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1NAME 1NAME
2 JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast 2 JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast
3 3
4 JSON::XS - 正しくて高速な JSON 4 JSON::XS - 正しくて高速な JSON シリアライザ/デシリアライザ
5 シリアライザ/デシリアライザ
6 (http://fleur.hio.jp/perldoc/mix/lib/JSON/XS.html) 5 (http://fleur.hio.jp/perldoc/mix/lib/JSON/XS.html)
7 6
8SYNOPSIS 7SYNOPSIS
9 use JSON::XS; 8 use JSON::XS;
10 9
11 # exported functions, they croak on error 10 # exported functions, they croak on error
12 # and expect/generate UTF-8 11 # and expect/generate UTF-8
13 12
14 $utf8_encoded_json_text = to_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref; 13 $utf8_encoded_json_text = encode_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref;
15 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = from_json $utf8_encoded_json_text; 14 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = decode_json $utf8_encoded_json_text;
16 15
17 # OO-interface 16 # OO-interface
18 17
19 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref; 18 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref;
20 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar); 19 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar);
21 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text); 20 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text);
21
22 # Note that JSON version 2.0 and above will automatically use JSON::XS
23 # if available, at virtually no speed overhead either, so you should
24 # be able to just:
25
26 use JSON;
27
28 # and do the same things, except that you have a pure-perl fallback now.
22 29
23DESCRIPTION 30DESCRIPTION
24 This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its 31 This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its
25 primary goal is to be *correct* and its secondary goal is to be *fast*. 32 primary goal is to be *correct* and its secondary goal is to be *fast*.
26 To reach the latter goal it was written in C. 33 To reach the latter goal it was written in C.
34
35 Beginning with version 2.0 of the JSON module, when both JSON and
36 JSON::XS are installed, then JSON will fall back on JSON::XS (this can
37 be overridden) with no overhead due to emulation (by inheriting
38 constructor and methods). If JSON::XS is not available, it will fall
39 back to the compatible JSON::PP module as backend, so using JSON instead
40 of JSON::XS gives you a portable JSON API that can be fast when you need
41 and doesn't require a C compiler when that is a problem.
27 42
28 As this is the n-th-something JSON module on CPAN, what was the reason 43 As this is the n-th-something JSON module on CPAN, what was the reason
29 to write yet another JSON module? While it seems there are many JSON 44 to write yet another JSON module? While it seems there are many JSON
30 modules, none of them correctly handle all corner cases, and in most 45 modules, none of them correctly handle all corner cases, and in most
31 cases their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening 46 cases their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening
32 to bug reports for other reasons. 47 to bug reports for other reasons.
33 48
34 See COMPARISON, below, for a comparison to some other JSON modules.
35
36 See MAPPING, below, on how JSON::XS maps perl values to JSON values and 49 See MAPPING, below, on how JSON::XS maps perl values to JSON values and
37 vice versa. 50 vice versa.
38 51
39 FEATURES 52 FEATURES
40 * correct unicode handling 53 * correct Unicode handling
54
41 This module knows how to handle Unicode, and even documents how and 55 This module knows how to handle Unicode, documents how and when it
42 when it does so. 56 does so, and even documents what "correct" means.
43 57
44 * round-trip integrity 58 * round-trip integrity
59
45 When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes 60 When you serialise a perl data structure using only data types
46 supported by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on 61 supported by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on
47 the Perl level. (e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" 62 the Perl level. (e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2"
48 just because it looks like a number). 63 just because it looks like a number). There minor *are* exceptions
64 to this, read the MAPPING section below to learn about those.
49 65
50 * strict checking of JSON correctness 66 * strict checking of JSON correctness
67
51 There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by 68 There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by
52 default, and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter 69 default, and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter
53 is a security feature). 70 is a security feature).
54 71
55 * fast 72 * fast
56 Compared to other JSON modules, this module compares favourably in
57 terms of speed, too.
58 73
74 Compared to other JSON modules and other serialisers such as
75 Storable, this module usually compares favourably in terms of speed,
76 too.
77
59 * simple to use 78 * simple to use
79
60 This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an OO 80 This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an
61 interface. 81 object oriented interface interface.
62 82
63 * reasonably versatile output formats 83 * reasonably versatile output formats
84
64 You can choose between the most compact guarenteed single-line 85 You can choose between the most compact guaranteed-single-line
65 format possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii 86 format possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ASCII
66 format (for when your transport is not 8-bit clean, still supports 87 format (for when your transport is not 8-bit clean, still supports
67 the whole unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you 88 the whole Unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you
68 want to read that stuff). Or you can combine those features in 89 want to read that stuff). Or you can combine those features in
69 whatever way you like. 90 whatever way you like.
70 91
71FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE 92FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE
72 The following convinience methods are provided by this module. They are 93 The following convenience methods are provided by this module. They are
73 exported by default: 94 exported by default:
74 95
75 $json_text = to_json $perl_scalar 96 $json_text = encode_json $perl_scalar
76 Converts the given Perl data structure to a UTF-8 encoded, binary 97 Converts the given Perl data structure to a UTF-8 encoded, binary
77 string (that is, the string contains octets only). Croaks on error. 98 string (that is, the string contains octets only). Croaks on error.
78 99
79 This function call is functionally identical to: 100 This function call is functionally identical to:
80 101
81 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar) 102 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar)
82 103
83 except being faster. 104 Except being faster.
84 105
85 $perl_scalar = from_json $json_text 106 $perl_scalar = decode_json $json_text
86 The opposite of "to_json": expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and 107 The opposite of "encode_json": expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and
87 tries to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the 108 tries to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the
88 resulting reference. Croaks on error. 109 resulting reference. Croaks on error.
89 110
90 This function call is functionally identical to: 111 This function call is functionally identical to:
91 112
92 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text) 113 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text)
93 114
94 except being faster. 115 Except being faster.
95 116
96 $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar 117 $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar
97 Returns true if the passed scalar represents either JSON::XS::true 118 Returns true if the passed scalar represents either JSON::XS::true
98 or JSON::XS::false, two constants that act like 1 and 0, 119 or JSON::XS::false, two constants that act like 1 and 0,
99 respectively and are used to represent JSON "true" and "false" 120 respectively and are used to represent JSON "true" and "false"
105A FEW NOTES ON UNICODE AND PERL 126A FEW NOTES ON UNICODE AND PERL
106 Since this often leads to confusion, here are a few very clear words on 127 Since this often leads to confusion, here are a few very clear words on
107 how Unicode works in Perl, modulo bugs. 128 how Unicode works in Perl, modulo bugs.
108 129
109 1. Perl strings can store characters with ordinal values > 255. 130 1. Perl strings can store characters with ordinal values > 255.
110 This enables you to store unicode characters as single characters in 131 This enables you to store Unicode characters as single characters in
111 a Perl string - very natural. 132 a Perl string - very natural.
112 133
113 2. Perl does *not* associate an encoding with your strings. 134 2. Perl does *not* associate an encoding with your strings.
114 Unless you force it to, e.g. when matching it against a regex, or 135 ... until you force it to, e.g. when matching it against a regex, or
115 printing the scalar to a file, in which case Perl either interprets 136 printing the scalar to a file, in which case Perl either interprets
116 your string as locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode, 137 your string as locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode,
117 depending on various settings. In no case is an encoding stored 138 depending on various settings. In no case is an encoding stored
118 together with your data, it is *use* that decides encoding, not any 139 together with your data, it is *use* that decides encoding, not any
119 magical metadata. 140 magical meta data.
