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Revision 1.100 by root, Sun Mar 30 09:27:16 2008 UTC vs.
Revision 1.170 by root, Thu Nov 15 22:35:35 2018 UTC

1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast
4
3=encoding utf-8 5=encoding utf-8
4
5JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast
6 6
7JSON::XS - 正しくて高速な JSON シリアライザ/デシリアライザ 7JSON::XS - 正しくて高速な JSON シリアライザ/デシリアライザ
8 (http://fleur.hio.jp/perldoc/mix/lib/JSON/XS.html) 8 (http://fleur.hio.jp/perldoc/mix/lib/JSON/XS.html)
9 9
10=head1 SYNOPSIS 10=head1 SYNOPSIS
35 35
36This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its 36This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its
37primary goal is to be I<correct> and its secondary goal is to be 37primary goal is to be I<correct> and its secondary goal is to be
38I<fast>. To reach the latter goal it was written in C. 38I<fast>. To reach the latter goal it was written in C.
39 39
40Beginning with version 2.0 of the JSON module, when both JSON and
41JSON::XS are installed, then JSON will fall back on JSON::XS (this can be
42overriden) with no overhead due to emulation (by inheritign constructor
43and methods). If JSON::XS is not available, it will fall back to the
44compatible JSON::PP module as backend, so using JSON instead of JSON::XS
45gives you a portable JSON API that can be fast when you need and doesn't
46require a C compiler when that is a problem.
47
48As this is the n-th-something JSON module on CPAN, what was the reason
49to write yet another JSON module? While it seems there are many JSON
50modules, none of them correctly handle all corner cases, and in most cases
51their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug
52reports for other reasons.
53
54See COMPARISON, below, for a comparison to some other JSON modules.
55
56See MAPPING, below, on how JSON::XS maps perl values to JSON values and 40See MAPPING, below, on how JSON::XS maps perl values to JSON values and
57vice versa. 41vice versa.
58 42
59=head2 FEATURES 43=head2 FEATURES
60 44
61=over 4 45=over
62 46
63=item * correct Unicode handling 47=item * correct Unicode handling
64 48
65This module knows how to handle Unicode, documents how and when it does 49This module knows how to handle Unicode, documents how and when it does
66so, and even documents what "correct" means. 50so, and even documents what "correct" means.
67 51
68=item * round-trip integrity 52=item * round-trip integrity
69 53
70When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported 54When you serialise a perl data structure using only data types supported
71by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level. 55by JSON and Perl, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl
72(e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because it looks 56level. (e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because
73like a number). There minor I<are> exceptions to this, read the MAPPING 57it looks like a number). There I<are> minor exceptions to this, read the
74section below to learn about those. 58MAPPING section below to learn about those.
75 59
76=item * strict checking of JSON correctness 60=item * strict checking of JSON correctness
77 61
78There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default, 62There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default,
79and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security 63and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security
84Compared to other JSON modules and other serialisers such as Storable, 68Compared to other JSON modules and other serialisers such as Storable,
85this module usually compares favourably in terms of speed, too. 69this module usually compares favourably in terms of speed, too.
86 70
87=item * simple to use 71=item * simple to use
88 72
89This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an objetc 73This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an object
90oriented interface interface. 74oriented interface.
91 75
92=item * reasonably versatile output formats 76=item * reasonably versatile output formats
93 77
94You can choose between the most compact guaranteed-single-line format 78You can choose between the most compact guaranteed-single-line format
95possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format 79possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ASCII format
96(for when your transport is not 8-bit clean, still supports the whole 80(for when your transport is not 8-bit clean, still supports the whole
97Unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that 81Unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that
98stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like. 82stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like.
99 83
100=back 84=back
101 85
102=cut 86=cut
103 87
104package JSON::XS; 88package JSON::XS;
105 89
106use strict; 90use common::sense;
107 91
108our $VERSION = '2.2'; 92our $VERSION = '4.0';
109our @ISA = qw(Exporter); 93our @ISA = qw(Exporter);
110 94
111our @EXPORT = qw(encode_json decode_json to_json from_json); 95our @EXPORT = qw(encode_json decode_json);
112
113sub to_json($) {
114 require Carp;
115 Carp::croak ("JSON::XS::to_json has been renamed to encode_json, either downgrade to pre-2.0 versions of JSON::XS or rename the call");
116}
117
118sub from_json($) {
119 require Carp;
120 Carp::croak ("JSON::XS::from_json has been renamed to decode_json, either downgrade to pre-2.0 versions of JSON::XS or rename the call");
121}
122 96
123use Exporter; 97use Exporter;
124use XSLoader; 98use XSLoader;
125 99
100use Types::Serialiser ();
101
126=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE 102=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE
127 103
128The following convenience methods are provided by this module. They are 104The following convenience methods are provided by this module. They are
129exported by default: 105exported by default:
130 106
131=over 4 107=over
132 108
133=item $json_text = encode_json $perl_scalar 109=item $json_text = encode_json $perl_scalar
134 110
135Converts the given Perl data structure to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string 111Converts the given Perl data structure to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string
136(that is, the string contains octets only). Croaks on error. 112(that is, the string contains octets only). Croaks on error.
137 113
138This function call is functionally identical to: 114This function call is functionally identical to:
139 115
140 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar) 116 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar)
141 117
142except being faster. 118Except being faster.
143 119
144=item $perl_scalar = decode_json $json_text 120=item $perl_scalar = decode_json $json_text
145 121
146The opposite of C<encode_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries 122The opposite of C<encode_json>: expects a UTF-8 (binary) string and tries
147to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting 123to parse that as a UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting
148reference. Croaks on error. 124reference. Croaks on error.
149 125
150This function call is functionally identical to: 126This function call is functionally identical to:
151 127
152 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text) 128 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text)
153 129
154except being faster. 130Except being faster.
155
156=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar
157
158Returns true if the passed scalar represents either JSON::XS::true or
159JSON::XS::false, two constants that act like C<1> and C<0>, respectively
160and are used to represent JSON C<true> and C<false> values in Perl.
161
162See MAPPING, below, for more information on how JSON values are mapped to
163Perl.
164 131
165=back 132=back
166 133
167 134
168=head1 A FEW NOTES ON UNICODE AND PERL 135=head1 A FEW NOTES ON UNICODE AND PERL
169 136
170Since this often leads to confusion, here are a few very clear words on 137Since this often leads to confusion, here are a few very clear words on
171how Unicode works in Perl, modulo bugs. 138how Unicode works in Perl, modulo bugs.
172 139
173=over 4 140=over
174 141
175=item 1. Perl strings can store characters with ordinal values > 255. 142=item 1. Perl strings can store characters with ordinal values > 255.
176 143
177This enables you to store Unicode characters as single characters in a 144This enables you to store Unicode characters as single characters in a
178Perl string - very natural. 145Perl string - very natural.
197 164
198If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it doesn't 165If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it doesn't
199exist. 166exist.
200 167
201=item 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be 168=item 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be
202validly interpreted as a Unicode codepoint. 169validly interpreted as a Unicode code point.
203 170
204If you have UTF-8 encoded data, it is no longer a Unicode string, but a 171If you have UTF-8 encoded data, it is no longer a Unicode string, but a
205Unicode string encoded in UTF-8, giving you a binary string. 172Unicode string encoded in UTF-8, giving you a binary string.
206 173
207=item 5. A string containing "high" (> 255) character values is I<not> a UTF-8 string. 174=item 5. A string containing "high" (> 255) character values is I<not> a UTF-8 string.
216=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE 183=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE
217 184
218The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or 185The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or
219decoding style, within the limits of supported formats. 186decoding style, within the limits of supported formats.
