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=head1 NAME |
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|
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CBOR::XS - Concise Binary Object Representation (CBOR, RFC7049) |
4 |
|
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=encoding utf-8 |
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|
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=head1 SYNOPSIS |
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|
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use CBOR::XS; |
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|
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$binary_cbor_data = encode_cbor $perl_value; |
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$perl_value = decode_cbor $binary_cbor_data; |
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|
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# OO-interface |
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|
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$coder = CBOR::XS->new; |
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#TODO |
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|
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=head1 DESCRIPTION |
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|
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WARNING! THIS IS A PRE-ALPHA RELEASE! IT WILL CRASH, CORRUPT YOUR DATA |
22 |
AND EAT YOUR CHILDREN! (Actually, apart from being untested and a bit |
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feature-limited, it might already be useful). |
24 |
|
25 |
This module converts Perl data structures to the Concise Binary Object |
26 |
Representation (CBOR) and vice versa. CBOR is a fast binary serialisation |
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format that aims to use a superset of the JSON data model, i.e. when you |
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can represent something in JSON, you should be able to represent it in |
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CBOR. |
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|
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This makes it a faster and more compact binary alternative to JSON. |
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|
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The primary goal of this module is to be I<correct> and the secondary goal |
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is to be I<fast>. To reach the latter goal it was written in C. |
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|
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See MAPPING, below, on how CBOR::XS maps perl values to CBOR values and |
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vice versa. |
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|
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=cut |
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|
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package CBOR::XS; |
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|
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use common::sense; |
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|
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our $VERSION = 0.03; |
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our @ISA = qw(Exporter); |
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|
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our @EXPORT = qw(encode_cbor decode_cbor); |
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|
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use Exporter; |
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use XSLoader; |
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|
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our $MAGIC = "\xd9\xd9\xf7"; |
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|
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=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE |
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|
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The following convenience methods are provided by this module. They are |
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exported by default: |
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|
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=over 4 |
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|
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=item $cbor_data = encode_cbor $perl_scalar |
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|
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Converts the given Perl data structure to CBOR representation. Croaks on |
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error. |
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|
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=item $perl_scalar = decode_cbor $cbor_data |
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|
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The opposite of C<encode_cbor>: expects a valid CBOR string to parse, |
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returning the resulting perl scalar. Croaks on error. |
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|
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=back |
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|
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|
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=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE |
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|
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The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or |
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decoding style, within the limits of supported formats. |
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|
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=over 4 |
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|
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=item $cbor = new CBOR::XS |
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|
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Creates a new CBOR::XS object that can be used to de/encode CBOR |
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strings. All boolean flags described below are by default I<disabled>. |
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|
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The mutators for flags all return the CBOR object again and thus calls can |
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be chained: |
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|
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#TODO |
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my $cbor = CBOR::XS->new->encode ({a => [1,2]}); |
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|
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=item $cbor = $cbor->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth]) |
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|
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=item $max_depth = $cbor->get_max_depth |
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|
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Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding |
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or decoding. If a higher nesting level is detected in CBOR data or a Perl |
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data structure, then the encoder and decoder will stop and croak at that |
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point. |
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|
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Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder |
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needs to traverse to reach a given point or the number of C<{> or C<[> |
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characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a |
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given character in a string. |
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|
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Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures |
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that the object is only a single hash/object or array. |
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|
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If no argument is given, the highest possible setting will be used, which |
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is rarely useful. |
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|
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Note that nesting is implemented by recursion in C. The default value has |
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been chosen to be as large as typical operating systems allow without |
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crashing. |
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|
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See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful. |
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|
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=item $cbor = $cbor->max_size ([$maximum_string_size]) |
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|
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=item $max_size = $cbor->get_max_size |
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|
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Set the maximum length a CBOR string may have (in bytes) where decoding |
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is being attempted. The default is C<0>, meaning no limit. When C<decode> |
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is called on a string that is longer then this many bytes, it will not |
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attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no |
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effect on C<encode> (yet). |
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|
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If no argument is given, the limit check will be deactivated (same as when |
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C<0> is specified). |
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|
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See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful. |
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|
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=item $cbor_data = $cbor->encode ($perl_scalar) |
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|
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Converts the given Perl data structure (a scalar value) to its CBOR |
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representation. |
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|
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=item $perl_scalar = $cbor->decode ($cbor_data) |
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|
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The opposite of C<encode>: expects CBOR data and tries to parse it, |
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returning the resulting simple scalar or reference. Croaks on error. |
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|
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=item ($perl_scalar, $octets) = $cbor->decode_prefix ($cbor_data) |
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|