120 141
121 3. The internal utf-8 flag has no meaning with regards to the encoding 142 3. The internal utf-8 flag has no meaning with regards to the encoding
122 of your string. 143 of your string.
123 Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written 144 Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written
124 in XS or want to dive into the internals of perl. Otherwise it will 145 in XS or want to dive into the internals of perl. Otherwise it will
125 only confuse you, as, despite the name, it says nothing about how 146 only confuse you, as, despite the name, it says nothing about how
126 your string is encoded. You can have unicode strings with that flag 147 your string is encoded. You can have Unicode strings with that flag
127 set, with that flag clear, and you can have binary data with that 148 set, with that flag clear, and you can have binary data with that
128 flag set and that flag clear. Other possibilities exist, too. 149 flag set and that flag clear. Other possibilities exist, too.
129 150
130 If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it 151 If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it
131 doesn't exist. 152 doesn't exist.
132 153
133 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be 154 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be
134 validly interpreted as a Unicode codepoint. 155 validly interpreted as a Unicode code point.
135 If you have UTF-8 encoded data, it is no longer a Unicode string, 156 If you have UTF-8 encoded data, it is no longer a Unicode string,
136 but a Unicode string encoded in UTF-8, giving you a binary string. 157 but a Unicode string encoded in UTF-8, giving you a binary string.
137 158
138 5. A string containing "high" (> 255) character values is *not* a UTF-8 159 5. A string containing "high" (> 255) character values is *not* a UTF-8
139 string. 160 string.
140 Its a fact. Learn to live with it. 161 It's a fact. Learn to live with it.
141 162
142 I hope this helps :) 163 I hope this helps :)
143 164
144OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE 165OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE
145 The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or 166 The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or
155 176
156 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]}) 177 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]})
157 => {"a": [1, 2]} 178 => {"a": [1, 2]}
158 179
159 $json = $json->ascii ([$enable]) 180 $json = $json->ascii ([$enable])
181 $enabled = $json->get_ascii
160 If $enable is true (or missing), then the "encode" method will not 182 If $enable is true (or missing), then the "encode" method will not
161 generate characters outside the code range 0..127 (which is ASCII). 183 generate characters outside the code range 0..127 (which is ASCII).
162 Any unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using 184 Any Unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using
163 either a single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL 185 either a single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL
164 escape sequence, as per RFC4627. The resulting encoded JSON text can 186 escape sequence, as per RFC4627. The resulting encoded JSON text can
165 be treated as a native unicode string, an ascii-encoded, 187 be treated as a native Unicode string, an ascii-encoded,
166 latin1-encoded or UTF-8 encoded string, or any other superset of 188 latin1-encoded or UTF-8 encoded string, or any other superset of
167 ASCII. 189 ASCII.
168 190
169 If $enable is false, then the "encode" method will not escape 191 If $enable is false, then the "encode" method will not escape
170 Unicode characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other 192 Unicode characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other
171 flags. This results in a faster and more compact format. 193 flags. This results in a faster and more compact format.
172 194
195 See also the section *ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES* later in this
196 document.
197
173 The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be 198 The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be
174 transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not 199 transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not
175 contain any 8 bit characters. 200 contain any 8 bit characters.
176 201
177 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401]) 202 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401])
178 => ["\ud801\udc01"] 203 => ["\ud801\udc01"]
179 204
180 $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable]) 205 $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable])
206 $enabled = $json->get_latin1
181 If $enable is true (or missing), then the "encode" method will 207 If $enable is true (or missing), then the "encode" method will
182 encode the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping 208 encode the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping
183 any characters outside the code range 0..255. The resulting string 209 any characters outside the code range 0..255. The resulting string
184 can be treated as a latin1-encoded JSON text or a native unicode 210 can be treated as a latin1-encoded JSON text or a native Unicode
185 string. The "decode" method will not be affected in any way by this 211 string. The "decode" method will not be affected in any way by this
186 flag, as "decode" by default expects unicode, which is a strict 212 flag, as "decode" by default expects Unicode, which is a strict
187 superset of latin1. 213 superset of latin1.
188 214
189 If $enable is false, then the "encode" method will not escape 215 If $enable is false, then the "encode" method will not escape
190 Unicode characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other 216 Unicode characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other
191 flags. 217 flags.
218
219 See also the section *ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES* later in this
220 document.
192 221
193 The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as 222 The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as
194 JSON text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a 223 JSON text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a
195 smaller encoded size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON 224 smaller encoded size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON
196 text is encoded in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such 225 text is encoded in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such
197 when storing and transfering), a rare encoding for JSON. It is 226 when storing and transferring), a rare encoding for JSON. It is
198 therefore most useful when you want to store data structures known 227 therefore most useful when you want to store data structures known
199 to contain binary data efficiently in files or databases, not when 228 to contain binary data efficiently in files or databases, not when
200 talking to other JSON encoders/decoders. 229 talking to other JSON encoders/decoders.
201 230
202 JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"] 231 JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"]
203 => ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not) 232 => ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not)
204 233
205 $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable]) 234 $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable])
235 $enabled = $json->get_utf8
206 If $enable is true (or missing), then the "encode" method will 236 If $enable is true (or missing), then the "encode" method will
207 encode the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, 237 encode the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols,
208 while the "decode" method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded 238 while the "decode" method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded
209 string. Please note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any 239 string. Please note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any
210 characters outside the range 0..255, they are thus useful for 240 characters outside the range 0..255, they are thus useful for
211 bytewise/binary I/O. In future versions, enabling this option might 241 bytewise/binary I/O. In future versions, enabling this option might
212 enable autodetection of the UTF-16 and UTF-32 encoding families, as 242 enable autodetection of the UTF-16 and UTF-32 encoding families, as
213 described in RFC4627. 243 described in RFC4627.
214 244
215 If $enable is false, then the "encode" method will return the JSON 245 If $enable is false, then the "encode" method will return the JSON
216 string as a (non-encoded) unicode string, while "decode" expects 246 string as a (non-encoded) Unicode string, while "decode" expects
217 thus a unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or 247 thus a Unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or
218 UTF-16) needs to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module. 248 UTF-16) needs to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module.
249
250 See also the section *ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES* later in this
251 document.
219 252
220 Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON: 253 Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON:
221 254
222 use Encode; 255 use Encode;
223 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object); 256 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object);
242 2 275 2
243 ] 276 ]
244 } 277 }
245 278
246 $json = $json->indent ([$enable]) 279 $json = $json->indent ([$enable])
280 $enabled = $json->get_indent
247 If $enable is true (or missing), then the "encode" method will use a 281 If $enable is true (or missing), then the "encode" method will use a
248 multiline format as output, putting every array member or 282 multiline format as output, putting every array member or
249 object/hash key-value pair into its own line, identing them 283 object/hash key-value pair into its own line, indenting them
250 properly. 284 properly.
251 285
252 If $enable is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and 286 If $enable is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and
253 the resulting JSON text is guarenteed not to contain any "newlines". 287 the resulting JSON text is guaranteed not to contain any "newlines".
254 288
255 This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 289 This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
256 290
257 $json = $json->space_before ([$enable]) 291 $json = $json->space_before ([$enable])
292 $enabled = $json->get_space_before
258 If $enable is true (or missing), then the "encode" method will add 293 If $enable is true (or missing), then the "encode" method will add
259 an extra optional space before the ":" separating keys from values 294 an extra optional space before the ":" separating keys from values
260 in JSON objects. 295 in JSON objects.