220 187
221=over 4 188=over
222 189
223=item $json = new JSON::XS 190=item $json = new JSON::XS
224 191
225Creates a new JSON::XS object that can be used to de/encode JSON 192Creates a new JSON::XS object that can be used to de/encode JSON
226strings. All boolean flags described below are by default I<disabled>. 193strings. All boolean flags described below are by default I<disabled>
194(with the exception of C<allow_nonref>, which defaults to I<enabled> since
195version C<4.0>).
227 196
228The mutators for flags all return the JSON object again and thus calls can 197The mutators for flags all return the JSON object again and thus calls can
229be chained: 198be chained:
230 199
231 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]}) 200 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]})
289 258
290=item $enabled = $json->get_utf8 259=item $enabled = $json->get_utf8
291 260
292If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode 261If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
293the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the 262the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the
294C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please 263C<decode> method expects to be handed a UTF-8-encoded string. Please
295note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the 264note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the
296range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future 265range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future
297versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16 266versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16
298and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627. 267and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627.
299 268
384 353
385=item $enabled = $json->get_relaxed 354=item $enabled = $json->get_relaxed
386 355
387If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<decode> will accept some 356If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<decode> will accept some
388extensions to normal JSON syntax (see below). C<encode> will not be 357extensions to normal JSON syntax (see below). C<encode> will not be
389affected in anyway. I<Be aware that this option makes you accept invalid 358affected in any way. I<Be aware that this option makes you accept invalid
390JSON texts as if they were valid!>. I suggest only to use this option to 359JSON texts as if they were valid!>. I suggest only to use this option to
391parse application-specific files written by humans (configuration files, 360parse application-specific files written by humans (configuration files,
392resource files etc.) 361resource files etc.)
393 362
394If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<decode> will only accept 363If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<decode> will only accept
395valid JSON texts. 364valid JSON texts.
396 365
397Currently accepted extensions are: 366Currently accepted extensions are:
398 367
399=over 4 368=over
400 369
401=item * list items can have an end-comma 370=item * list items can have an end-comma
402 371
403JSON I<separates> array elements and key-value pairs with commas. This 372JSON I<separates> array elements and key-value pairs with commas. This
404can be annoying if you write JSON texts manually and want to be able to 373can be annoying if you write JSON texts manually and want to be able to
423 [ 392 [
424 1, # this comment not allowed in JSON 393 1, # this comment not allowed in JSON
425 # neither this one... 394 # neither this one...
426 ] 395 ]
427 396
397=item * literal ASCII TAB characters in strings
398
399Literal ASCII TAB characters are now allowed in strings (and treated as
400C<\t>).
401
402 [
403 "Hello\tWorld",
404 "Hello<TAB>World", # literal <TAB> would not normally be allowed
405 ]
406
428=back 407=back
429 408
430=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable]) 409=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable])
431 410
432=item $enabled = $json->get_canonical 411=item $enabled = $json->get_canonical
434If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects 413If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects
435by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead. 414by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead.
436 415
437If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value 416If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value
438pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs 417pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs
439of the same script). 418of the same script, and can change even within the same run from 5.18
419onwards).
440 420
441This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as 421This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as
442the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled, 422the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled,
443the same hash might be encoded differently even if contains the same data, 423the same hash might be encoded differently even if contains the same data,
444as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl. 424as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl.
445 425
446This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 426This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
447 427
428This setting has currently no effect on tied hashes.
429
448=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable]) 430=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable])
449 431
450=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_nonref 432=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_nonref
433
434Unlike other boolean options, this opotion is enabled by default beginning
435with version C<4.0>. See L<SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS> for the gory details.
451 436
452If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a 437If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a
453non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value, 438non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value,
454which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON 439which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON
455values instead of croaking. 440values instead of croaking.
457If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will croak if it isn't 442If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will croak if it isn't
458passed an arrayref or hashref, as JSON texts must either be an object 443passed an arrayref or hashref, as JSON texts must either be an object
459or array. Likewise, C<decode> will croak if given something that is not a 444or array. Likewise, C<decode> will croak if given something that is not a
460JSON object or array. 445JSON object or array.
461 446
462Example, encode a Perl scalar as JSON value with enabled C<allow_nonref>, 447Example, encode a Perl scalar as JSON value without enabled C<allow_nonref>,
463resulting in an invalid JSON text: 448resulting in an error:
464 449
465 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!") 450 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref (0)->encode ("Hello, World!")
466 => "Hello, World!" 451 => hash- or arrayref expected...
467 452
468=item $json = $json->allow_unknown ([$enable]) 453=item $json = $json->allow_unknown ([$enable])
469 454
470=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_unknown 455=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_unknown
471 456
483 468
484=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable]) 469=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable])
485 470
486=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_blessed 471=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_blessed
487 472
473See L<OBJECT SERIALISATION> for details.
474
488If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not 475If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
489barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the 476barf when it encounters a blessed reference that it cannot convert
490B<convert_blessed> option will decide whether C<null> (C<convert_blessed> 477otherwise. Instead, a JSON C<null> value is encoded instead of the object.
491disabled or no C<TO_JSON> method found) or a representation of the
492object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<TO_JSON> method found) is being
493encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>.
494 478
495If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an 479If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
496exception when it encounters a blessed object. 480exception when it encounters a blessed object that it cannot convert
481otherwise.
482
483This setting has no effect on C<decode>.
497 484
498=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable]) 485=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable])
499 486
500=item $enabled = $json->get_convert_blessed 487=item $enabled = $json->get_convert_blessed
488
489See L<OBJECT SERIALISATION> for details.
501 490
502If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a 491If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a
503blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<TO_JSON> method 492blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<TO_JSON> method
504on the object's class. If found, it will be called in scalar context 493on the object's class. If found, it will be called in scalar context and
505and the resulting scalar will be encoded instead of the object. If no 494the resulting scalar will be encoded instead of the object.
506C<TO_JSON> method is found, the value of C<allow_blessed> will decide what
507to do.
508 495
509The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON> 496The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON>
510returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same 497returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same
511way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle 498way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle
512(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other 499(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other
513methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are 500methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are
514usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with any C<to_json> 501usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with any C<to_json>
515function or method. 502function or method.
516 503
517This setting does not yet influence C<decode> in any way, but in the 504If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will not consider
518future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are 505this type of conversion.
519enabled by this setting.
520 506
521If C<$enable> is false, then the C<allow_blessed> setting will decide what 507This setting has no effect on C<decode>.
522to do when a blessed object is found. 508
509=item $json = $json->allow_tags ([$enable])
510
511=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_tags
512
513See L<OBJECT SERIALISATION> for details.
514
515If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a
516blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<FREEZE> method on
517the object's class. If found, it will be used to serialise the object into
518a nonstandard tagged JSON value (that JSON decoders cannot decode).
519
520It also causes C<decode> to parse such tagged JSON values and deserialise
521them via a call to the C<THAW> method.
522
523If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will not consider
524this type of conversion, and tagged JSON values will cause a parse error
525in C<decode>, as if tags were not part of the grammar.
523 526
524=item $json = $json->filter_json_object ([$coderef->($hashref)]) 527=item $json = $json->filter_json_object ([$coderef->($hashref)])
525 528
526When C<$coderef> is specified, it will be called from C<decode> each 529When C<$coderef> is specified, it will be called from C<decode> each
527time it decodes a JSON object. The only argument is a reference to the 530time it decodes a JSON object. The only argument is a reference to
528newly-created hash. If the code references returns a single scalar (which 531the newly-created hash. If the code reference returns a single scalar
529need not be a reference), this value (i.e. a copy of that scalar to avoid 532(which need not be a reference), this value (or rather a copy of it) is
530aliasing) is inserted into the deserialised data structure. If it returns 533inserted into the deserialised data structure. If it returns an empty
531an empty list (NOTE: I<not> C<undef>, which is a valid scalar), the 534list (NOTE: I<not> C<undef>, which is a valid scalar), the original
532original deserialised hash will be inserted. This setting can slow down 535deserialised hash will be inserted. This setting can slow down decoding
533decoding considerably. 536considerably.