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This works like the C<decode> method, but instead of raising an exception |
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when there is trailing garbage after the CBOR string, it will silently |
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stop parsing there and return the number of characters consumed so far. |
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|
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This is useful if your CBOR texts are not delimited by an outer protocol |
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and you need to know where the first CBOR string ends amd the next one |
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starts. |
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|
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CBOR::XS->new->decode_prefix ("......") |
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=> ("...", 3) |
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|
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=back |
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|
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|
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=head1 MAPPING |
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|
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This section describes how CBOR::XS maps Perl values to CBOR values and |
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vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most |
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circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics |
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(what you put in comes out as something equivalent). |
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|
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For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions, |
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lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppercase I<Perl> |
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refers to the abstract Perl language itself. |
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|
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|
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=head2 CBOR -> PERL |
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|
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=over 4 |
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|
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=item integers |
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|
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CBOR integers become (numeric) perl scalars. On perls without 64 bit |
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support, 64 bit integers will be truncated or otherwise corrupted. |
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|
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=item byte strings |
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|
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Byte strings will become octet strings in Perl (the byte values 0..255 |
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will simply become characters of the same value in Perl). |
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|
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=item UTF-8 strings |
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|
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UTF-8 strings in CBOR will be decoded, i.e. the UTF-8 octets will be |
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decoded into proper Unicode code points. At the moment, the validity of |
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the UTF-8 octets will not be validated - corrupt input will result in |
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corrupted Perl strings. |
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|
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=item arrays, maps |
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|
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CBOR arrays and CBOR maps will be converted into references to a Perl |
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array or hash, respectively. The keys of the map will be stringified |
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during this process. |
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|
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=item true, false |
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|
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These CBOR values become C<CBOR::XS::true> and C<CBOR::XS::false>, |
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respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers |
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C<1> and C<0>. You can check whether a scalar is a CBOR boolean by using |
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the C<CBOR::XS::is_bool> function. |
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|
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=item null, undefined |
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|
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CBOR null and undefined values becomes C<undef> in Perl (in the future, |
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Undefined may raise an exception or something else). |
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|
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=item tags |
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|
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Tagged items consists of a numeric tag and another CBOR value. The tag |
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55799 is ignored (this tag implements the magic header). |
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|
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All other tags are currently converted into a L<CBOR::XS::Tagged> object, |
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which is simply a blessed array reference consistsing of the numeric tag |
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value followed by the (decoded) BOR value. |
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|
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=item anything else |
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|
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Anything else (e.g. unsupported simple values) will raise a decoding |
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error. |
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|
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=back |
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|
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|
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=head2 PERL -> CBOR |
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|
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The mapping from Perl to CBOR is slightly more difficult, as Perl is a |
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truly typeless language, so we can only guess which CBOR type is meant by |
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a Perl value. |
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|
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=over 4 |
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|
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=item hash references |
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|
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Perl hash references become CBOR maps. As there is no inherent ordering in |
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hash keys (or CBOR maps), they will usually be encoded in a pseudo-random |
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order. |
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|
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Currently, tied hashes will use the indefinite-length format, while normal |
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hashes will use the fixed-length format. |
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|
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=item array references |
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|
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Perl array references become fixed-length CBOR arrays. |
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|
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=item other references |
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|
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Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an |
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exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and |
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C<1>, which get turned into false and true in CBOR. |
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|
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=item CBOR::XS::Tagged objects |
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|
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Objects of this type must be arrays consisting of a single C<[tag, value]> |
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pair. The (numerical) tag will be encoded as a CBOR tag, the value will be |
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encoded as appropriate for the value. |
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|
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=item CBOR::XS::true, CBOR::XS::false |
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|
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These special values become CBOR true and CBOR false values, |
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respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want. |
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|
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=item blessed objects |
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|
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Other blessed objects currently need to have a C<TO_CBOR> method. It |
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will be called on every object that is being serialised, and must return |
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something that can be encoded in CBOR. |
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|
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=item simple scalars |
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|
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TODO |
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Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most |
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difficult objects to encode: CBOR::XS will encode undefined scalars as |
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CBOR null values, scalars that have last been used in a string context |
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before encoding as CBOR strings, and anything else as number value: |
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|
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# dump as number |
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encode_cbor [2] # yields [2] |
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encode_cbor [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17] |
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my $value = 5; encode_cbor [$value] # yields [5] |
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|