261 296
262 If $enable is false, then the "encode" method will not add any extra 297 If $enable is false, then the "encode" method will not add any extra
268 Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled: 303 Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled:
269 304
270 {"key" :"value"} 305 {"key" :"value"}
271 306
272 $json = $json->space_after ([$enable]) 307 $json = $json->space_after ([$enable])
308 $enabled = $json->get_space_after
273 If $enable is true (or missing), then the "encode" method will add 309 If $enable is true (or missing), then the "encode" method will add
274 an extra optional space after the ":" separating keys from values in 310 an extra optional space after the ":" separating keys from values in
275 JSON objects and extra whitespace after the "," separating key-value 311 JSON objects and extra whitespace after the "," separating key-value
276 pairs and array members. 312 pairs and array members.
277 313
283 Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled: 319 Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled:
284 320
285 {"key": "value"} 321 {"key": "value"}
286 322
287 $json = $json->relaxed ([$enable]) 323 $json = $json->relaxed ([$enable])
324 $enabled = $json->get_relaxed
288 If $enable is true (or missing), then "decode" will accept some 325 If $enable is true (or missing), then "decode" will accept some
289 extensions to normal JSON syntax (see below). "encode" will not be 326 extensions to normal JSON syntax (see below). "encode" will not be
290 affected in anyway. *Be aware that this option makes you accept 327 affected in anyway. *Be aware that this option makes you accept
291 invalid JSON texts as if they were valid!*. I suggest only to use 328 invalid JSON texts as if they were valid!*. I suggest only to use
292 this option to parse application-specific files written by humans 329 this option to parse application-specific files written by humans
295 If $enable is false (the default), then "decode" will only accept 332 If $enable is false (the default), then "decode" will only accept
296 valid JSON texts. 333 valid JSON texts.
297 334
298 Currently accepted extensions are: 335 Currently accepted extensions are:
299 336
300 * list items can have an end-comma 337 * list items can have an end-comma
338
301 JSON *separates* array elements and key-value pairs with commas. 339 JSON *separates* array elements and key-value pairs with commas.
302 This can be annoying if you write JSON texts manually and want 340 This can be annoying if you write JSON texts manually and want
303 to be able to quickly append elements, so this extension accepts 341 to be able to quickly append elements, so this extension accepts
304 comma at the end of such items not just between them: 342 comma at the end of such items not just between them:
305 343
310 { 348 {
311 "k1": "v1", 349 "k1": "v1",
312 "k2": "v2", <- this comma not normally allowed 350 "k2": "v2", <- this comma not normally allowed
313 } 351 }
314 352
315 * shell-style '#'-comments 353 * shell-style '#'-comments
354
316 Whenever JSON allows whitespace, shell-style comments are 355 Whenever JSON allows whitespace, shell-style comments are
317 additionally allowed. They are terminated by the first 356 additionally allowed. They are terminated by the first
318 carriage-return or line-feed character, after which more 357 carriage-return or line-feed character, after which more
319 white-space and comments are allowed. 358 white-space and comments are allowed.
320 359
322 1, # this comment not allowed in JSON 361 1, # this comment not allowed in JSON
323 # neither this one... 362 # neither this one...
324 ] 363 ]
325 364
326 $json = $json->canonical ([$enable]) 365 $json = $json->canonical ([$enable])
366 $enabled = $json->get_canonical
327 If $enable is true (or missing), then the "encode" method will 367 If $enable is true (or missing), then the "encode" method will
328 output JSON objects by sorting their keys. This is adding a 368 output JSON objects by sorting their keys. This is adding a
329 comparatively high overhead. 369 comparatively high overhead.
330 370
331 If $enable is false, then the "encode" method will output key-value 371 If $enable is false, then the "encode" method will output key-value
332 pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change 372 pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change
333 between runs of the same script). 373 between runs of the same script).
334 374
335 This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be 375 This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be
336 encoded as the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If 376 encoded as the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If
337 it is disabled, the same hash migh be encoded differently even if 377 it is disabled, the same hash might be encoded differently even if
338 contains the same data, as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering 378 contains the same data, as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering
339 in Perl. 379 in Perl.
340 380
341 This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 381 This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
342 382
383 This setting has currently no effect on tied hashes.
384
343 $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable]) 385 $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable])
386 $enabled = $json->get_allow_nonref
344 If $enable is true (or missing), then the "encode" method can 387 If $enable is true (or missing), then the "encode" method can
345 convert a non-reference into its corresponding string, number or 388 convert a non-reference into its corresponding string, number or
346 null JSON value, which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, 389 null JSON value, which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise,
347 "decode" will accept those JSON values instead of croaking. 390 "decode" will accept those JSON values instead of croaking.
348 391
355 "allow_nonref", resulting in an invalid JSON text: 398 "allow_nonref", resulting in an invalid JSON text:
356 399
357 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!") 400 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!")
358 => "Hello, World!" 401 => "Hello, World!"
359 402
403 $json = $json->allow_unknown ([$enable])
404 $enabled = $json->get_allow_unknown
405 If $enable is true (or missing), then "encode" will *not* throw an
406 exception when it encounters values it cannot represent in JSON (for
407 example, filehandles) but instead will encode a JSON "null" value.
408 Note that blessed objects are not included here and are handled
409 separately by c<allow_nonref>.
410
411 If $enable is false (the default), then "encode" will throw an
412 exception when it encounters anything it cannot encode as JSON.
413
414 This option does not affect "decode" in any way, and it is
415 recommended to leave it off unless you know your communications
416 partner.
417
360 $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable]) 418 $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable])
419 $enabled = $json->get_allow_blessed
361 If $enable is true (or missing), then the "encode" method will not 420 If $enable is true (or missing), then the "encode" method will not
362 barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of 421 barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of
363 the convert_blessed option will decide wether "null" 422 the convert_blessed option will decide whether "null"
364 ("convert_blessed" disabled or no "to_json" method found) or a 423 ("convert_blessed" disabled or no "TO_JSON" method found) or a
365 representation of the object ("convert_blessed" enabled and 424 representation of the object ("convert_blessed" enabled and
366 "to_json" method found) is being encoded. Has no effect on "decode". 425 "TO_JSON" method found) is being encoded. Has no effect on "decode".
367 426
368 If $enable is false (the default), then "encode" will throw an 427 If $enable is false (the default), then "encode" will throw an
369 exception when it encounters a blessed object. 428 exception when it encounters a blessed object.
370 429
371 $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable]) 430 $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable])
431 $enabled = $json->get_convert_blessed
372 If $enable is true (or missing), then "encode", upon encountering a 432 If $enable is true (or missing), then "encode", upon encountering a
373 blessed object, will check for the availability of the "TO_JSON" 433 blessed object, will check for the availability of the "TO_JSON"
374 method on the object's class. If found, it will be called in scalar 434 method on the object's class. If found, it will be called in scalar
375 context and the resulting scalar will be encoded instead of the 435 context and the resulting scalar will be encoded instead of the
376 object. If no "TO_JSON" method is found, the value of 436 object. If no "TO_JSON" method is found, the value of
380 returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same 440 returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same
381 way. "TO_JSON" must take care of not causing an endless recursion 441 way. "TO_JSON" must take care of not causing an endless recursion
382 cycle (== crash) in this case. The name of "TO_JSON" was chosen 442 cycle (== crash) in this case. The name of "TO_JSON" was chosen
383 because other methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of 443 because other methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of
384 the object) are usually in upper case letters and to avoid 444 the object) are usually in upper case letters and to avoid
385 collisions with the "to_json" function. 445 collisions with any "to_json" function or method.