534 537
535When C<$coderef> is omitted or undefined, any existing callback will 538When C<$coderef> is omitted or undefined, any existing callback will
536be removed and C<decode> will not change the deserialised hash in any 539be removed and C<decode> will not change the deserialised hash in any
537way. 540way.
538 541
628=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth]) 631=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])
629 632
630=item $max_depth = $json->get_max_depth 633=item $max_depth = $json->get_max_depth
631 634
632Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding 635Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding
633or decoding. If the JSON text or Perl data structure has an equal or 636or decoding. If a higher nesting level is detected in JSON text or a Perl
634higher nesting level then this limit, then the encoder and decoder will 637data structure, then the encoder and decoder will stop and croak at that
635stop and croak at that point. 638point.
636 639
637Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder 640Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder
638needs to traverse to reach a given point or the number of C<{> or C<[> 641needs to traverse to reach a given point or the number of C<{> or C<[>
639characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a 642characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a
640given character in a string. 643given character in a string.
641 644
642Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures 645Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures
643that the object is only a single hash/object or array. 646that the object is only a single hash/object or array.
644 647
645The argument to C<max_depth> will be rounded up to the next highest power
646of two. If no argument is given, the highest possible setting will be 648If no argument is given, the highest possible setting will be used, which
647used, which is rarely useful. 649is rarely useful.
650
651Note that nesting is implemented by recursion in C. The default value has
652been chosen to be as large as typical operating systems allow without
653crashing.
648 654
649See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful. 655See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
650 656
651=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size]) 657=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size])
652 658
653=item $max_size = $json->get_max_size 659=item $max_size = $json->get_max_size
654 660
655Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where decoding is 661Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where decoding is
656being attempted. The default is C<0>, meaning no limit. When C<decode> 662being attempted. The default is C<0>, meaning no limit. When C<decode>
657is called on a string longer then this number of characters it will not 663is called on a string that is longer then this many bytes, it will not
658attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no 664attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no
659effect on C<encode> (yet). 665effect on C<encode> (yet).
660 666
661The argument to C<max_size> will be rounded up to the next B<highest> 667If no argument is given, the limit check will be deactivated (same as when
662power of two (so may be more than requested). If no argument is given, the 668C<0> is specified).
663limit check will be deactivated (same as when C<0> is specified).
664 669
665See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful. 670See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
666 671
667=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar) 672=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar)
668 673
669Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference 674Converts the given Perl value or data structure to its JSON
670to a hash or array) to its JSON representation. Simple scalars will be 675representation. Croaks on error.
671converted into JSON string or number sequences, while references to arrays
672become JSON arrays and references to hashes become JSON objects. Undefined
673Perl values (e.g. C<undef>) become JSON C<null> values. Neither C<true>
674nor C<false> values will be generated.
675 676
676=item $perl_scalar = $json->decode ($json_text) 677=item $perl_scalar = $json->decode ($json_text)
677 678
678The opposite of C<encode>: expects a JSON text and tries to parse it, 679The opposite of C<encode>: expects a JSON text and tries to parse it,
679returning the resulting simple scalar or reference. Croaks on error. 680returning the resulting simple scalar or reference. Croaks on error.
680
681JSON numbers and strings become simple Perl scalars. JSON arrays become
682Perl arrayrefs and JSON objects become Perl hashrefs. C<true> becomes
683C<1>, C<false> becomes C<0> and C<null> becomes C<undef>.
684 681
685=item ($perl_scalar, $characters) = $json->decode_prefix ($json_text) 682=item ($perl_scalar, $characters) = $json->decode_prefix ($json_text)
686 683
687This works like the C<decode> method, but instead of raising an exception 684This works like the C<decode> method, but instead of raising an exception
688when there is trailing garbage after the first JSON object, it will 685when there is trailing garbage after the first JSON object, it will
689silently stop parsing there and return the number of characters consumed 686silently stop parsing there and return the number of characters consumed
690so far. 687so far.
691 688
692This is useful if your JSON texts are not delimited by an outer protocol 689This is useful if your JSON texts are not delimited by an outer protocol
693(which is not the brightest thing to do in the first place) and you need
694to know where the JSON text ends. 690and you need to know where the JSON text ends.
695 691
696 JSON::XS->new->decode_prefix ("[1] the tail") 692 JSON::XS->new->decode_prefix ("[1] the tail")
697 => ([], 3) 693 => ([1], 3)
698 694
699=back 695=back
700 696
701 697
702=head1 INCREMENTAL PARSING 698=head1 INCREMENTAL PARSING
703
704[This section and the API it details is still EXPERIMENTAL]
705 699
706In some cases, there is the need for incremental parsing of JSON 700In some cases, there is the need for incremental parsing of JSON
707texts. While this module always has to keep both JSON text and resulting 701texts. While this module always has to keep both JSON text and resulting
708Perl data structure in memory at one time, it does allow you to parse a 702Perl data structure in memory at one time, it does allow you to parse a
709JSON stream incrementally. It does so by accumulating text until it has 703JSON stream incrementally. It does so by accumulating text until it has
710a full JSON object, which it then can decode. This process is similar to 704a full JSON object, which it then can decode. This process is similar to
711using C<decode_prefix> to see if a full JSON object is available, but is 705using C<decode_prefix> to see if a full JSON object is available, but
712much more efficient (JSON::XS will only attempt to parse the JSON text 706is much more efficient (and can be implemented with a minimum of method
707calls).
708
709JSON::XS will only attempt to parse the JSON text once it is sure it
713once it is sure it has enough text to get a decisive result, using a very 710has enough text to get a decisive result, using a very simple but
714simple but truly incremental parser). 711truly incremental parser. This means that it sometimes won't stop as
712early as the full parser, for example, it doesn't detect mismatched
713parentheses. The only thing it guarantees is that it starts decoding as
714soon as a syntactically valid JSON text has been seen. This means you need
715to set resource limits (e.g. C<max_size>) to ensure the parser will stop
716parsing in the presence if syntax errors.
715 717
716The following two methods deal with this. 718The following methods implement this incremental parser.
717 719
718=over 4 720=over
719 721
720=item [void, scalar or list context] = $json->incr_parse ([$string]) 722=item [void, scalar or list context] = $json->incr_parse ([$string])
721 723
722This is the central parsing function. It can both append new text and 724This is the central parsing function. It can both append new text and
723extract objects from the stream accumulated so far (both of these 725extract objects from the stream accumulated so far (both of these
732 734
733If the method is called in scalar context, then it will try to extract 735If the method is called in scalar context, then it will try to extract
734exactly I<one> JSON object. If that is successful, it will return this 736exactly I<one> JSON object. If that is successful, it will return this
735object, otherwise it will return C<undef>. If there is a parse error, 737object, otherwise it will return C<undef>. If there is a parse error,
736this method will croak just as C<decode> would do (one can then use 738this method will croak just as C<decode> would do (one can then use
737C<incr_skip> to skip the errornous part). This is the most common way of 739C<incr_skip> to skip the erroneous part). This is the most common way of
738using the method. 740using the method.
739 741
740And finally, in list context, it will try to extract as many objects 742And finally, in list context, it will try to extract as many objects
741from the stream as it can find and return them, or the empty list 743from the stream as it can find and return them, or the empty list
742otherwise. For this to work, there must be no separators between the JSON 744otherwise. For this to work, there must be no separators (other than
743objects or arrays, instead they must be concatenated back-to-back. If 745whitespace) between the JSON objects or arrays, instead they must be
744an error occurs, an exception will be raised as in the scalar context 746concatenated back-to-back. If an error occurs, an exception will be
745case. Note that in this case, any previously-parsed JSON texts will be 747raised as in the scalar context case. Note that in this case, any
746lost. 748previously-parsed JSON texts will be lost.
749
750Example: Parse some JSON arrays/objects in a given string and return
751them.
