336 other references
210 Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause 337 Other unblessed references will be represented using the indirection
211 an exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers 0 338 tag extension (tag value 22098,
212 and 1, which get turned into false and true in CBOR. 339 <http://cbor.schmorp.de/indirection>). CBOR decoders are guaranteed
340 to be able to decode these values somehow, by either "doing the
341 right thing", decoding into a generic tagged object, simply ignoring
342 the tag, or something else.
213 343
214 CBOR::XS::Tagged objects 344 CBOR::XS::Tagged objects
215 Objects of this type must be arrays consisting of a single "[tag, 345 Objects of this type must be arrays consisting of a single "[tag,
216 value]" pair. The (numerical) tag will be encoded as a CBOR tag, the 346 value]" pair. The (numerical) tag will be encoded as a CBOR tag, the
217 value will be encoded as appropriate for the value. 347 value will be encoded as appropriate for the value. You must use
348 "CBOR::XS::tag" to create such objects.
218 349
219 Types::Serialiser::true, Types::Serialiser::false, 350 Types::Serialiser::true, Types::Serialiser::false,
220 Types::Serialiser::error 351 Types::Serialiser::error
221 These special values become CBOR true, CBOR false and CBOR undefined 352 These special values become CBOR true, CBOR false and CBOR undefined
222 values, respectively. You can also use "\1", "\0" and "\undef" 353 values, respectively. You can also use "\1", "\0" and "\undef"
223 directly if you want. 354 directly if you want.
224 355
225 other blessed objects 356 other blessed objects
226 Other blessed objects are serialised via "TO_CBOR" or "FREEZE". See 357 Other blessed objects are serialised via "TO_CBOR" or "FREEZE". See
227 "OBJECT SERIALISATION", below, for details. 358 "TAG HANDLING AND EXTENSIONS" for specific classes handled by this
359 module, and "OBJECT SERIALISATION" for generic object serialisation.
228 360
229 simple scalars 361 simple scalars
230 TODO Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are 362 Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the
231 the most difficult objects to encode: CBOR::XS will encode undefined 363 most difficult objects to encode: CBOR::XS will encode undefined
232 scalars as CBOR null values, scalars that have last been used in a 364 scalars as CBOR null values, scalars that have last been used in a
233 string context before encoding as CBOR strings, and anything else as 365 string context before encoding as CBOR strings, and anything else as
234 number value: 366 number value:
235 367
236 # dump as number 368 # dump as number
237 encode_cbor [2] # yields [2] 369 encode_cbor [2] # yields [2]
238 encode_cbor [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17] 370 encode_cbor [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17]
239 my $value = 5; encode_cbor [$value] # yields [5] 371 my $value = 5; encode_cbor [$value] # yields [5]
240 372
241 # used as string, so dump as string 373 # used as string, so dump as string (either byte or text)
242 print $value; 374 print $value;
243 encode_cbor [$value] # yields ["5"] 375 encode_cbor [$value] # yields ["5"]
244 376
245 # undef becomes null 377 # undef becomes null
246 encode_cbor [undef] # yields [null] 378 encode_cbor [undef] # yields [null]
249 381
250 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number 382 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number
251 "$x"; # stringified 383 "$x"; # stringified
252 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify 384 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify
253 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often 385 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often
386
387 You can force whether a string ie encoded as byte or text string by
388 using "utf8::upgrade" and "utf8::downgrade"):
389
390 utf8::upgrade $x; # encode $x as text string
391 utf8::downgrade $x; # encode $x as byte string
392
393 Perl doesn't define what operations up- and downgrade strings, so if
394 the difference between byte and text is important, you should up- or
395 downgrade your string as late as possible before encoding.
254 396
255 You can force the type to be a CBOR number by numifying it: 397 You can force the type to be a CBOR number by numifying it:
256 398
257 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string 399 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string
258 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number 400 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number
268 the IEEE double format will be used. Perls that use formats other 410 the IEEE double format will be used. Perls that use formats other
269 than IEEE double to represent numerical values are supported, but 411 than IEEE double to represent numerical values are supported, but
270 might suffer loss of precision. 412 might suffer loss of precision.