386 446
387 This setting does not yet influence "decode" in any way, but in the 447 This setting does not yet influence "decode" in any way, but in the
388 future, global hooks might get installed that influence "decode" and 448 future, global hooks might get installed that influence "decode" and
389 are enabled by this setting. 449 are enabled by this setting.
390 450
431 491
432 As this callback gets called less often then the 492 As this callback gets called less often then the
433 "filter_json_object" one, decoding speed will not usually suffer as 493 "filter_json_object" one, decoding speed will not usually suffer as
434 much. Therefore, single-key objects make excellent targets to 494 much. Therefore, single-key objects make excellent targets to
435 serialise Perl objects into, especially as single-key JSON objects 495 serialise Perl objects into, especially as single-key JSON objects
436 are as close to the type-tagged value concept as JSON gets (its 496 are as close to the type-tagged value concept as JSON gets (it's
437 basically an ID/VALUE tuple). Of course, JSON does not support this 497 basically an ID/VALUE tuple). Of course, JSON does not support this
438 in any way, so you need to make sure your data never looks like a 498 in any way, so you need to make sure your data never looks like a
439 serialised Perl hash. 499 serialised Perl hash.
440 500
441 Typical names for the single object key are "__class_whatever__", or 501 Typical names for the single object key are "__class_whatever__", or
466 526
467 { __widget__ => $self->{id} } 527 { __widget__ => $self->{id} }
468 } 528 }
469 529
470 $json = $json->shrink ([$enable]) 530 $json = $json->shrink ([$enable])
531 $enabled = $json->get_shrink
471 Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for 532 Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for
472 strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either 533 strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either
473 "encode" or "decode" to their minimum size possible. This can save 534 "encode" or "decode" to their minimum size possible. This can save
474 memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have 535 memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have
475 many short strings. It will also try to downgrade any strings to 536 many short strings. It will also try to downgrade any strings to
493 converting strings that look like integers or floats into integers 554 converting strings that look like integers or floats into integers
494 or floats internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), 555 or floats internally (there is no difference on the Perl level),
495 saving space. 556 saving space.
496 557
497 $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth]) 558 $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])
559 $max_depth = $json->get_max_depth
498 Sets the maximum nesting level (default 512) accepted while encoding 560 Sets the maximum nesting level (default 512) accepted while encoding
499 or decoding. If the JSON text or Perl data structure has an equal or 561 or decoding. If a higher nesting level is detected in JSON text or a
500 higher nesting level then this limit, then the encoder and decoder 562 Perl data structure, then the encoder and decoder will stop and
501 will stop and croak at that point. 563 croak at that point.
502 564
503 Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the 565 Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the
504 encoder needs to traverse to reach a given point or the number of 566 encoder needs to traverse to reach a given point or the number of
505 "{" or "[" characters without their matching closing parenthesis 567 "{" or "[" characters without their matching closing parenthesis
506 crossed to reach a given character in a string. 568 crossed to reach a given character in a string.
507 569
508 Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that 570 Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that
509 ensures that the object is only a single hash/object or array. 571 ensures that the object is only a single hash/object or array.
510 572
511 The argument to "max_depth" will be rounded up to the next highest
512 power of two. If no argument is given, the highest possible setting 573 If no argument is given, the highest possible setting will be used,
513 will be used, which is rarely useful. 574 which is rarely useful.
575
576 Note that nesting is implemented by recursion in C. The default
577 value has been chosen to be as large as typical operating systems
578 allow without crashing.
514 579
515 See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is 580 See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is
516 useful. 581 useful.
517 582
518 $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size]) 583 $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size])
584 $max_size = $json->get_max_size
519 Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where 585 Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where
520 decoding is being attempted. The default is 0, meaning no limit. 586 decoding is being attempted. The default is 0, meaning no limit.
521 When "decode" is called on a string longer then this number of 587 When "decode" is called on a string that is longer then this many
522 characters it will not attempt to decode the string but throw an 588 bytes, it will not attempt to decode the string but throw an
523 exception. This setting has no effect on "encode" (yet). 589 exception. This setting has no effect on "encode" (yet).
524 590
525 The argument to "max_size" will be rounded up to the next highest
526 power of two (so may be more than requested). If no argument is
527 given, the limit check will be deactivated (same as when 0 is 591 If no argument is given, the limit check will be deactivated (same
528 specified). 592 as when 0 is specified).
529 593
530 See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is 594 See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is
531 useful. 595 useful.
532 596
533 $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar) 597 $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar)
558 and you need to know where the JSON text ends. 622 and you need to know where the JSON text ends.
559 623
560 JSON::XS->new->decode_prefix ("[1] the tail") 624 JSON::XS->new->decode_prefix ("[1] the tail")
561 => ([], 3) 625 => ([], 3)
562 626
627INCREMENTAL PARSING
628 In some cases, there is the need for incremental parsing of JSON texts.
629 While this module always has to keep both JSON text and resulting Perl
630 data structure in memory at one time, it does allow you to parse a JSON
631 stream incrementally. It does so by accumulating text until it has a
632 full JSON object, which it then can decode. This process is similar to
633 using "decode_prefix" to see if a full JSON object is available, but is
634 much more efficient (and can be implemented with a minimum of method
635 calls).
636
637 JSON::XS will only attempt to parse the JSON text once it is sure it has
638 enough text to get a decisive result, using a very simple but truly
639 incremental parser. This means that it sometimes won't stop as early as
640 the full parser, for example, it doesn't detect parenthese mismatches.
641 The only thing it guarantees is that it starts decoding as soon as a
642 syntactically valid JSON text has been seen. This means you need to set
643 resource limits (e.g. "max_size") to ensure the parser will stop parsing
644 in the presence if syntax errors.
645
646 The following methods implement this incremental parser.
647
648 [void, scalar or list context] = $json->incr_parse ([$string])
649 This is the central parsing function. It can both append new text
650 and extract objects from the stream accumulated so far (both of
651 these functions are optional).
652
653 If $string is given, then this string is appended to the already
654 existing JSON fragment stored in the $json object.
655
656 After that, if the function is called in void context, it will
657 simply return without doing anything further. This can be used to
658 add more text in as many chunks as you want.
659
660 If the method is called in scalar context, then it will try to
661 extract exactly *one* JSON object. If that is successful, it will
662 return this object, otherwise it will return "undef". If there is a
663 parse error, this method will croak just as "decode" would do (one
664 can then use "incr_skip" to skip the errornous part). This is the
665 most common way of using the method.
666
667 And finally, in list context, it will try to extract as many objects
668 from the stream as it can find and return them, or the empty list
669 otherwise. For this to work, there must be no separators between the
670 JSON objects or arrays, instead they must be concatenated
671 back-to-back. If an error occurs, an exception will be raised as in
672 the scalar context case. Note that in this case, any
673 previously-parsed JSON texts will be lost.
674
675 $lvalue_string = $json->incr_text
676 This method returns the currently stored JSON fragment as an lvalue,
677 that is, you can manipulate it. This *only* works when a preceding
678 call to "incr_parse" in *scalar context* successfully returned an
679 object. Under all other circumstances you must not call this
680 function (I mean it. although in simple tests it might actually
681 work, it *will* fail under real world conditions). As a special
682 exception, you can also call this method before having parsed
683 anything.
684
685 This function is useful in two cases: a) finding the trailing text
686 after a JSON object or b) parsing multiple JSON objects separated by
687 non-JSON text (such as commas).
688
689 $json->incr_skip
690 This will reset the state of the incremental parser and will remove
691 the parsed text from the input buffer so far. This is useful after
692 "incr_parse" died, in which case the input buffer and incremental
693 parser state is left unchanged, to skip the text parsed so far and
694 to reset the parse state.
