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Revision 1.13 by root, Fri Mar 23 18:37:30 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.44 by root, Mon Jun 25 04:08:17 2007 UTC

4 4
5=head1 SYNOPSIS 5=head1 SYNOPSIS
6 6
7 use JSON::XS; 7 use JSON::XS;
8 8
9 # exported functions, croak on error 9 # exported functions, they croak on error
10 # and expect/generate UTF-8
10 11
11 $utf8_encoded_json_text = to_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref; 12 $utf8_encoded_json_text = to_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref;
12 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = from_json $utf8_encoded_json_text; 13 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = from_json $utf8_encoded_json_text;
13 14
15 # objToJson and jsonToObj aliases to to_json and from_json
16 # are exported for compatibility to the JSON module,
17 # but should not be used in new code.
18
14 # oo-interface 19 # OO-interface
15 20
16 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref; 21 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref;
17 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar); 22 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar);
18 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text); 23 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text);
19 24
36 41
37=head2 FEATURES 42=head2 FEATURES
38 43
39=over 4 44=over 4
40 45
41=item * correct handling of unicode issues 46=item * correct unicode handling
42 47
43This module knows how to handle Unicode, and even documents how and when 48This module knows how to handle Unicode, and even documents how and when
44it does so. 49it does so.
45 50
46=item * round-trip integrity 51=item * round-trip integrity
47 52
48When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported 53When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported
49by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level. 54by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level.
50(e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2"). 55(e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because it looks
56like a number).
51 57
52=item * strict checking of JSON correctness 58=item * strict checking of JSON correctness
53 59
54There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON strings by default, 60There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default,
55and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security 61and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security
56feature). 62feature).
57 63
58=item * fast 64=item * fast
59 65
66interface. 72interface.
67 73
68=item * reasonably versatile output formats 74=item * reasonably versatile output formats
69 75
70You can choose between the most compact guarenteed single-line format 76You can choose between the most compact guarenteed single-line format
71possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format (for 77possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format
72when your transport is not 8-bit clean), or a pretty-printed format (for 78(for when your transport is not 8-bit clean, still supports the whole
73when you want to read that stuff). Or you can combine those features in 79unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that
74whatever way you like. 80stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like.
75 81
76=back 82=back
77 83
78=cut 84=cut
79 85
80package JSON::XS; 86package JSON::XS;
81 87
82BEGIN { 88use strict;
89
83 $VERSION = '0.3'; 90our $VERSION = '1.4';
84 @ISA = qw(Exporter); 91our @ISA = qw(Exporter);
85 92
86 @EXPORT = qw(to_json from_json); 93our @EXPORT = qw(to_json from_json objToJson jsonToObj);
87 require Exporter;
88 94
89 require XSLoader; 95use Exporter;
90 XSLoader::load JSON::XS::, $VERSION; 96use XSLoader;
91}
92 97
93=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE 98=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE
94 99
95The following convinience methods are provided by this module. They are 100The following convinience methods are provided by this module. They are
96exported by default: 101exported by default:
97 102
98=over 4 103=over 4
99 104
100=item $json_string = to_json $perl_scalar 105=item $json_text = to_json $perl_scalar
101 106
102Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference to 107Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference to
103a hash or array) to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string (that is, the string contains 108a hash or array) to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string (that is, the string contains
104octets only). Croaks on error. 109octets only). Croaks on error.
105 110
106This function call is functionally identical to C<< JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar) >>. 111This function call is functionally identical to:
107 112
113 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar)
114
115except being faster.
116
108=item $perl_scalar = from_json $json_string 117=item $perl_scalar = from_json $json_text
109 118
110The opposite of C<to_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries to 119The opposite of C<to_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries to
111parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON string, returning the resulting simple 120parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting simple
112scalar or reference. Croaks on error. 121scalar or reference. Croaks on error.