271 413
272 OBJECT SERIALISATION 414 OBJECT SERIALISATION
415 This module implements both a CBOR-specific and the generic
416 Types::Serialier object serialisation protocol. The following
417 subsections explain both methods.
418
419 ENCODING
273 This module knows two way to serialise a Perl object: The CBOR-specific 420 This module knows two way to serialise a Perl object: The CBOR-specific
274 way, and the generic way. 421 way, and the generic way.
275 422
276 Whenever the encoder encounters a Perl object that it cnanot serialise 423 Whenever the encoder encounters a Perl object that it cannot serialise
277 directly (most of them), it will first look up the "TO_CBOR" method on 424 directly (most of them), it will first look up the "TO_CBOR" method on
278 it. 425 it.
279 426
280 If it has a "TO_CBOR" method, it will call it with the object as only 427 If it has a "TO_CBOR" method, it will call it with the object as only
281 argument, and expects exactly one return value, which it will then 428 argument, and expects exactly one return value, which it will then
286 "CBOR" as the second argument, to distinguish it from other serialisers. 433 "CBOR" as the second argument, to distinguish it from other serialisers.
287 434
288 The "FREEZE" method can return any number of values (i.e. zero or more). 435 The "FREEZE" method can return any number of values (i.e. zero or more).
289 These will be encoded as CBOR perl object, together with the classname. 436 These will be encoded as CBOR perl object, together with the classname.
290 437
438 These methods *MUST NOT* change the data structure that is being
439 serialised. Failure to comply to this can result in memory corruption -
440 and worse.
441
291 If an object supports neither "TO_CBOR" nor "FREEZE", encoding will fail 442 If an object supports neither "TO_CBOR" nor "FREEZE", encoding will fail
292 with an error. 443 with an error.
293 444
445 DECODING
294 Objects encoded via "TO_CBOR" cannot be automatically decoded, but 446 Objects encoded via "TO_CBOR" cannot (normally) be automatically
295 objects encoded via "FREEZE" can be decoded using the following 447 decoded, but objects encoded via "FREEZE" can be decoded using the
296 protocol: 448 following protocol:
297 449
298 When an encoded CBOR perl object is encountered by the decoder, it will 450 When an encoded CBOR perl object is encountered by the decoder, it will
299 look up the "THAW" method, by using the stored classname, and will fail 451 look up the "THAW" method, by using the stored classname, and will fail
300 if the method cannot be found. 452 if the method cannot be found.
301 453
322 474
323 sub URI::TO_CBOR { 475 sub URI::TO_CBOR {
324 my ($self) = @_; 476 my ($self) = @_;
325 my $uri = "$self"; # stringify uri 477 my $uri = "$self"; # stringify uri
326 utf8::upgrade $uri; # make sure it will be encoded as UTF-8 string 478 utf8::upgrade $uri; # make sure it will be encoded as UTF-8 string
327 CBOR::XS::tagged 32, "$_[0]" 479 CBOR::XS::tag 32, "$_[0]"
328 } 480 }
329 481
330 This will encode URIs as a UTF-8 string with tag 32, which indicates an 482 This will encode URIs as a UTF-8 string with tag 32, which indicates an
331 URI. 483 URI.
332 484
367 519
368MAGIC HEADER 520MAGIC HEADER
369 There is no way to distinguish CBOR from other formats programmatically. 521 There is no way to distinguish CBOR from other formats programmatically.
370 To make it easier to distinguish CBOR from other formats, the CBOR 522 To make it easier to distinguish CBOR from other formats, the CBOR
371 specification has a special "magic string" that can be prepended to any 523 specification has a special "magic string" that can be prepended to any
372 CBOR string without changing it's meaning. 524 CBOR string without changing its meaning.
373 525
374 This string is available as $CBOR::XS::MAGIC. This module does not 526 This string is available as $CBOR::XS::MAGIC. This module does not
375 prepend this string tot he CBOR data it generates, but it will ignroe it 527 prepend this string to the CBOR data it generates, but it will ignore it
376 if present, so users can prepend this string as a "file type" indicator 528 if present, so users can prepend this string as a "file type" indicator
377 as required. 529 as required.