695
696 The difference to "incr_reset" is that only text until the parse
697 error occured is removed.
698
699 $json->incr_reset
700 This completely resets the incremental parser, that is, after this
701 call, it will be as if the parser had never parsed anything.
702
703 This is useful if you want to repeatedly parse JSON objects and want
704 to ignore any trailing data, which means you have to reset the
705 parser after each successful decode.
706
707 LIMITATIONS
708 All options that affect decoding are supported, except "allow_nonref".
709 The reason for this is that it cannot be made to work sensibly: JSON
710 objects and arrays are self-delimited, i.e. you can concatenate them
711 back to back and still decode them perfectly. This does not hold true
712 for JSON numbers, however.
713
714 For example, is the string 1 a single JSON number, or is it simply the
715 start of 12? Or is 12 a single JSON number, or the concatenation of 1
716 and 2? In neither case you can tell, and this is why JSON::XS takes the
717 conservative route and disallows this case.
718
719 EXAMPLES
720 Some examples will make all this clearer. First, a simple example that
721 works similarly to "decode_prefix": We want to decode the JSON object at
722 the start of a string and identify the portion after the JSON object:
723
724 my $text = "[1,2,3] hello";
725
726 my $json = new JSON::XS;
727
728 my $obj = $json->incr_parse ($text)
729 or die "expected JSON object or array at beginning of string";
730
731 my $tail = $json->incr_text;
732 # $tail now contains " hello"
733
734 Easy, isn't it?
735
736 Now for a more complicated example: Imagine a hypothetical protocol
737 where you read some requests from a TCP stream, and each request is a
738 JSON array, without any separation between them (in fact, it is often
739 useful to use newlines as "separators", as these get interpreted as
740 whitespace at the start of the JSON text, which makes it possible to
741 test said protocol with "telnet"...).
742
743 Here is how you'd do it (it is trivial to write this in an event-based
744 manner):
745
746 my $json = new JSON::XS;
747
748 # read some data from the socket
749 while (sysread $socket, my $buf, 4096) {
750
751 # split and decode as many requests as possible
752 for my $request ($json->incr_parse ($buf)) {
753 # act on the $request
754 }
755 }
756
757 Another complicated example: Assume you have a string with JSON objects
758 or arrays, all separated by (optional) comma characters (e.g. "[1],[2],
759 [3]"). To parse them, we have to skip the commas between the JSON texts,
760 and here is where the lvalue-ness of "incr_text" comes in useful:
761
762 my $text = "[1],[2], [3]";
763 my $json = new JSON::XS;
764
765 # void context, so no parsing done
766 $json->incr_parse ($text);
767
768 # now extract as many objects as possible. note the
769 # use of scalar context so incr_text can be called.
770 while (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
771 # do something with $obj
772
773 # now skip the optional comma
774 $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* , //x;
775 }
776
777 Now lets go for a very complex example: Assume that you have a gigantic
778 JSON array-of-objects, many gigabytes in size, and you want to parse it,
779 but you cannot load it into memory fully (this has actually happened in
780 the real world :).
781
782 Well, you lost, you have to implement your own JSON parser. But JSON::XS
783 can still help you: You implement a (very simple) array parser and let
784 JSON decode the array elements, which are all full JSON objects on their
785 own (this wouldn't work if the array elements could be JSON numbers, for
786 example):
787
788 my $json = new JSON::XS;
789
790 # open the monster
791 open my $fh, "<bigfile.json"
792 or die "bigfile: $!";
793
794 # first parse the initial "["
795 for (;;) {
796 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
797 or die "read error: $!";
798 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
799
800 # Exit the loop once we found and removed(!) the initial "[".
801 # In essence, we are (ab-)using the $json object as a simple scalar
802 # we append data to.
803 last if $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* \[ //x;
804 }
805
806 # now we have the skipped the initial "[", so continue
807 # parsing all the elements.
808 for (;;) {
809 # in this loop we read data until we got a single JSON object
810 for (;;) {
811 if (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
812 # do something with $obj
813 last;
814 }
815
816 # add more data
817 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
818 or die "read error: $!";
819 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
820 }
821
822 # in this loop we read data until we either found and parsed the
823 # separating "," between elements, or the final "]"
824 for (;;) {
825 # first skip whitespace
826 $json->incr_text =~ s/^\s*//;
827
828 # if we find "]", we are done
829 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^\]//) {
830 print "finished.\n";
831 exit;
832 }
833
834 # if we find ",", we can continue with the next element
835 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^,//) {
836 last;
837 }
838
839 # if we find anything else, we have a parse error!
840 if (length $json->incr_text) {
841 die "parse error near ", $json->incr_text;
842 }
843
844 # else add more data
845 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
846 or die "read error: $!";
847 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
848 }
849
850 This is a complex example, but most of the complexity comes from the
851 fact that we are trying to be correct (bear with me if I am wrong, I
852 never ran the above example :).
853
563MAPPING 854MAPPING
564 This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and 855 This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and
565 vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most 856 vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most
566 circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics 857 circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics
567 (what you put in comes out as something equivalent). 858 (what you put in comes out as something equivalent).
568 859
569 For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions, 860 For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions,
570 lowercase *perl* refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppcercase *Perl* 861 lowercase *perl* refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppercase *Perl*
571 refers to the abstract Perl language itself. 862 refers to the abstract Perl language itself.
572 863
573 JSON -> PERL 864 JSON -> PERL
574 object 865 object
575 A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of 866 A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of
576 object keys is preserved (JSON does not preserver object key 867 object keys is preserved (JSON does not preserve object key ordering
577 ordering itself). 868 itself).
578 869
579 array 870 array
580 A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl. 871 A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl.
581 872
582 string 873 string
588 A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or 879 A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or
589 string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional 880 string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional
590 parts. On the Perl level, there is no difference between those as 881 parts. On the Perl level, there is no difference between those as
591 Perl handles all the conversion details, but an integer may take 882 Perl handles all the conversion details, but an integer may take
592 slightly less memory and might represent more values exactly than 883 slightly less memory and might represent more values exactly than
593 (floating point) numbers. 884 floating point numbers.
594 885
595 If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to 886 If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to
596 represent it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to 887 represent it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to
597 represent it as a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible 888 represent it as a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible
598 without loss of precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as 889 without loss of precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as
599 a string value. 890 a string value (in which case you lose roundtripping ability, as the
891 JSON number will be re-encoded toa JSON string).
600 892
601 Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be 893 Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be
602 represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss 894 represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss
603 of precision. 895 of precision (in which case you might lose perfect roundtripping
604 896 ability, but the JSON number will still be re-encoded as a JSON
605 This might create round-tripping problems as numbers might become 897 number).
606 strings, but as Perl is typeless there is no other way to do it.
607 898
608 true, false 899 true, false
609 These JSON atoms become "JSON::XS::true" and "JSON::XS::false", 900 These JSON atoms become "JSON::XS::true" and "JSON::XS::false",
610 respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the 901 respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the
611 numbers 1 and 0. You can check wether a scalar is a JSON boolean by 902 numbers 1 and 0. You can check whether a scalar is a JSON boolean by
612 using the "JSON::XS::is_bool" function. 903 using the "JSON::XS::is_bool" function.
613 904
614 null 905 null
615 A JSON null atom becomes "undef" in Perl. 906 A JSON null atom becomes "undef" in Perl.
616 907
639 an exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers 0 930 an exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers 0
640 and 1, which get turned into "false" and "true" atoms in JSON. You 931 and 1, which get turned into "false" and "true" atoms in JSON. You
641 can also use "JSON::XS::false" and "JSON::XS::true" to improve 932 can also use "JSON::XS::false" and "JSON::XS::true" to improve
642 readability. 933 readability.