752
753 my @objs = JSON::XS->new->incr_parse ("[5][7][1,2]");
747 754
748=item $lvalue_string = $json->incr_text 755=item $lvalue_string = $json->incr_text
749 756
750This method returns the currently stored JSON fragment as an lvalue, that 757This method returns the currently stored JSON fragment as an lvalue, that
751is, you can manipulate it. This I<only> works when a preceding call to 758is, you can manipulate it. This I<only> works when a preceding call to
753all other circumstances you must not call this function (I mean it. 760all other circumstances you must not call this function (I mean it.
754although in simple tests it might actually work, it I<will> fail under 761although in simple tests it might actually work, it I<will> fail under
755real world conditions). As a special exception, you can also call this 762real world conditions). As a special exception, you can also call this
756method before having parsed anything. 763method before having parsed anything.
757 764
765That means you can only use this function to look at or manipulate text
766before or after complete JSON objects, not while the parser is in the
767middle of parsing a JSON object.
768
758This function is useful in two cases: a) finding the trailing text after a 769This function is useful in two cases: a) finding the trailing text after a
759JSON object or b) parsing multiple JSON objects separated by non-JSON text 770JSON object or b) parsing multiple JSON objects separated by non-JSON text
760(such as commas). 771(such as commas).
761 772
762=item $json->incr_skip 773=item $json->incr_skip
763 774
764This will reset the state of the incremental parser and will remove the 775This will reset the state of the incremental parser and will remove
765parsed text from the input buffer. This is useful after C<incr_parse> 776the parsed text from the input buffer so far. This is useful after
766died, in which case the input buffer and incremental parser state is left 777C<incr_parse> died, in which case the input buffer and incremental parser
767unchanged, to skip the text parsed so far and to reset the parse state. 778state is left unchanged, to skip the text parsed so far and to reset the
779parse state.
780
781The difference to C<incr_reset> is that only text until the parse error
782occurred is removed.
783
784=item $json->incr_reset
785
786This completely resets the incremental parser, that is, after this call,
787it will be as if the parser had never parsed anything.
788
789This is useful if you want to repeatedly parse JSON objects and want to
790ignore any trailing data, which means you have to reset the parser after
791each successful decode.
768 792
769=back 793=back
770 794
771=head2 LIMITATIONS 795=head2 LIMITATIONS
772 796
773All options that affect decoding are supported, except 797The incremental parser is a non-exact parser: it works by gathering as
774C<allow_nonref>. The reason for this is that it cannot be made to 798much text as possible that I<could> be a valid JSON text, followed by
775work sensibly: JSON objects and arrays are self-delimited, i.e. you can concatenate 799trying to decode it.
776them back to back and still decode them perfectly. This does not hold true
777for JSON numbers, however.
778 800
779For example, is the string C<1> a single JSON number, or is it simply the 801That means it sometimes needs to read more data than strictly necessary to
780start of C<12>? Or is C<12> a single JSON number, or the concatenation 802diagnose an invalid JSON text. For example, after parsing the following
781of C<1> and C<2>? In neither case you can tell, and this is why JSON::XS 803fragment, the parser I<could> stop with an error, as this fragment
782takes the conservative route and disallows this case. 804I<cannot> be the beginning of a valid JSON text:
805
806 [,
807
808In reality, hopwever, the parser might continue to read data until a
809length limit is exceeded or it finds a closing bracket.
783 810
784=head2 EXAMPLES 811=head2 EXAMPLES
785 812
786Some examples will make all this clearer. First, a simple example that 813Some examples will make all this clearer. First, a simple example that
787works similarly to C<decode_prefix>: We want to decode the JSON object at 814works similarly to C<decode_prefix>: We want to decode the JSON object at
931refers to the abstract Perl language itself. 958refers to the abstract Perl language itself.
932 959
933 960
934=head2 JSON -> PERL 961=head2 JSON -> PERL
935 962
936=over 4 963=over
937 964
938=item object 965=item object
939 966
940A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object 967A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object
941keys is preserved (JSON does not preserve object key ordering itself). 968keys is preserved (JSON does not preserve object key ordering itself).
961If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent 988If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent
962it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as 989it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as
963a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of 990a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of
964precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value (in 991precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value (in
965which case you lose roundtripping ability, as the JSON number will be 992which case you lose roundtripping ability, as the JSON number will be
966re-encoded toa JSON string). 993re-encoded to a JSON string).
967 994
968Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be 995Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be
969represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of 996represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of
970precision (in which case you might lose perfect roundtripping ability, but 997precision (in which case you might lose perfect roundtripping ability, but
971the JSON number will still be re-encoded as a JSON number). 998the JSON number will still be re-encoded as a JSON number).
972 999
1000Note that precision is not accuracy - binary floating point values cannot
1001represent most decimal fractions exactly, and when converting from and to
1002floating point, JSON::XS only guarantees precision up to but not including
1003the least significant bit.
1004
973=item true, false 1005=item true, false
974 1006
975These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>, 1007These JSON atoms become C<Types::Serialiser::true> and
976respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers 1008C<Types::Serialiser::false>, respectively. They are overloaded to act
977C<1> and C<0>. You can check whether a scalar is a JSON boolean by using 1009almost exactly like the numbers C<1> and C<0>. You can check whether
978the C<JSON::XS::is_bool> function. 1010a scalar is a JSON boolean by using the C<Types::Serialiser::is_bool>
1011function (after C<use Types::Serialier>, of course).
979 1012
980=item null 1013=item null
981 1014
982A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl. 1015A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl.
1016
1017=item shell-style comments (C<< # I<text> >>)
1018
1019As a nonstandard extension to the JSON syntax that is enabled by the
1020C<relaxed> setting, shell-style comments are allowed. They can start
1021anywhere outside strings and go till the end of the line.
1022
1023=item tagged values (C<< (I<tag>)I<value> >>).
1024
1025Another nonstandard extension to the JSON syntax, enabled with the
1026C<allow_tags> setting, are tagged values. In this implementation, the
1027I<tag> must be a perl package/class name encoded as a JSON string, and the
1028I<value> must be a JSON array encoding optional constructor arguments.
1029
1030See L<OBJECT SERIALISATION>, below, for details.
983 1031
984=back 1032=back
985 1033
986 1034
987=head2 PERL -> JSON 1035=head2 PERL -> JSON
988 1036
989The mapping from Perl to JSON is slightly more difficult, as Perl is a 1037The mapping from Perl to JSON is slightly more difficult, as Perl is a
990truly typeless language, so we can only guess which JSON type is meant by 1038truly typeless language, so we can only guess which JSON type is meant by
991a Perl value. 1039a Perl value.
992 1040
993=over 4 1041=over
994 1042
995=item hash references 1043=item hash references
996 1044
997Perl hash references become JSON objects. As there is no inherent ordering 1045Perl hash references become JSON objects. As there is no inherent
998in hash keys (or JSON objects), they will usually be encoded in a 1046ordering in hash keys (or JSON objects), they will usually be encoded
999pseudo-random order that can change between runs of the same program but 1047in a pseudo-random order. JSON::XS can optionally sort the hash keys
1000stays generally the same within a single run of a program. JSON::XS can 1048(determined by the I<canonical> flag), so the same datastructure will
1001optionally sort the hash keys (determined by the I<canonical> flag), so 1049serialise to the same JSON text (given same settings and version of
1002the same datastructure will serialise to the same JSON text (given same 1050JSON::XS), but this incurs a runtime overhead and is only rarely useful,
1003settings and version of JSON::XS), but this incurs a runtime overhead 1051e.g. when you want to compare some JSON text against another for equality.
1004and is only rarely useful, e.g. when you want to compare some JSON text
1005against another for equality.
1006 1052
1007=item array references 1053=item array references
1008 1054
1009Perl array references become JSON arrays. 1055Perl array references become JSON arrays.
1010 1056
1011=item other references 1057=item other references
1012 1058
1013Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an 1059Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an
1014exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and 1060exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and
1015C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can 1061C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON.