113 122
114This function call is functionally identical to C<< JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_string) >>. 123This function call is functionally identical to:
124
125 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text)
126
127except being faster.
128
129=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar
130
131Returns true if the passed scalar represents either JSON::XS::true or
132JSON::XS::false, two constants that act like C<1> and C<0>, respectively
133and are used to represent JSON C<true> and C<false> values in Perl.
134
135See MAPPING, below, for more information on how JSON values are mapped to
136Perl.
115 137
116=back 138=back
139
117 140
118=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE 141=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE
119 142
120The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or 143The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or
121decoding style, within the limits of supported formats. 144decoding style, within the limits of supported formats.
128strings. All boolean flags described below are by default I<disabled>. 151strings. All boolean flags described below are by default I<disabled>.
129 152
130The mutators for flags all return the JSON object again and thus calls can 153The mutators for flags all return the JSON object again and thus calls can
131be chained: 154be chained:
132 155
133 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8(1)->space_after(1)->encode ({a => [1,2]}) 156 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]})
134 => {"a": [1, 2]} 157 => {"a": [1, 2]}
135 158
136=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable]) 159=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable])
137 160
138If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will 161If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
139not generate characters outside the code range C<0..127>. Any unicode 162generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any
140characters outside that range will be escaped using either a single 163unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a
141\uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence, as per 164single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence,
142RFC4627. 165as per RFC4627. The resulting encoded JSON text can be treated as a native
166unicode string, an ascii-encoded, latin1-encoded or UTF-8 encoded string,
167or any other superset of ASCII.
143 168
144If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 169If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
145characters unless necessary. 170characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results
171in a faster and more compact format.
146 172
173The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be
174transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not
175contain any 8 bit characters.
176
147 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode (chr 0x10401) 177 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401])
148 => \ud801\udc01 178 => ["\ud801\udc01"]
179
180=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable])
181
182If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
183the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters
184outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a
185latin1-encoded JSON text or a native unicode string. The C<decode> method
186will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default
187expects unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1.
188
189If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
190characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags.
191
192The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON
193text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded
194size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded
195in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and
196transfering), a rare encoding for JSON. It is therefore most useful when
197you want to store data structures known to contain binary data efficiently
198in files or databases, not when talking to other JSON encoders/decoders.
199
200 JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"]
201 => ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not)
149 202
150=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable]) 203=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable])
151 204
152If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode 205If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
153the JSON string into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the 206the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the
154C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please 207C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please
155note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the 208note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the
156range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. 209range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future
210versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16
211and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627.
157 212
158If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON 213If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON
159string as a (non-encoded) unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a 214string as a (non-encoded) unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a
160unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs 215unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs
161to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module. 216to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module.
162 217
163Example, output UTF-16-encoded JSON: 218Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON:
219
220 use Encode;
221 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object);
222
223Example, decode UTF-32LE-encoded JSON:
224
225 use Encode;
226 $object = JSON::XS->new->decode (decode "UTF-32LE", $jsontext);
164 227
165=item $json = $json->pretty ([$enable]) 228=item $json = $json->pretty ([$enable])
166 229
167This enables (or disables) all of the C<indent>, C<space_before> and 230This enables (or disables) all of the C<indent>, C<space_before> and
168C<space_after> (and in the future possibly more) flags in one call to 231C<space_after> (and in the future possibly more) flags in one call to
184If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline 247If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline
185format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair 248format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair
186into its own line, identing them properly. 249into its own line, identing them properly.
187 250
188If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the 251If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the
189resulting JSON strings is guarenteed not to contain any C<newlines>. 252resulting JSON text is guarenteed not to contain any C<newlines>.
190 253
191This setting has no effect when decoding JSON strings. 254This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
192 255
193=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable]) 256=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable])
194 257
195If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 258If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
196optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects. 259optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects.
197 260
198If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra 261If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra
199space at those places. 262space at those places.