643 934
644 to_json [\0,JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true] 935 encode_json [\0, JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true]
645 936
646 JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false 937 JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false
647 These special values become JSON true and JSON false values, 938 These special values become JSON true and JSON false values,
648 respectively. You can also use "\1" and "\0" directly if you want. 939 respectively. You can also use "\1" and "\0" directly if you want.
649 940
650 blessed objects 941 blessed objects
651 Blessed objects are not allowed. JSON::XS currently tries to encode 942 Blessed objects are not directly representable in JSON. See the
652 their underlying representation (hash- or arrayref), but this 943 "allow_blessed" and "convert_blessed" methods on various options on
653 behaviour might change in future versions. 944 how to deal with this: basically, you can choose between throwing an
945 exception, encoding the reference as if it weren't blessed, or
946 provide your own serialiser method.
654 947
655 simple scalars 948 simple scalars
656 Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the 949 Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the
657 most difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined 950 most difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined
658 scalars as JSON null value, scalars that have last been used in a 951 scalars as JSON "null" values, scalars that have last been used in a
659 string context before encoding as JSON strings and anything else as 952 string context before encoding as JSON strings, and anything else as
660 number value: 953 number value:
661 954
662 # dump as number 955 # dump as number
663 to_json [2] # yields [2] 956 encode_json [2] # yields [2]
664 to_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17] 957 encode_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17]
665 my $value = 5; to_json [$value] # yields [5] 958 my $value = 5; encode_json [$value] # yields [5]
666 959
667 # used as string, so dump as string 960 # used as string, so dump as string
668 print $value; 961 print $value;
669 to_json [$value] # yields ["5"] 962 encode_json [$value] # yields ["5"]
670 963
671 # undef becomes null 964 # undef becomes null
672 to_json [undef] # yields [null] 965 encode_json [undef] # yields [null]
673 966
674 You can force the type to be a string by stringifying it: 967 You can force the type to be a JSON string by stringifying it:
675 968
676 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number 969 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number
677 "$x"; # stringified 970 "$x"; # stringified
678 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify 971 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify
679 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often 972 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often
680 973
681 You can force the type to be a number by numifying it: 974 You can force the type to be a JSON number by numifying it:
682 975
683 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string 976 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string
684 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number 977 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number
685 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choise is yours. 978 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours.
686 979
687 You can not currently output JSON booleans or force the type in 980 You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways.
688 other, less obscure, ways. Tell me if you need this capability. 981 Tell me if you need this capability (but don't forget to explain why
982 it's needed :).
689 983
690COMPARISON 984ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES
691 As already mentioned, this module was created because none of the 985 The interested reader might have seen a number of flags that signify
692 existing JSON modules could be made to work correctly. First I will 986 encodings or codesets - "utf8", "latin1" and "ascii". There seems to be
693 describe the problems (or pleasures) I encountered with various existing 987 some confusion on what these do, so here is a short comparison:
694 JSON modules, followed by some benchmark values. JSON::XS was designed
695 not to suffer from any of these problems or limitations.
696 988
697 JSON 1.07 989 "utf8" controls whether the JSON text created by "encode" (and expected
698 Slow (but very portable, as it is written in pure Perl). 990 by "decode") is UTF-8 encoded or not, while "latin1" and "ascii" only
991 control whether "encode" escapes character values outside their
992 respective codeset range. Neither of these flags conflict with each
993 other, although some combinations make less sense than others.
699 994
700 Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling (how JSON handles unicode values 995 Care has been taken to make all flags symmetrical with respect to
701 is undocumented. One can get far by feeding it unicode strings and 996 "encode" and "decode", that is, texts encoded with any combination of
702 doing en-/decoding oneself, but unicode escapes are not working 997 these flag values will be correctly decoded when the same flags are used
998 - in general, if you use different flag settings while encoding vs. when
999 decoding you likely have a bug somewhere.
1000
1001 Below comes a verbose discussion of these flags. Note that a "codeset"
1002 is simply an abstract set of character-codepoint pairs, while an
1003 encoding takes those codepoint numbers and *encodes* them, in our case
1004 into octets. Unicode is (among other things) a codeset, UTF-8 is an
1005 encoding, and ISO-8859-1 (= latin 1) and ASCII are both codesets *and*
1006 encodings at the same time, which can be confusing.
1007
1008 "utf8" flag disabled
1009 When "utf8" is disabled (the default), then "encode"/"decode"
1010 generate and expect Unicode strings, that is, characters with high
1011 ordinal Unicode values (> 255) will be encoded as such characters,
1012 and likewise such characters are decoded as-is, no canges to them
1013 will be done, except "(re-)interpreting" them as Unicode codepoints
1014 or Unicode characters, respectively (to Perl, these are the same
1015 thing in strings unless you do funny/weird/dumb stuff).
1016
1017 This is useful when you want to do the encoding yourself (e.g. when
1018 you want to have UTF-16 encoded JSON texts) or when some other layer
1019 does the encoding for you (for example, when printing to a terminal
1020 using a filehandle that transparently encodes to UTF-8 you certainly
1021 do NOT want to UTF-8 encode your data first and have Perl encode it
1022 another time).
1023
1024 "utf8" flag enabled
1025 If the "utf8"-flag is enabled, "encode"/"decode" will encode all
1026 characters using the corresponding UTF-8 multi-byte sequence, and
1027 will expect your input strings to be encoded as UTF-8, that is, no
1028 "character" of the input string must have any value > 255, as UTF-8
1029 does not allow that.
1030
1031 The "utf8" flag therefore switches between two modes: disabled means
1032 you will get a Unicode string in Perl, enabled means you get an
1033 UTF-8 encoded octet/binary string in Perl.
1034
1035 "latin1" or "ascii" flags enabled
1036 With "latin1" (or "ascii") enabled, "encode" will escape characters
1037 with ordinal values > 255 (> 127 with "ascii") and encode the
1038 remaining characters as specified by the "utf8" flag.
1039
1040 If "utf8" is disabled, then the result is also correctly encoded in
1041 those character sets (as both are proper subsets of Unicode, meaning
1042 that a Unicode string with all character values < 256 is the same
1043 thing as a ISO-8859-1 string, and a Unicode string with all
1044 character values < 128 is the same thing as an ASCII string in
703 properly). 1045 Perl).
704 1046
705 No roundtripping (strings get clobbered if they look like numbers, 1047 If "utf8" is enabled, you still get a correct UTF-8-encoded string,
706 e.g. the string 2.0 will encode to 2.0 instead of "2.0", and that 1048 regardless of these flags, just some more characters will be escaped
707 will decode into the number 2. 1049 using "\uXXXX" then before.
708 1050
709 JSON::PC 0.01 1051 Note that ISO-8859-1-*encoded* strings are not compatible with UTF-8
710 Very fast. 1052 encoding, while ASCII-encoded strings are. That is because the
1053 ISO-8859-1 encoding is NOT a subset of UTF-8 (despite the ISO-8859-1
1054 *codeset* being a subset of Unicode), while ASCII is.
711 1055
712 Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling. 1056 Surprisingly, "decode" will ignore these flags and so treat all
1057 input values as governed by the "utf8" flag. If it is disabled, this
1058 allows you to decode ISO-8859-1- and ASCII-encoded strings, as both
1059 strict subsets of Unicode. If it is enabled, you can correctly
1060 decode UTF-8 encoded strings.