1016also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability.
1017 1062
1063Since C<JSON::XS> uses the boolean model from L<Types::Serialiser>, you
1064can also C<use Types::Serialiser> and then use C<Types::Serialiser::false>
1065and C<Types::Serialiser::true> to improve readability.
1066
1067 use Types::Serialiser;
1018 encode_json [\0,JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true] 1068 encode_json [\0, Types::Serialiser::true] # yields [false,true]
1019 1069
1020=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false 1070=item Types::Serialiser::true, Types::Serialiser::false
1021 1071
1022These special values become JSON true and JSON false values, 1072These special values from the L<Types::Serialiser> module become JSON true
1023respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want. 1073and JSON false values, respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0>
1074directly if you want.
1024 1075
1025=item blessed objects 1076=item blessed objects
1026 1077
1027Blessed objects are not directly representable in JSON. See the 1078Blessed objects are not directly representable in JSON, but C<JSON::XS>
1028C<allow_blessed> and C<convert_blessed> methods on various options on 1079allows various ways of handling objects. See L<OBJECT SERIALISATION>,
1029how to deal with this: basically, you can choose between throwing an 1080below, for details.
1030exception, encoding the reference as if it weren't blessed, or provide
1031your own serialiser method.
1032 1081
1033=item simple scalars 1082=item simple scalars
1034 1083
1035Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most 1084Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most
1036difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as 1085difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as
1064 1113
1065You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me 1114You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me
1066if you need this capability (but don't forget to explain why it's needed 1115if you need this capability (but don't forget to explain why it's needed
1067:). 1116:).
1068 1117
1118Note that numerical precision has the same meaning as under Perl (so
1119binary to decimal conversion follows the same rules as in Perl, which
1120can differ to other languages). Also, your perl interpreter might expose
1121extensions to the floating point numbers of your platform, such as
1122infinities or NaN's - these cannot be represented in JSON, and it is an
1123error to pass those in.
1124
1069=back 1125=back
1126
1127=head2 OBJECT SERIALISATION
1128
1129As JSON cannot directly represent Perl objects, you have to choose between
1130a pure JSON representation (without the ability to deserialise the object
1131automatically again), and a nonstandard extension to the JSON syntax,
1132tagged values.
1133
1134=head3 SERIALISATION
1135
1136What happens when C<JSON::XS> encounters a Perl object depends on the
1137C<allow_blessed>, C<convert_blessed> and C<allow_tags> settings, which are
1138used in this order:
1139
1140=over
1141
1142=item 1. C<allow_tags> is enabled and the object has a C<FREEZE> method.
1143
1144In this case, C<JSON::XS> uses the L<Types::Serialiser> object
1145serialisation protocol to create a tagged JSON value, using a nonstandard
1146extension to the JSON syntax.
1147
1148This works by invoking the C<FREEZE> method on the object, with the first
1149argument being the object to serialise, and the second argument being the
1150constant string C<JSON> to distinguish it from other serialisers.
1151
1152The C<FREEZE> method can return any number of values (i.e. zero or
1153more). These values and the paclkage/classname of the object will then be
1154encoded as a tagged JSON value in the following format:
1155
1156 ("classname")[FREEZE return values...]
1157
1158e.g.:
1159
1160 ("URI")["http://www.google.com/"]
1161 ("MyDate")[2013,10,29]
1162 ("ImageData::JPEG")["Z3...VlCg=="]
1163
1164For example, the hypothetical C<My::Object> C<FREEZE> method might use the
1165objects C<type> and C<id> members to encode the object:
1166
1167 sub My::Object::FREEZE {
1168 my ($self, $serialiser) = @_;
1169
1170 ($self->{type}, $self->{id})
1171 }
1172
1173=item 2. C<convert_blessed> is enabled and the object has a C<TO_JSON> method.
1174
1175In this case, the C<TO_JSON> method of the object is invoked in scalar
1176context. It must return a single scalar that can be directly encoded into
1177JSON. This scalar replaces the object in the JSON text.
1178
1179For example, the following C<TO_JSON> method will convert all L<URI>
1180objects to JSON strings when serialised. The fatc that these values
1181originally were L<URI> objects is lost.
1182
1183 sub URI::TO_JSON {
1184 my ($uri) = @_;
1185 $uri->as_string
1186 }
1187
1188=item 3. C<allow_blessed> is enabled.
1189
1190The object will be serialised as a JSON null value.
1191
1192=item 4. none of the above
1193
1194If none of the settings are enabled or the respective methods are missing,
1195C<JSON::XS> throws an exception.
1196
1197=back
1198
1199=head3 DESERIALISATION
1200
1201For deserialisation there are only two cases to consider: either
1202nonstandard tagging was used, in which case C<allow_tags> decides,
1203or objects cannot be automatically be deserialised, in which
1204case you can use postprocessing or the C<filter_json_object> or
1205C<filter_json_single_key_object> callbacks to get some real objects our of
1206your JSON.
1207
1208This section only considers the tagged value case: I a tagged JSON object
1209is encountered during decoding and C<allow_tags> is disabled, a parse
1210error will result (as if tagged values were not part of the grammar).
1211
1212If C<allow_tags> is enabled, C<JSON::XS> will look up the C<THAW> method
1213of the package/classname used during serialisation (it will not attempt
1214to load the package as a Perl module). If there is no such method, the
1215decoding will fail with an error.
1216
1217Otherwise, the C<THAW> method is invoked with the classname as first
1218argument, the constant string C<JSON> as second argument, and all the
1219values from the JSON array (the values originally returned by the
1220C<FREEZE> method) as remaining arguments.
1221
1222The method must then return the object. While technically you can return
1223any Perl scalar, you might have to enable the C<enable_nonref> setting to
1224make that work in all cases, so better return an actual blessed reference.
1225
1226As an example, let's implement a C<THAW> function that regenerates the
1227C<My::Object> from the C<FREEZE> example earlier:
1228
1229 sub My::Object::THAW {
1230 my ($class, $serialiser, $type, $id) = @_;
1231
1232 $class->new (type => $type, id => $id)
1233 }
1070 1234
1071 1235
1072=head1 ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES 1236=head1 ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES
1073 1237
1074The interested reader might have seen a number of flags that signify 1238The interested reader might have seen a number of flags that signify
1092takes those codepoint numbers and I<encodes> them, in our case into 1256takes those codepoint numbers and I<encodes> them, in our case into
1093octets. Unicode is (among other things) a codeset, UTF-8 is an encoding, 1257octets. Unicode is (among other things) a codeset, UTF-8 is an encoding,
1094and ISO-8859-1 (= latin 1) and ASCII are both codesets I<and> encodings at 1258and ISO-8859-1 (= latin 1) and ASCII are both codesets I<and> encodings at
1095the same time, which can be confusing. 1259the same time, which can be confusing.
1096 1260
1097=over 4 1261=over
1098 1262
1099=item C<utf8> flag disabled 1263=item C<utf8> flag disabled
1100 1264
1101When C<utf8> is disabled (the default), then C<encode>/C<decode> generate 1265When C<utf8> is disabled (the default), then C<encode>/C<decode> generate
1102and expect Unicode strings, that is, characters with high ordinal Unicode 1266and expect Unicode strings, that is, characters with high ordinal Unicode
1103values (> 255) will be encoded as such characters, and likewise such 1267values (> 255) will be encoded as such characters, and likewise such
1104characters are decoded as-is, no canges to them will be done, except 1268characters are decoded as-is, no changes to them will be done, except
1105"(re-)interpreting" them as Unicode codepoints or Unicode characters, 1269"(re-)interpreting" them as Unicode codepoints or Unicode characters,
1106respectively (to Perl, these are the same thing in strings unless you do 1270respectively (to Perl, these are the same thing in strings unless you do
1107funny/weird/dumb stuff). 1271funny/weird/dumb stuff).