530
531THE CBOR::XS::Tagged CLASS
532 CBOR has the concept of tagged values - any CBOR value can be tagged
533 with a numeric 64 bit number, which are centrally administered.
534
535 "CBOR::XS" handles a few tags internally when en- or decoding. You can
536 also create tags yourself by encoding "CBOR::XS::Tagged" objects, and
537 the decoder will create "CBOR::XS::Tagged" objects itself when it hits
538 an unknown tag.
539
540 These objects are simply blessed array references - the first member of
541 the array being the numerical tag, the second being the value.
542
543 You can interact with "CBOR::XS::Tagged" objects in the following ways:
544
545 $tagged = CBOR::XS::tag $tag, $value
546 This function(!) creates a new "CBOR::XS::Tagged" object using the
547 given $tag (0..2**64-1) to tag the given $value (which can be any
548 Perl value that can be encoded in CBOR, including serialisable Perl
549 objects and "CBOR::XS::Tagged" objects).
550
551 $tagged->[0]
552 $tagged->[0] = $new_tag
553 $tag = $tagged->tag
554 $new_tag = $tagged->tag ($new_tag)
555 Access/mutate the tag.
556
557 $tagged->[1]
558 $tagged->[1] = $new_value
559 $value = $tagged->value
560 $new_value = $tagged->value ($new_value)
561 Access/mutate the tagged value.
562
563 EXAMPLES
564 Here are some examples of "CBOR::XS::Tagged" uses to tag objects.
565
566 You can look up CBOR tag value and emanings in the IANA registry at
567 <http://www.iana.org/assignments/cbor-tags/cbor-tags.xhtml>.
568
569 Prepend a magic header ($CBOR::XS::MAGIC):
570
571 my $cbor = encode_cbor CBOR::XS::tag 55799, $value;
572 # same as:
573 my $cbor = $CBOR::XS::MAGIC . encode_cbor $value;
574
575 Serialise some URIs and a regex in an array:
576
577 my $cbor = encode_cbor [
578 (CBOR::XS::tag 32, "http://www.nethype.de/"),
579 (CBOR::XS::tag 32, "http://software.schmorp.de/"),
580 (CBOR::XS::tag 35, "^[Pp][Ee][Rr][lL]\$"),
581 ];
582
583 Wrap CBOR data in CBOR:
584
585 my $cbor_cbor = encode_cbor
586 CBOR::XS::tag 24,
587 encode_cbor [1, 2, 3];
588
589TAG HANDLING AND EXTENSIONS
590 This section describes how this module handles specific tagged values
591 and extensions. If a tag is not mentioned here and no additional filters
592 are provided for it, then the default handling applies (creating a
593 CBOR::XS::Tagged object on decoding, and only encoding the tag when
594 explicitly requested).
595
596 Tags not handled specifically are currently converted into a
597 CBOR::XS::Tagged object, which is simply a blessed array reference
598 consisting of the numeric tag value followed by the (decoded) CBOR
599 value.
600
601 Future versions of this module reserve the right to special case
602 additional tags (such as base64url).
603
604 ENFORCED TAGS
605 These tags are always handled when decoding, and their handling cannot
606 be overriden by the user.
607
608 26 (perl-object, <http://cbor.schmorp.de/perl-object>)
609 These tags are automatically created (and decoded) for serialisable
610 objects using the "FREEZE/THAW" methods (the Types::Serialier object
611 serialisation protocol). See "OBJECT SERIALISATION" for details.
612
613 28, 29 (shareable, sharedref, L <http://cbor.schmorp.de/value-sharing>)
614 These tags are automatically decoded when encountered (and they do
615 not result in a cyclic data structure, see "allow_cycles"),
616 resulting in shared values in the decoded object. They are only
617 encoded, however, when "allow_sharing" is enabled.
618
619 Not all shared values can be successfully decoded: values that
620 reference themselves will *currently* decode as "undef" (this is not
621 the same as a reference pointing to itself, which will be
622 represented as a value that contains an indirect reference to itself
623 - these will be decoded properly).