713 1061
714 No roundtripping. 1062 So neither "latin1" nor "ascii" are incompatible with the "utf8"
1063 flag - they only govern when the JSON output engine escapes a
1064 character or not.
715 1065
716 Has problems handling many Perl values (e.g. regex results and other 1066 The main use for "latin1" is to relatively efficiently store binary
717 magic values will make it croak). 1067 data as JSON, at the expense of breaking compatibility with most
1068 JSON decoders.
718 1069
719 Does not even generate valid JSON ("{1,2}" gets converted to "{1:2}" 1070 The main use for "ascii" is to force the output to not contain
720 which is not a valid JSON text. 1071 characters with values > 127, which means you can interpret the
1072 resulting string as UTF-8, ISO-8859-1, ASCII, KOI8-R or most about
1073 any character set and 8-bit-encoding, and still get the same data
1074 structure back. This is useful when your channel for JSON transfer
1075 is not 8-bit clean or the encoding might be mangled in between (e.g.
1076 in mail), and works because ASCII is a proper subset of most 8-bit
1077 and multibyte encodings in use in the world.
721 1078
722 Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not 1079 JSON and ECMAscript
723 getting fixed). 1080 JSON syntax is based on how literals are represented in javascript (the
1081 not-standardised predecessor of ECMAscript) which is presumably why it
1082 is called "JavaScript Object Notation".
724 1083
725 JSON::Syck 0.21 1084 However, JSON is not a subset (and also not a superset of course) of
726 Very buggy (often crashes). 1085 ECMAscript (the standard) or javascript (whatever browsers actually
1086 implement).
727 1087
728 Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty 1088 If you want to use javascript's "eval" function to "parse" JSON, you
729 much undocumented. I need at least a format for easy reading by 1089 might run into parse errors for valid JSON texts, or the resulting data
730 humans and a single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and 1090 structure might not be queryable:
731 preferably a way to generate ASCII-only JSON texts).
732 1091
733 Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling 1092 One of the problems is that U+2028 and U+2029 are valid characters
734 (unicode escapes are not working properly, you need to set 1093 inside JSON strings, but are not allowed in ECMAscript string literals,
735 ImplicitUnicode to *different* values on en- and decoding to get 1094 so the following Perl fragment will not output something that can be
736 symmetric behaviour). 1095 guaranteed to be parsable by javascript's "eval":
737 1096
738 No roundtripping (simple cases work, but this depends on wether the 1097 use JSON::XS;
739 scalar value was used in a numeric context or not).
740 1098
741 Dumping hashes may skip hash values depending on iterator state. 1099 print encode_json [chr 0x2028];
742 1100
743 Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not 1101 The right fix for this is to use a proper JSON parser in your javascript
744 getting fixed). 1102 programs, and not rely on "eval" (see for example Douglas Crockford's
1103 json2.js parser).
745 1104
746 Does not check input for validity (i.e. will accept non-JSON input 1105 If this is not an option, you can, as a stop-gap measure, simply encode
747 and return "something" instead of raising an exception. This is a 1106 to ASCII-only JSON:
748 security issue: imagine two banks transfering money between each
749 other using JSON. One bank might parse a given non-JSON request and
750 deduct money, while the other might reject the transaction with a
751 syntax error. While a good protocol will at least recover, that is
752 extra unnecessary work and the transaction will still not succeed).
753 1107
754 JSON::DWIW 0.04 1108 use JSON::XS;
755 Very fast. Very natural. Very nice.
756 1109
757 Undocumented unicode handling (but the best of the pack. Unicode 1110 print JSON::XS->new->ascii->encode ([chr 0x2028]);
758 escapes still don't get parsed properly).
759 1111
760 Very inflexible. 1112 Note that this will enlarge the resulting JSON text quite a bit if you
1113 have many non-ASCII characters. You might be tempted to run some regexes
1114 to only escape U+2028 and U+2029, e.g.:
761 1115
762 No roundtripping. 1116 # DO NOT USE THIS!
1117 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ([chr 0x2028]);
1118 $json =~ s/\xe2\x80\xa8/\\u2028/g; # escape U+2028
1119 $json =~ s/\xe2\x80\xa9/\\u2029/g; # escape U+2029
1120 print $json;
763 1121
764 Does not generate valid JSON texts (key strings are often unquoted, 1122 Note that *this is a bad idea*: the above only works for U+2028 and
765 empty keys result in nothing being output) 1123 U+2029 and thus only for fully ECMAscript-compliant parsers. Many
1124 existing javascript implementations, however, have issues with other
1125 characters as well - using "eval" naively simply *will* cause problems.
766 1126
767 Does not check input for validity. 1127 Another problem is that some javascript implementations reserve some
1128 property names for their own purposes (which probably makes them
1129 non-ECMAscript-compliant). For example, Iceweasel reserves the
1130 "__proto__" property name for it's own purposes.
1131
1132 If that is a problem, you could parse try to filter the resulting JSON
1133 output for these property strings, e.g.:
1134
1135 $json =~ s/"__proto__"\s*:/"__proto__renamed":/g;
1136
1137 This works because "__proto__" is not valid outside of strings, so every
1138 occurence of ""__proto__"\s*:" must be a string used as property name.
1139
1140 If you know of other incompatibilities, please let me know.
768 1141
769 JSON and YAML 1142 JSON and YAML
770 You often hear that JSON is a subset (or a close subset) of YAML. This 1143 You often hear that JSON is a subset of YAML. This is, however, a mass
771 is, however, a mass hysteria and very far from the truth. In general, 1144 hysteria(*) and very far from the truth (as of the time of this
772 there is no way to configure JSON::XS to output a data structure as 1145 writing), so let me state it clearly: *in general, there is no way to
773 valid YAML. 1146 configure JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML* that works
1147 in all cases.
774 1148
775 If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this 1149 If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this
776 algorithm (subject to change in future versions): 1150 algorithm (subject to change in future versions):
777 1151
778 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1); 1152 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1);
779 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n"; 1153 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n";
780 1154
781 This will usually generate JSON texts that also parse as valid YAML. 1155 This will *usually* generate JSON texts that also parse as valid YAML.
782 Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key 1156 Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key
783 lengths that JSON doesn't have, so you should make sure that your hash 1157 lengths that JSON doesn't have and also has different and incompatible
1158 unicode handling, so you should make sure that your hash keys are
784 keys are noticably shorter than the 1024 characters YAML allows. 1159 noticeably shorter than the 1024 "stream characters" YAML allows and
1160 that you do not have characters with codepoint values outside the
1161 Unicode BMP (basic multilingual page). YAML also does not allow "\/"
1162 sequences in strings (which JSON::XS does not *currently* generate, but
1163 other JSON generators might).
785 1164
786 There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of. In 1165 There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of (or the
1166 YAML specification has been changed yet again - it does so quite often).
787 general you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or 1167 In general you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or
788 vice versa, or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: 1168 vice versa, or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa:
789 chances are high that you will run into severe interoperability 1169 chances are high that you will run into severe interoperability problems
790 problems. 1170 when you least expect it.
1171
1172 (*) I have been pressured multiple times by Brian Ingerson (one of the
1173 authors of the YAML specification) to remove this paragraph, despite
1174 him acknowledging that the actual incompatibilities exist. As I was
1175 personally bitten by this "JSON is YAML" lie, I refused and said I
1176 will continue to educate people about these issues, so others do not
1177 run into the same problem again and again. After this, Brian called
1178 me a (quote)*complete and worthless idiot*(unquote).