1108 1272
1109This is useful when you want to do the encoding yourself (e.g. when you 1273This is useful when you want to do the encoding yourself (e.g. when you
1119expect your input strings to be encoded as UTF-8, that is, no "character" 1283expect your input strings to be encoded as UTF-8, that is, no "character"
1120of the input string must have any value > 255, as UTF-8 does not allow 1284of the input string must have any value > 255, as UTF-8 does not allow
1121that. 1285that.
1122 1286
1123The C<utf8> flag therefore switches between two modes: disabled means you 1287The C<utf8> flag therefore switches between two modes: disabled means you
1124will get a Unicode string in Perl, enabled means you get an UTF-8 encoded 1288will get a Unicode string in Perl, enabled means you get a UTF-8 encoded
1125octet/binary string in Perl. 1289octet/binary string in Perl.
1126 1290
1127=item C<latin1> or C<ascii> flags enabled 1291=item C<latin1> or C<ascii> flags enabled
1128 1292
1129With C<latin1> (or C<ascii>) enabled, C<encode> will escape characters 1293With C<latin1> (or C<ascii>) enabled, C<encode> will escape characters
1165proper subset of most 8-bit and multibyte encodings in use in the world. 1329proper subset of most 8-bit and multibyte encodings in use in the world.
1166 1330
1167=back 1331=back
1168 1332
1169 1333
1334=head2 JSON and ECMAscript
1335
1336JSON syntax is based on how literals are represented in javascript (the
1337not-standardised predecessor of ECMAscript) which is presumably why it is
1338called "JavaScript Object Notation".
1339
1340However, JSON is not a subset (and also not a superset of course) of
1341ECMAscript (the standard) or javascript (whatever browsers actually
1342implement).
1343
1344If you want to use javascript's C<eval> function to "parse" JSON, you
1345might run into parse errors for valid JSON texts, or the resulting data
1346structure might not be queryable:
1347
1348One of the problems is that U+2028 and U+2029 are valid characters inside
1349JSON strings, but are not allowed in ECMAscript string literals, so the
1350following Perl fragment will not output something that can be guaranteed
1351to be parsable by javascript's C<eval>:
1352
1353 use JSON::XS;
1354
1355 print encode_json [chr 0x2028];
1356
1357The right fix for this is to use a proper JSON parser in your javascript
1358programs, and not rely on C<eval> (see for example Douglas Crockford's
1359F<json2.js> parser).
1360
1361If this is not an option, you can, as a stop-gap measure, simply encode to
1362ASCII-only JSON:
1363
1364 use JSON::XS;
1365
1366 print JSON::XS->new->ascii->encode ([chr 0x2028]);
1367
1368Note that this will enlarge the resulting JSON text quite a bit if you
1369have many non-ASCII characters. You might be tempted to run some regexes
1370to only escape U+2028 and U+2029, e.g.:
1371
1372 # DO NOT USE THIS!
1373 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ([chr 0x2028]);
1374 $json =~ s/\xe2\x80\xa8/\\u2028/g; # escape U+2028
1375 $json =~ s/\xe2\x80\xa9/\\u2029/g; # escape U+2029
1376 print $json;
1377
1378Note that I<this is a bad idea>: the above only works for U+2028 and
1379U+2029 and thus only for fully ECMAscript-compliant parsers. Many existing
1380javascript implementations, however, have issues with other characters as
1381well - using C<eval> naively simply I<will> cause problems.
1382
1383Another problem is that some javascript implementations reserve
1384some property names for their own purposes (which probably makes
1385them non-ECMAscript-compliant). For example, Iceweasel reserves the
1386C<__proto__> property name for its own purposes.
1387
1388If that is a problem, you could parse try to filter the resulting JSON
1389output for these property strings, e.g.:
1390
1391 $json =~ s/"__proto__"\s*:/"__proto__renamed":/g;
1392
1393This works because C<__proto__> is not valid outside of strings, so every
1394occurrence of C<"__proto__"\s*:> must be a string used as property name.
1395
1396If you know of other incompatibilities, please let me know.
1397
1398
1170=head2 JSON and YAML 1399=head2 JSON and YAML
1171 1400
1172You often hear that JSON is a subset of YAML. This is, however, a mass 1401You often hear that JSON is a subset of YAML. This is, however, a mass
1173hysteria(*) and very far from the truth (as of the time of this writing), 1402hysteria(*) and very far from the truth (as of the time of this writing),
1174so let me state it clearly: I<in general, there is no way to configure 1403so let me state it clearly: I<in general, there is no way to configure
1182 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n"; 1411 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n";
1183 1412
1184This will I<usually> generate JSON texts that also parse as valid 1413This will I<usually> generate JSON texts that also parse as valid
1185YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key 1414YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key
1186lengths that JSON doesn't have and also has different and incompatible 1415lengths that JSON doesn't have and also has different and incompatible
1187unicode handling, so you should make sure that your hash keys are 1416unicode character escape syntax, so you should make sure that your hash
1188noticeably shorter than the 1024 "stream characters" YAML allows and that 1417keys are noticeably shorter than the 1024 "stream characters" YAML allows
1189you do not have characters with codepoint values outside the Unicode BMP 1418and that you do not have characters with codepoint values outside the
1190(basic multilingual page). YAML also does not allow C<\/> sequences in 1419Unicode BMP (basic multilingual page). YAML also does not allow C<\/>
1191strings (which JSON::XS does not I<currently> generate, but other JSON 1420sequences in strings (which JSON::XS does not I<currently> generate, but
1192generators might). 1421other JSON generators might).
1193 1422
1194There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of (or the YAML 1423There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of (or the YAML
1195specification has been changed yet again - it does so quite often). In 1424specification has been changed yet again - it does so quite often). In
1196general you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice 1425general you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice
1197versa, or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are 1426versa, or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are
1198high that you will run into severe interoperability problems when you 1427high that you will run into severe interoperability problems when you
1199least expect it. 1428least expect it.
1200 1429
1201=over 4 1430=over
1202 1431
1203=item (*) 1432=item (*)
1204 1433
1205I have been pressured multiple times by Brian Ingerson (one of the 1434I have been pressured multiple times by Brian Ingerson (one of the
1206authors of the YAML specification) to remove this paragraph, despite him 1435authors of the YAML specification) to remove this paragraph, despite him
1216that difficult or long) and finally make YAML compatible to it, and 1445that difficult or long) and finally make YAML compatible to it, and
1217educating users about the changes, instead of spreading lies about the 1446educating users about the changes, instead of spreading lies about the
1218real compatibility for many I<years> and trying to silence people who 1447real compatibility for many I<years> and trying to silence people who
1219point out that it isn't true. 1448point out that it isn't true.
1220 1449
1450Addendum/2009: the YAML 1.2 spec is still incompatible with JSON, even
1451though the incompatibilities have been documented (and are known to Brian)
1452for many years and the spec makes explicit claims that YAML is a superset
1453of JSON. It would be so easy to fix, but apparently, bullying people and
1454corrupting userdata is so much easier.
1455
1221=back 1456=back
1222 1457
1223 1458
1224=head2 SPEED 1459=head2 SPEED
1225 1460
1232a very short single-line JSON string (also available at 1467a very short single-line JSON string (also available at
1233L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/short.json>). 1468L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/short.json>).