624
625 Note that considerably more shared value data structures can be
626 decoded than will be encoded - currently, only values pointed to by
627 references will be shared, others will not. While non-reference
628 shared values can be generated in Perl with some effort, they were
629 considered too unimportant to be supported in the encoder. The
630 decoder, however, will decode these values as shared values.
631
632 256, 25 (stringref-namespace, stringref, L
633 <http://cbor.schmorp.de/stringref>)
634 These tags are automatically decoded when encountered. They are only
635 encoded, however, when "pack_strings" is enabled.
636
637 22098 (indirection, <http://cbor.schmorp.de/indirection>)
638 This tag is automatically generated when a reference are encountered
639 (with the exception of hash and array refernces). It is converted to
640 a reference when decoding.
641
642 55799 (self-describe CBOR, RFC 7049)
643 This value is not generated on encoding (unless explicitly requested
644 by the user), and is simply ignored when decoding.
645
646 NON-ENFORCED TAGS
647 These tags have default filters provided when decoding. Their handling
648 can be overriden by changing the %CBOR::XS::FILTER entry for the tag, or
649 by providing a custom "filter" callback when decoding.
650
651 When they result in decoding into a specific Perl class, the module
652 usually provides a corresponding "TO_CBOR" method as well.
653
654 When any of these need to load additional modules that are not part of
655 the perl core distribution (e.g. URI), it is (currently) up to the user
656 to provide these modules. The decoding usually fails with an exception
657 if the required module cannot be loaded.
658
659 2, 3 (positive/negative bignum)
660 These tags are decoded into Math::BigInt objects. The corresponding
661 "Math::BigInt::TO_CBOR" method encodes "small" bigints into normal
662 CBOR integers, and others into positive/negative CBOR bignums.
663
664 4, 5 (decimal fraction/bigfloat)
665 Both decimal fractions and bigfloats are decoded into Math::BigFloat
666 objects. The corresponding "Math::BigFloat::TO_CBOR" method *always*
667 encodes into a decimal fraction.
668
669 CBOR cannot represent bigfloats with *very* large exponents -
670 conversion of such big float objects is undefined.
671
672 Also, NaN and infinities are not encoded properly.
673
674 21, 22, 23 (expected later JSON conversion)
675 CBOR::XS is not a CBOR-to-JSON converter, and will simply ignore
676 these tags.
677
678 32 (URI)
679 These objects decode into URI objects. The corresponding
680 "URI::TO_CBOR" method again results in a CBOR URI value.
378 681
379CBOR and JSON 682CBOR and JSON
380 CBOR is supposed to implement a superset of the JSON data model, and is, 683 CBOR is supposed to implement a superset of the JSON data model, and is,
381 with some coercion, able to represent all JSON texts (something that 684 with some coercion, able to represent all JSON texts (something that
382 other "binary JSON" formats such as BSON generally do not support). 685 other "binary JSON" formats such as BSON generally do not support).
438 uses long double to represent floating point values, they might not be 741 uses long double to represent floating point values, they might not be
439 encoded properly. Half precision types are accepted, but not encoded. 742 encoded properly. Half precision types are accepted, but not encoded.
440 743
441 Strict mode and canonical mode are not implemented. 744 Strict mode and canonical mode are not implemented.
442 745
746LIMITATIONS ON PERLS WITHOUT 64-BIT INTEGER SUPPORT
747 On perls that were built without 64 bit integer support (these are rare
748 nowadays, even on 32 bit architectures), support for any kind of 64 bit
749 integer in CBOR is very limited - most likely, these 64 bit values will
750 be truncated, corrupted, or otherwise not decoded correctly. This also
751 includes string, array and map sizes that are stored as 64 bit integers.
752
443THREADS 753THREADS
444 This module is *not* guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no plans 754 This module is *not* guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no plans
445 to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the 755 to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the
446 horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated 756 horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated
447 process simulations - use fork, it's *much* faster, cheaper, better). 757 process simulations - use fork, it's *much* faster, cheaper, better).

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