200 263
201This setting has no effect when decoding JSON strings. You will also most 264This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. You will also
202likely combine this setting with C<space_after>. 265most likely combine this setting with C<space_after>.
203 266
204Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled: 267Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled:
205 268
206 {"key" :"value"} 269 {"key" :"value"}
207 270
213members. 276members.
214 277
215If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra 278If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra
216space at those places. 279space at those places.
217 280
218This setting has no effect when decoding JSON strings. 281This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
219 282
220Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled: 283Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled:
221 284
222 {"key": "value"} 285 {"key": "value"}
223 286
229If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value 292If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value
230pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs 293pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs
231of the same script). 294of the same script).
232 295
233This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as 296This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as
234the same JSON string (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled, 297the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled,
235the same hash migh be encoded differently even if contains the same data, 298the same hash migh be encoded differently even if contains the same data,
236as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl. 299as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl.
237 300
238This setting has no effect when decoding JSON strings. 301This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
239 302
240=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable]) 303=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable])
241 304
242If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a 305If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a
243non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value, 306non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value,
244which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON 307which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON
245values instead of croaking. 308values instead of croaking.
246 309
247If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will croak if it isn't 310If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will croak if it isn't
248passed an arrayref or hashref, as JSON strings must either be an object 311passed an arrayref or hashref, as JSON texts must either be an object
249or array. Likewise, C<decode> will croak if given something that is not a 312or array. Likewise, C<decode> will croak if given something that is not a
250JSON object or array. 313JSON object or array.
251 314
252Example, encode a Perl scalar as JSON value with enabled C<allow_nonref>, 315Example, encode a Perl scalar as JSON value with enabled C<allow_nonref>,
253resulting in an invalid JSON text: 316resulting in an invalid JSON text:
254 317
255 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!") 318 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!")
256 => "Hello, World!" 319 => "Hello, World!"
257 320
321=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable])
322
323If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
324barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the
325B<convert_blessed> option will decide wether C<null> (C<convert_blessed>
326disabled or no C<to_json> method found) or a representation of the
327object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<to_json> method found) is being
328encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>.
329
330If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
331exception when it encounters a blessed object.
332
333=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable])
334
335If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a
336blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<TO_JSON> method
337on the object's class. If found, it will be called in scalar context
338and the resulting scalar will be encoded instead of the object. If no
339C<TO_JSON> method is found, the value of C<allow_blessed> will decide what
340to do.
341
342The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON>
343returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same
344way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle
345(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other
346methods called by the Perl core (== not the user of the object) are
347usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with the C<to_json>
348function.
349
350If C<$enable> is false, then the C<allow_blessed> setting will decide what
351to do when a blessed object is found.
352
258=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable]) 353=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable])
259 354
260Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for 355Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for
261strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either 356strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either
262C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save 357C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save
263memory when your JSON strings are either very very long or you have many 358memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many
264short strings. It will also try to downgrade any strings to octet-form 359short strings. It will also try to downgrade any strings to octet-form
265if possible: perl stores strings internally either in an encoding called 360if possible: perl stores strings internally either in an encoding called
266UTF-X or in octet-form. The latter cannot store everything but uses less 361UTF-X or in octet-form. The latter cannot store everything but uses less
267space in general. 362space in general (and some buggy Perl or C code might even rely on that
363internal representation being used).
268 364
365The actual definition of what shrink does might change in future versions,
366but it will always try to save space at the expense of time.
367
269If C<$enable> is true (or missing), the string returned by C<encode> will be shrunk-to-fit, 368If C<$enable> is true (or missing), the string returned by C<encode> will
270while all strings generated by C<decode> will also be shrunk-to-fit. 369be shrunk-to-fit, while all strings generated by C<decode> will also be
370shrunk-to-fit.
271 371
272If C<$enable> is false, then the normal perl allocation algorithms are used. 372If C<$enable> is false, then the normal perl allocation algorithms are used.