1234 1469
1235 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", 1470 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1",
1236 "we were just talking"], "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7, 1471 "we were just talking"], "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7,
1237 true, false]} 1472 1, 0]}
1238 1473
1239It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses 1474It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses
1240the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface 1475the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface
1241with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables 1476with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables
1242shrink). Higher is better: 1477shrink. JSON::DWIW/DS uses the deserialise function, while JSON::DWIW::FJ
1478uses the from_json method). Higher is better:
1243 1479
1244 module | encode | decode | 1480 module | encode | decode |
1245 -----------|------------|------------| 1481 --------------|------------|------------|
1246 JSON 1.x | 4990.842 | 4088.813 | 1482 JSON::DWIW/DS | 86302.551 | 102300.098 |
1247 JSON::DWIW | 51653.990 | 71575.154 | 1483 JSON::DWIW/FJ | 86302.551 | 75983.768 |
1248 JSON::PC | 65948.176 | 74631.744 | 1484 JSON::PP | 15827.562 | 6638.658 |
1249 JSON::PP | 8931.652 | 3817.168 | 1485 JSON::Syck | 63358.066 | 47662.545 |
1250 JSON::Syck | 24877.248 | 27776.848 | 1486 JSON::XS | 511500.488 | 511500.488 |
1251 JSON::XS | 388361.481 | 227951.304 | 1487 JSON::XS/2 | 291271.111 | 388361.481 |
1252 JSON::XS/2 | 227951.304 | 218453.333 | 1488 JSON::XS/3 | 361577.931 | 361577.931 |
1253 JSON::XS/3 | 338250.323 | 218453.333 | 1489 Storable | 66788.280 | 265462.278 |
1254 Storable | 16500.016 | 135300.129 |
1255 -----------+------------+------------+ 1490 --------------+------------+------------+
1256 1491
1257That is, JSON::XS is about five times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding, 1492That is, JSON::XS is almost six times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding,
1258about three times faster on decoding, and over forty times faster 1493about five times faster on decoding, and over thirty to seventy times
1259than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares 1494faster than JSON's pure perl implementation. It also compares favourably
1260favourably to Storable for small amounts of data. 1495to Storable for small amounts of data.
1261 1496
1262Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals 1497Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals
1263search API (L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/long.json>). 1498search API (L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/long.json>).
1264 1499
1265 module | encode | decode | 1500 module | encode | decode |
1266 -----------|------------|------------| 1501 --------------|------------|------------|
1267 JSON 1.x | 55.260 | 34.971 | 1502 JSON::DWIW/DS | 1647.927 | 2673.916 |
1268 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 | 1503 JSON::DWIW/FJ | 1630.249 | 2596.128 |
1269 JSON::PC | 3571.444 | 2394.829 |
1270 JSON::PP | 210.987 | 32.574 | 1504 JSON::PP | 400.640 | 62.311 |
1271 JSON::Syck | 552.551 | 787.544 | 1505 JSON::Syck | 1481.040 | 1524.869 |
1272 JSON::XS | 5780.463 | 4854.519 | 1506 JSON::XS | 20661.596 | 9541.183 |
1273 JSON::XS/2 | 3869.998 | 4798.975 | 1507 JSON::XS/2 | 10683.403 | 9416.938 |
1274 JSON::XS/3 | 5862.880 | 4798.975 | 1508 JSON::XS/3 | 20661.596 | 9400.054 |
1275 Storable | 4445.002 | 5235.027 | 1509 Storable | 19765.806 | 10000.725 |
1276 -----------+------------+------------+ 1510 --------------+------------+------------+
1277 1511
1278Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly 1512Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly
1279decodes faster). 1513decodes a bit faster).
1280 1514
1281On large strings containing lots of high Unicode characters, some modules 1515On large strings containing lots of high Unicode characters, some modules
1282(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result 1516(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result
1283will be broken due to missing (or wrong) Unicode handling. Others refuse 1517will be broken due to missing (or wrong) Unicode handling. Others refuse
1284to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair 1518to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair
1320information you might want to make sure that exceptions thrown by JSON::XS 1554information you might want to make sure that exceptions thrown by JSON::XS
1321will not end up in front of untrusted eyes. 1555will not end up in front of untrusted eyes.
1322 1556
1323If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption 1557If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption
1324by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at 1558by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at
1325L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see whether 1559L<http://blog.archive.jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security/> to
1326you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser 1560see whether you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really
1327design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it, as major 1561are browser design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with
1328browser developers care only for features, not about getting security 1562it, as major browser developers care only for features, not about getting
1329right). 1563security right).
1330 1564
1331 1565
1566=head2 "OLD" VS. "NEW" JSON (RFC4627 VS. RFC7159)
1567
1568JSON originally required JSON texts to represent an array or object -
1569scalar values were explicitly not allowed. This has changed, and versions
1570of JSON::XS beginning with C<4.0> reflect this by allowing scalar values
1571by default.
1572
1573One reason why one might not want this is that this removes a fundamental
1574property of JSON texts, namely that they are self-delimited and
1575self-contained, or in other words, you could take any number of "old"
1576JSON texts and paste them together, and the result would be unambiguously
1577parseable:
1578
1579 [1,3]{"k":5}[][null] # four JSON texts, without doubt
1580
1581By allowing scalars, this property is lost: in the following example, is
1582this one JSON text (the number 12) or two JSON texts (the numbers 1 and
15832):
1584
1585 12 # could be 12, or 1 and 2
1586
1587Another lost property of "old" JSON is that no lookahead is required to
1588know the end of a JSON text, i.e. the JSON text definitely ended at the
1589last C<]> or C<}> character, there was no need to read extra characters.
1590
1591For example, a viable network protocol with "old" JSON was to simply
1592exchange JSON texts without delimiter. For "new" JSON, you have to use a
1593suitable delimiter (such as a newline) after every JSON text or ensure you
1594never encode/decode scalar values.
1595
1596Most protocols do work by only transferring arrays or objects, and the
1597easiest way to avoid problems with the "new" JSON definition is to
1598explicitly disallow scalar values in your encoder and decoder:
1599
1600 $json_coder = JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref (0)
1601
1602This is a somewhat unhappy situation, and the blame can fully be put on
1603JSON's inmventor, Douglas Crockford, who unilaterally changed the format
1604in 2006 without consulting the IETF, forcing the IETF to either fork the
1605format or go with it (as I was told, the IETF wasn't amused).
1606
1607
1608=head1 RELATIONSHIP WITH I-JSON
1609
1610JSON is a somewhat sloppily-defined format - it carries around obvious
1611Javascript baggage, such as not really defining number range, probably
1612because Javascript only has one type of numbers: IEEE 64 bit floats
1613("binary64").
1614
1615For this reaosn, RFC7493 defines "Internet JSON", which is a restricted
1616subset of JSON that is supposedly more interoperable on the internet.
1617
1618While C<JSON::XS> does not offer specific support for I-JSON, it of course
1619accepts valid I-JSON and by default implements some of the limitations
1620of I-JSON, such as parsing numbers as perl numbers, which are usually a
1621superset of binary64 numbers.
1622
1623To generate I-JSON, follow these rules:
1624
1625=over
1626
1627=item * always generate UTF-8
1628
1629I-JSON must be encoded in UTF-8, the default for C<encode_json>.
1630
1631=item * numbers should be within IEEE 754 binary64 range
1632
1633Basically all existing perl installations use binary64 to represent
1634floating point numbers, so all you need to do is to avoid large integers.
1635
1636=item * objects must not have duplicate keys
1637
1638This is trivially done, as C<JSON::XS> does not allow duplicate keys.
1639
1640=item * do not generate scalar JSON texts, use C<< ->allow_nonref (0) >>
1641
1642I-JSON strongly requests you to only encode arrays and objects into JSON.
1643
1644=item * times should be strings in ISO 8601 format
1645
1646There are a myriad of modules on CPAN dealing with ISO 8601 - search for
1647C<ISO8601> on CPAN and use one.
1648
1649=item * encode binary data as base64
1650
1651While it's tempting to just dump binary data as a string (and let
1652C<JSON::XS> do the escaping), for I-JSON, it's I<recommended> to encode
1653binary data as base64.
1654
1655=back
1656
1657There are some other considerations - read RFC7493 for the details if
1658interested.
1659
1660
1661=head1 INTEROPERABILITY WITH OTHER MODULES
1662
1663C<JSON::XS> uses the L<Types::Serialiser> module to provide boolean
1664constants. That means that the JSON true and false values will be
1665comaptible to true and false values of other modules that do the same,
1666such as L<JSON::PP> and L<CBOR::XS>.