1179
1180 In my opinion, instead of pressuring and insulting people who
1181 actually clarify issues with YAML and the wrong statements of some
1182 of its proponents, I would kindly suggest reading the JSON spec
1183 (which is not that difficult or long) and finally make YAML
1184 compatible to it, and educating users about the changes, instead of
1185 spreading lies about the real compatibility for many *years* and
1186 trying to silence people who point out that it isn't true.
791 1187
792 SPEED 1188 SPEED
793 It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following 1189 It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following
794 tables. They have been generated with the help of the "eg/bench" program 1190 tables. They have been generated with the help of the "eg/bench" program
795 in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own 1191 in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own
796 system. 1192 system.
797 1193
798 First comes a comparison between various modules using a very short 1194 First comes a comparison between various modules using a very short
799 single-line JSON string: 1195 single-line JSON string (also available at
1196 <http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/short.json>).
800 1197
801 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], \ 1198 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1",
802 "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7, true, false]} 1199 "we were just talking"], "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7,
1200 true, false]}
803 1201
804 It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses the 1202 It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses the
805 functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface with 1203 functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface with
806 pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables shrink). 1204 pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables shrink).
807 Higher is better: 1205 Higher is better:
808 1206
809 Storable | 15779.925 | 14169.946 |
810 -----------+------------+------------+
811 module | encode | decode | 1207 module | encode | decode |
812 -----------|------------|------------| 1208 -----------|------------|------------|
813 JSON | 4990.842 | 4088.813 | 1209 JSON 1.x | 4990.842 | 4088.813 |
814 JSON::DWIW | 51653.990 | 71575.154 | 1210 JSON::DWIW | 51653.990 | 71575.154 |
815 JSON::PC | 65948.176 | 74631.744 | 1211 JSON::PC | 65948.176 | 74631.744 |
816 JSON::PP | 8931.652 | 3817.168 | 1212 JSON::PP | 8931.652 | 3817.168 |
817 JSON::Syck | 24877.248 | 27776.848 | 1213 JSON::Syck | 24877.248 | 27776.848 |
818 JSON::XS | 388361.481 | 227951.304 | 1214 JSON::XS | 388361.481 | 227951.304 |
820 JSON::XS/3 | 338250.323 | 218453.333 | 1216 JSON::XS/3 | 338250.323 | 218453.333 |
821 Storable | 16500.016 | 135300.129 | 1217 Storable | 16500.016 | 135300.129 |
822 -----------+------------+------------+ 1218 -----------+------------+------------+
823 1219
824 That is, JSON::XS is about five times faster than JSON::DWIW on 1220 That is, JSON::XS is about five times faster than JSON::DWIW on
825 encoding, about three times faster on decoding, and over fourty times 1221 encoding, about three times faster on decoding, and over forty times
826 faster than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also 1222 faster than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also
827 compares favourably to Storable for small amounts of data. 1223 compares favourably to Storable for small amounts of data.
828 1224
829 Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals 1225 Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals
830 search API (http://nanoref.com/yahooapis/mgPdGg): 1226 search API (<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/long.json>).
831 1227
832 module | encode | decode | 1228 module | encode | decode |
833 -----------|------------|------------| 1229 -----------|------------|------------|
834 JSON | 55.260 | 34.971 | 1230 JSON 1.x | 55.260 | 34.971 |
835 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 | 1231 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 |
836 JSON::PC | 3571.444 | 2394.829 | 1232 JSON::PC | 3571.444 | 2394.829 |
837 JSON::PP | 210.987 | 32.574 | 1233 JSON::PP | 210.987 | 32.574 |
838 JSON::Syck | 552.551 | 787.544 | 1234 JSON::Syck | 552.551 | 787.544 |
839 JSON::XS | 5780.463 | 4854.519 | 1235 JSON::XS | 5780.463 | 4854.519 |
843 -----------+------------+------------+ 1239 -----------+------------+------------+
844 1240
845 Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly 1241 Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly
846 decodes faster). 1242 decodes faster).
847 1243
848 On large strings containing lots of high unicode characters, some 1244 On large strings containing lots of high Unicode characters, some
849 modules (such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the 1245 modules (such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the
850 result will be broken due to missing (or wrong) unicode handling. Others 1246 result will be broken due to missing (or wrong) Unicode handling. Others
851 refuse to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a 1247 refuse to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a
852 fair comparison table for that case. 1248 fair comparison table for that case.
853 1249
854SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS 1250SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
855 When you are using JSON in a protocol, talking to untrusted potentially 1251 When you are using JSON in a protocol, talking to untrusted potentially
859 have any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and 1255 have any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and
860 I am trying hard on making that true, but you never know. 1256 I am trying hard on making that true, but you never know.
861 1257
862 Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you 1258 Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you
863 should limit the size of JSON texts you accept, or make sure then when 1259 should limit the size of JSON texts you accept, or make sure then when
864 your resources run out, thats just fine (e.g. by using a separate 1260 your resources run out, that's just fine (e.g. by using a separate
865 process that can crash safely). The size of a JSON text in octets or 1261 process that can crash safely). The size of a JSON text in octets or
866 characters is usually a good indication of the size of the resources 1262 characters is usually a good indication of the size of the resources
867 required to decode it into a Perl structure. While JSON::XS can check 1263 required to decode it into a Perl structure. While JSON::XS can check
868 the size of the JSON text, it might be too late when you already have it 1264 the size of the JSON text, it might be too late when you already have it
869 in memory, so you might want to check the size before you accept the 1265 in memory, so you might want to check the size before you accept the
872 Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and 1268 Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and
873 arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64 1269 arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64
874 machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays 1270 machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays
875 but only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on 1271 but only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on
876 croak to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. 1272 croak to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes.
877 to be conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your 1273 To be conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your
878 process has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly 1274 process has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly
879 with the "max_depth" method. 1275 with the "max_depth" method.
880 1276
881 And last but least, something else could bomb you that I forgot to think 1277 Something else could bomb you, too, that I forgot to think of. In that
882 of. In that case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for 1278 case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, though...
883 hints, though...
884 1279
1280 Also keep in mind that JSON::XS might leak contents of your Perl data
1281 structures in its error messages, so when you serialise sensitive
1282 information you might want to make sure that exceptions thrown by
1283 JSON::XS will not end up in front of untrusted eyes.
1284
885 If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption by javascript 1285 If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption by JavaScript
886 scripts in a browser you should have a look at 1286 scripts in a browser you should have a look at
887 <http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see wether 1287 <http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see whether
888 you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are 1288 you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are
889 browser design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it, 1289 browser design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it,
890 as major browser developers care only for features, not about doing 1290 as major browser developers care only for features, not about getting
891 security right). 1291 security right).
892 1292
893THREADS 1293THREADS
894 This module is *not* guarenteed to be thread safe and there are no plans 1294 This module is *not* guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no plans
895 to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the 1295 to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the
896 horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated 1296 horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated
897 process simulations - use fork, its *much* faster, cheaper, better). 1297 process simulations - use fork, it's *much* faster, cheaper, better).
898 1298
899 (It might actually work, but you ahve ben warned). 1299 (It might actually work, but you have been warned).
900 1300
901BUGS 1301BUGS
902 While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does 1302 While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does
903 not mean its bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is 1303 not mean it's bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. If you
904 still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs
905 they will be fixed swiftly, though. 1304 keep reporting bugs they will be fixed swiftly, though.
906 1305
907 Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting 1306 Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting
908 service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason. 1307 service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason.
1308
1309SEE ALSO
1310 The json_xs command line utility for quick experiments.
909 1311
910AUTHOR 1312AUTHOR
911 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 1313 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
912 http://home.schmorp.de/ 1314 http://home.schmorp.de/
913 1315

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