273If you work with your data, then this is likely to be faster. 373If you work with your data, then this is likely to be faster.
274 374
275In the future, this setting might control other things, such as converting 375In the future, this setting might control other things, such as converting
276strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats 376strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats
277internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space. 377internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space.
278 378
379=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])
380
381Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding
382or decoding. If the JSON text or Perl data structure has an equal or
383higher nesting level then this limit, then the encoder and decoder will
384stop and croak at that point.
385
386Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder
387needs to traverse to reach a given point or the number of C<{> or C<[>
388characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a
389given character in a string.
390
391Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures
392that the object is only a single hash/object or array.
393
394The argument to C<max_depth> will be rounded up to the next nearest power
395of two.
396
397See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
398
279=item $json_string = $json->encode ($perl_scalar) 399=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar)
280 400
281Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference 401Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference
282to a hash or array) to its JSON representation. Simple scalars will be 402to a hash or array) to its JSON representation. Simple scalars will be
283converted into JSON string or number sequences, while references to arrays 403converted into JSON string or number sequences, while references to arrays
284become JSON arrays and references to hashes become JSON objects. Undefined 404become JSON arrays and references to hashes become JSON objects. Undefined
285Perl values (e.g. C<undef>) become JSON C<null> values. Neither C<true> 405Perl values (e.g. C<undef>) become JSON C<null> values. Neither C<true>
286nor C<false> values will be generated. 406nor C<false> values will be generated.
287 407
288=item $perl_scalar = $json->decode ($json_string) 408=item $perl_scalar = $json->decode ($json_text)
289 409
290The opposite of C<encode>: expects a JSON string and tries to parse it, 410The opposite of C<encode>: expects a JSON text and tries to parse it,
291returning the resulting simple scalar or reference. Croaks on error. 411returning the resulting simple scalar or reference. Croaks on error.
292 412
293JSON numbers and strings become simple Perl scalars. JSON arrays become 413JSON numbers and strings become simple Perl scalars. JSON arrays become
294Perl arrayrefs and JSON objects become Perl hashrefs. C<true> becomes 414Perl arrayrefs and JSON objects become Perl hashrefs. C<true> becomes
295C<1>, C<false> becomes C<0> and C<null> becomes C<undef>. 415C<1>, C<false> becomes C<0> and C<null> becomes C<undef>.
296 416
417=item ($perl_scalar, $characters) = $json->decode_prefix ($json_text)
418
419This works like the C<decode> method, but instead of raising an exception
420when there is trailing garbage after the first JSON object, it will
421silently stop parsing there and return the number of characters consumed
422so far.
423
424This is useful if your JSON texts are not delimited by an outer protocol
425(which is not the brightest thing to do in the first place) and you need
426to know where the JSON text ends.
427
428 JSON::XS->new->decode_prefix ("[1] the tail")
429 => ([], 3)
430
297=back 431=back
432
298 433
299=head1 MAPPING 434=head1 MAPPING
300 435
301This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and 436This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and
302vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most 437vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most
305 440
306For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions, 441For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions,
307lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppcercase I<Perl> 442lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppcercase I<Perl>
308refers to the abstract Perl language itself. 443refers to the abstract Perl language itself.
309 444
445
310=head2 JSON -> PERL 446=head2 JSON -> PERL
311 447
312=over 4 448=over 4
313 449
314=item object 450=item object
315 451
316A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object 452A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object
317keys is preserved. 453keys is preserved (JSON does not preserver object key ordering itself).
318 454
319=item array 455=item array
320 456
321A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl. 457A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl.
322 458
334conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and might 470conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and might
335represent more values exactly than (floating point) numbers. 471represent more values exactly than (floating point) numbers.