1667
1668
1669=head1 INTEROPERABILITY WITH OTHER JSON DECODERS
1670
1671As long as you only serialise data that can be directly expressed in JSON,
1672C<JSON::XS> is incapable of generating invalid JSON output (modulo bugs,
1673but C<JSON::XS> has found more bugs in the official JSON testsuite (1)
1674than the official JSON testsuite has found in C<JSON::XS> (0)).
1675
1676When you have trouble decoding JSON generated by this module using other
1677decoders, then it is very likely that you have an encoding mismatch or the
1678other decoder is broken.
1679
1680When decoding, C<JSON::XS> is strict by default and will likely catch all
1681errors. There are currently two settings that change this: C<relaxed>
1682makes C<JSON::XS> accept (but not generate) some non-standard extensions,
1683and C<allow_tags> will allow you to encode and decode Perl objects, at the
1684cost of not outputting valid JSON anymore.
1685
1686=head2 TAGGED VALUE SYNTAX AND STANDARD JSON EN/DECODERS
1687
1688When you use C<allow_tags> to use the extended (and also nonstandard and
1689invalid) JSON syntax for serialised objects, and you still want to decode
1690the generated When you want to serialise objects, you can run a regex
1691to replace the tagged syntax by standard JSON arrays (it only works for
1692"normal" package names without comma, newlines or single colons). First,
1693the readable Perl version:
1694
1695 # if your FREEZE methods return no values, you need this replace first:
1696 $json =~ s/\( \s* (" (?: [^\\":,]+|\\.|::)* ") \s* \) \s* \[\s*\]/[$1]/gx;
1697
1698 # this works for non-empty constructor arg lists:
1699 $json =~ s/\( \s* (" (?: [^\\":,]+|\\.|::)* ") \s* \) \s* \[/[$1,/gx;
1700
1701And here is a less readable version that is easy to adapt to other
1702languages:
1703
1704 $json =~ s/\(\s*("([^\\":,]+|\\.|::)*")\s*\)\s*\[/[$1,/g;
1705
1706Here is an ECMAScript version (same regex):
1707
1708 json = json.replace (/\(\s*("([^\\":,]+|\\.|::)*")\s*\)\s*\[/g, "[$1,");
1709
1710Since this syntax converts to standard JSON arrays, it might be hard to
1711distinguish serialised objects from normal arrays. You can prepend a
1712"magic number" as first array element to reduce chances of a collision:
1713
1714 $json =~ s/\(\s*("([^\\":,]+|\\.|::)*")\s*\)\s*\[/["XU1peReLzT4ggEllLanBYq4G9VzliwKF",$1,/g;
1715
1716And after decoding the JSON text, you could walk the data
1717structure looking for arrays with a first element of
1718C<XU1peReLzT4ggEllLanBYq4G9VzliwKF>.
1719
1720The same approach can be used to create the tagged format with another
1721encoder. First, you create an array with the magic string as first member,
1722the classname as second, and constructor arguments last, encode it as part
1723of your JSON structure, and then:
1724
1725 $json =~ s/\[\s*"XU1peReLzT4ggEllLanBYq4G9VzliwKF"\s*,\s*("([^\\":,]+|\\.|::)*")\s*,/($1)[/g;
1726
1727Again, this has some limitations - the magic string must not be encoded
1728with character escapes, and the constructor arguments must be non-empty.
1729
1730
1332=head1 THREADS 1731=head1 (I-)THREADS
1333 1732
1334This module is I<not> guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no 1733This module is I<not> guaranteed to be ithread (or MULTIPLICITY-) safe
1335plans to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the 1734and there are no plans to change this. Note that perl's builtin so-called
1336horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated 1735threads/ithreads are officially deprecated and should not be used.
1337process simulations - use fork, it's I<much> faster, cheaper, better).
1338 1736
1339(It might actually work, but you have been warned). 1737
1738=head1 THE PERILS OF SETLOCALE
1739
1740Sometimes people avoid the Perl locale support and directly call the
1741system's setlocale function with C<LC_ALL>.
1742
1743This breaks both perl and modules such as JSON::XS, as stringification of
1744numbers no longer works correctly (e.g. C<$x = 0.1; print "$x"+1> might
1745print C<1>, and JSON::XS might output illegal JSON as JSON::XS relies on
1746perl to stringify numbers).
1747
1748The solution is simple: don't call C<setlocale>, or use it for only those
1749categories you need, such as C<LC_MESSAGES> or C<LC_CTYPE>.
1750
1751If you need C<LC_NUMERIC>, you should enable it only around the code that
1752actually needs it (avoiding stringification of numbers), and restore it
1753afterwards.
1754
1755
1756=head1 SOME HISTORY
1757
1758At the time this module was created there already were a number of JSON
1759modules available on CPAN, so what was the reason to write yet another
1760JSON module? While it seems there are many JSON modules, none of them
1761correctly handled all corner cases, and in most cases their maintainers
1762are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug reports for other
1763reasons.
1764
1765Beginning with version 2.0 of the JSON module, when both JSON and
1766JSON::XS are installed, then JSON will fall back on JSON::XS (this can be
1767overridden) with no overhead due to emulation (by inheriting constructor
1768and methods). If JSON::XS is not available, it will fall back to the
1769compatible JSON::PP module as backend, so using JSON instead of JSON::XS
1770gives you a portable JSON API that can be fast when you need it and
1771doesn't require a C compiler when that is a problem.
1772
1773Somewhere around version 3, this module was forked into
1774C<Cpanel::JSON::XS>, because its maintainer had serious trouble
1775understanding JSON and insisted on a fork with many bugs "fixed" that
1776weren't actually bugs, while spreading FUD about this module without
1777actually giving any details on his accusations. You be the judge, but
1778in my personal opinion, if you want quality, you will stay away from
1779dangerous forks like that.
1340 1780
1341 1781
1342=head1 BUGS 1782=head1 BUGS
1343 1783
1344While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does 1784While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does
1345not mean it's bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is 1785not mean it's bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. If you
1346still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they 1786keep reporting bugs they will be fixed swiftly, though.
1347will be fixed swiftly, though.
1348 1787
1349Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting 1788Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting
1350service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason. 1789service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason.
1351 1790
1352=cut 1791=cut
1353 1792
1354our $true = do { bless \(my $dummy = 1), "JSON::XS::Boolean" }; 1793BEGIN {
1355our $false = do { bless \(my $dummy = 0), "JSON::XS::Boolean" }; 1794 *true = \$Types::Serialiser::true;
1795 *true = \&Types::Serialiser::true;
1796 *false = \$Types::Serialiser::false;
1797 *false = \&Types::Serialiser::false;
1798 *is_bool = \&Types::Serialiser::is_bool;
1356 1799
1357sub true() { $true } 1800 *JSON::XS::Boolean:: = *Types::Serialiser::Boolean::;
1358sub false() { $false }
1359
1360sub is_bool($) {
1361 UNIVERSAL::isa $_[0], "JSON::XS::Boolean"
1362# or UNIVERSAL::isa $_[0], "JSON::Literal"
1363} 1801}
1364 1802
1365XSLoader::load "JSON::XS", $VERSION; 1803XSLoader::load "JSON::XS", $VERSION;
1366
1367package JSON::XS::Boolean;
1368
1369use overload
1370 "0+" => sub { ${$_[0]} },
1371 "++" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} + 1 },
1372 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 },
1373 fallback => 1;
1374
13751;
1376 1804
1377=head1 SEE ALSO 1805=head1 SEE ALSO
1378 1806
1379The F<json_xs> command line utility for quick experiments. 1807The F<json_xs> command line utility for quick experiments.
1380 1808
1383 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 1811 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1384 http://home.schmorp.de/ 1812 http://home.schmorp.de/
1385 1813
1386=cut 1814=cut
1387 1815
18161
1817

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