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# used as string, so dump as string |
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print $value; |
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encode_cbor [$value] # yields ["5"] |
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|
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# undef becomes null |
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encode_cbor [undef] # yields [null] |
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|
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You can force the type to be a CBOR string by stringifying it: |
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|
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my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number |
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"$x"; # stringified |
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$x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify |
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print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often |
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|
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You can force the type to be a CBOR number by numifying it: |
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|
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my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string |
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$x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number |
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$x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours. |
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|
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You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me |
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if you need this capability (but don't forget to explain why it's needed |
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:). |
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|
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Perl values that seem to be integers generally use the shortest possible |
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representation. Floating-point values will use either the IEEE single |
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format if possible without loss of precision, otherwise the IEEE double |
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format will be used. Perls that use formats other than IEEE double to |
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represent numerical values are supported, but might suffer loss of |
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precision. |
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|
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=back |
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|
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|
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=head2 MAGIC HEADER |
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|
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There is no way to distinguish CBOR from other formats |
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programmatically. To make it easier to distinguish CBOR from other |
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formats, the CBOR specification has a special "magic string" that can be |
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prepended to any CBOR string without changing it's meaning. |
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|
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This string is available as C<$CBOR::XS::MAGIC>. This module does not |
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prepend this string tot he CBOR data it generates, but it will ignroe it |
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if present, so users can prepend this string as a "file type" indicator as |
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required. |
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|
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|
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=head2 CBOR and JSON |
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|
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CBOR is supposed to implement a superset of the JSON data model, and is, |
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with some coercion, able to represent all JSON texts (something that other |
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"binary JSON" formats such as BSON generally do not support). |
337 |
|
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CBOR implements some extra hints and support for JSON interoperability, |
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and the spec offers further guidance for conversion between CBOR and |
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JSON. None of this is currently implemented in CBOR, and the guidelines |
341 |
in the spec do not result in correct round-tripping of data. If JSON |
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interoperability is improved in the future, then the goal will be to |
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ensure that decoded JSON data will round-trip encoding and decoding to |
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CBOR intact. |
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|
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|
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=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS |
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|
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When you are using CBOR in a protocol, talking to untrusted potentially |
350 |
hostile creatures requires relatively few measures. |
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|
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First of all, your CBOR decoder should be secure, that is, should not have |
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any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am |
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trying hard on making that true, but you never know. |
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|
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Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you should |
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limit the size of CBOR data you accept, or make sure then when your |
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resources run out, that's just fine (e.g. by using a separate process that |
359 |
can crash safely). The size of a CBOR string in octets is usually a good |
360 |
indication of the size of the resources required to decode it into a Perl |
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structure. While CBOR::XS can check the size of the CBOR text, it might be |
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too late when you already have it in memory, so you might want to check |
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the size before you accept the string. |
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|
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Third, CBOR::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and |
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arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64 |
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machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but |
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only 14k nested CBOR objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak |
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to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. To be |
370 |
conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process |
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has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the |
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C<max_depth> method. |
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|
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Something else could bomb you, too, that I forgot to think of. In that |
375 |
case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, though... |
376 |
|
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Also keep in mind that CBOR::XS might leak contents of your Perl data |
378 |
structures in its error messages, so when you serialise sensitive |
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information you might want to make sure that exceptions thrown by CBOR::XS |
380 |
will not end up in front of untrusted eyes. |
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|
382 |
=head1 CBOR IMPLEMENTATION NOTES |
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|
384 |
This section contains some random implementation notes. They do not |
385 |
describe guaranteed behaviour, but merely behaviour as-is implemented |
386 |
right now. |
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|
388 |
64 bit integers are only properly decoded when Perl was built with 64 bit |
389 |
support. |
390 |
|
391 |
Strings and arrays are encoded with a definite length. Hashes as well, |
392 |
unless they are tied (or otherwise magical). |
393 |
|
394 |
Only the double data type is supported for NV data types - when Perl uses |
395 |
long double to represent floating point values, they might not be encoded |
396 |
properly. Half precision types are accepted, but not encoded. |
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|
398 |
Strict mode and canonical mode are not implemented. |
399 |
|
400 |
|
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=head1 THREADS |
402 |
|
403 |
This module is I<not> guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no |
404 |
plans to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the |
405 |
horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated |
406 |
process simulations - use fork, it's I<much> faster, cheaper, better). |
407 |
|
408 |
(It might actually work, but you have been warned). |
409 |
|
410 |
|
411 |
=head1 BUGS |
412 |
|
413 |
While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does |
414 |
not mean it's bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. If you |
415 |
keep reporting bugs they will be fixed swiftly, though. |
416 |
|
417 |
Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting |
418 |
service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason. |
419 |
|
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=cut |
421 |
|
422 |
our $true = do { bless \(my $dummy = 1), "CBOR::XS::Boolean" }; |
423 |
our $false = do { bless \(my $dummy = 0), "CBOR::XS::Boolean" }; |
424 |
|
425 |
sub true() { $true } |
426 |
sub false() { $false } |
427 |
|
428 |
sub is_bool($) { |
429 |
UNIVERSAL::isa $_[0], "CBOR::XS::Boolean" |
430 |
# or UNIVERSAL::isa $_[0], "CBOR::Literal" |
431 |
} |
432 |
|
433 |
XSLoader::load "CBOR::XS", $VERSION; |
434 |
|
435 |
package CBOR::XS::Boolean; |
436 |
|
437 |
use overload |
438 |
"0+" => sub { ${$_[0]} }, |
439 |
"++" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} + 1 }, |
440 |
"--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 }, |
441 |
fallback => 1; |
442 |
|
443 |
1; |
444 |
|
445 |
=head1 SEE ALSO |
446 |
|
447 |
The L<JSON> and L<JSON::XS> modules that do similar, but human-readable, |
448 |
serialisation. |
449 |
|
450 |
=head1 AUTHOR |
451 |
|
452 |
Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> |
453 |
http://home.schmorp.de/ |
454 |
|
455 |
=cut |
456 |
|