336 472
337=item true, false 473=item true, false
338 474
339These JSON atoms become C<0>, C<1>, respectively. Information is lost in 475These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>,
340this process. Future versions might represent those values differently, 476respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers
341but they will be guarenteed to act like these integers would normally in 477C<1> and C<0>. You can check wether a scalar is a JSON boolean by using
342Perl. 478the C<JSON::XS::is_bool> function.
343 479
344=item null 480=item null
345 481
346A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl. 482A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl.
347 483
348=back 484=back
485
349 486
350=head2 PERL -> JSON 487=head2 PERL -> JSON
351 488
352The mapping from Perl to JSON is slightly more difficult, as Perl is a 489The mapping from Perl to JSON is slightly more difficult, as Perl is a
353truly typeless language, so we can only guess which JSON type is meant by 490truly typeless language, so we can only guess which JSON type is meant by
356=over 4 493=over 4
357 494
358=item hash references 495=item hash references
359 496
360Perl hash references become JSON objects. As there is no inherent ordering 497Perl hash references become JSON objects. As there is no inherent ordering
361in hash keys, they will usually be encoded in a pseudo-random order that 498in hash keys (or JSON objects), they will usually be encoded in a
362can change between runs of the same program but stays generally the same 499pseudo-random order that can change between runs of the same program but
363within the single run of a program. JSON::XS can optionally sort the hash 500stays generally the same within a single run of a program. JSON::XS can
364keys (determined by the I<canonical> flag), so the same datastructure 501optionally sort the hash keys (determined by the I<canonical> flag), so
365will serialise to the same JSON text (given same settings and version of 502the same datastructure will serialise to the same JSON text (given same
366JSON::XS), but this incurs a runtime overhead. 503settings and version of JSON::XS), but this incurs a runtime overhead
504and is only rarely useful, e.g. when you want to compare some JSON text
505against another for equality.
367 506
368=item array references 507=item array references
369 508
370Perl array references become JSON arrays. 509Perl array references become JSON arrays.
510
511=item other references
512
513Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an
514exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and
515C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can
516also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability.
517
518 to_json [\0,JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true]
519
520=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false
521
522These special values become JSON true and JSON false values,
523respectively. You cna alos use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want.
371 524
372=item blessed objects 525=item blessed objects
373 526
374Blessed objects are not allowed. JSON::XS currently tries to encode their 527Blessed objects are not allowed. JSON::XS currently tries to encode their
375underlying representation (hash- or arrayref), but this behaviour might 528underlying representation (hash- or arrayref), but this behaviour might
408 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choise is yours. 561 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choise is yours.
409 562
410You can not currently output JSON booleans or force the type in other, 563You can not currently output JSON booleans or force the type in other,
411less obscure, ways. Tell me if you need this capability. 564less obscure, ways. Tell me if you need this capability.
412 565
413=item circular data structures
414
415Those will be encoded until memory or stackspace runs out.
416
417=back 566=back
567
418 568
419=head1 COMPARISON 569=head1 COMPARISON
420 570
421As already mentioned, this module was created because none of the existing 571As already mentioned, this module was created because none of the existing
422JSON modules could be made to work correctly. First I will describe the 572JSON modules could be made to work correctly. First I will describe the
448 598
449Has problems handling many Perl values (e.g. regex results and other magic 599Has problems handling many Perl values (e.g. regex results and other magic
450values will make it croak). 600values will make it croak).
451 601
452Does not even generate valid JSON (C<{1,2}> gets converted to C<{1:2}> 602Does not even generate valid JSON (C<{1,2}> gets converted to C<{1:2}>
453which is not a valid JSON string. 603which is not a valid JSON text.
454 604
455Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not 605Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not
456getting fixed). 606getting fixed).
457 607
458=item JSON::Syck 0.21 608=item JSON::Syck 0.21
460Very buggy (often crashes). 610Very buggy (often crashes).
461 611
462Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty much 612Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty much
463undocumented. I need at least a format for easy reading by humans and a 613undocumented. I need at least a format for easy reading by humans and a
464single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and preferably a way to 614single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and preferably a way to
465generate ASCII-only JSON strings). 615generate ASCII-only JSON texts).
466 616
467Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling (unicode 617Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling (unicode
468escapes are not working properly, you need to set ImplicitUnicode to 618escapes are not working properly, you need to set ImplicitUnicode to
469I<different> values on en- and decoding to get symmetric behaviour). 619I<different> values on en- and decoding to get symmetric behaviour).
470 620
493 643
494Very inflexible. 644Very inflexible.
495 645
496No roundtripping. 646No roundtripping.
497 647
498Does not generate valid JSON (key strings are often unquoted, empty keys 648Does not generate valid JSON texts (key strings are often unquoted, empty keys
499result in nothing being output) 649result in nothing being output)
500 650
501Does not check input for validity. 651Does not check input for validity.
502 652
503=back 653=back
654
655
656=head2 JSON and YAML
657
658You often hear that JSON is a subset (or a close subset) of YAML. This is,
659however, a mass hysteria and very far from the truth. In general, there is
660no way to configure JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML.
661
662If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this
663algorithm (subject to change in future versions):
664
665 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1);
666 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n";
667
668This will usually generate JSON texts that also parse as valid
669YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key
670lengths that JSON doesn't have, so you should make sure that your hash
671keys are noticably shorter than the 1024 characters YAML allows.
672
673There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of. In general
674you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice versa,
675or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are high
676that you will run into severe interoperability problems.
677
504 678
505=head2 SPEED 679=head2 SPEED
506 680
507It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following 681It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following
508tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program 682tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program
509in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own 683in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own
510system. 684system.
511 685
512First comes a comparison between various modules using a very short JSON 686First comes a comparison between various modules using a very short
513string (83 bytes), showing the number of encodes/decodes per second 687single-line JSON string:
688
689 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], \
690 "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7, true, false]}
691
692It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses
514(JSON::XS is the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 is the OO 693the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface
515interface with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled). Higher is 694with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables
516better: 695shrink). Higher is better:
517 696
518 module | encode | decode | 697 module | encode | decode |
519 -----------|------------|------------| 698 -----------|------------|------------|
520 JSON | 14006 | 6820 | 699 JSON | 7645.468 | 4208.613 |
521 JSON::DWIW | 200937 | 120386 | 700 JSON::DWIW | 40721.398 | 77101.176 |
522 JSON::PC | 85065 | 129366 | 701 JSON::PC | 65948.176 | 78251.940 |
523 JSON::Syck | 59898 | 44232 | 702 JSON::Syck | 22844.793 | 26479.192 |
524 JSON::XS | 1171478 | 342435 | 703 JSON::XS | 388361.481 | 199728.762 |
525 JSON::XS/2 | 730760 | 328714 | 704 JSON::XS/2 | 218453.333 | 192399.266 |
705 JSON::XS/3 | 338250.323 | 192399.266 |
706 Storable | 15779.925 | 14169.946 |
526 -----------+------------+------------+ 707 -----------+------------+------------+
527 708
528That is, JSON::XS is 6 times faster than than JSON::DWIW and about 80 709That is, JSON::XS is about five times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding,
710about three times faster on decoding, and over fourty times faster
529times faster than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. 711than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares
712favourably to Storable for small amounts of data.
530 713
531Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals 714Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals
532search API (http://nanoref.com/yahooapis/mgPdGg): 715search API (http://nanoref.com/yahooapis/mgPdGg):
533 716
534 module | encode | decode | 717 module | encode | decode |
535 -----------|------------|------------| 718 -----------|------------|------------|
536 JSON | 673 | 38 | 719 JSON | 254.685 | 37.665 |
537 JSON::DWIW | 5271 | 770 | 720 JSON::DWIW | 843.343 | 1049.731 |
538 JSON::PC | 9901 | 2491 | 721 JSON::PC | 3602.116 | 2307.352 |
539 JSON::Syck | 2360 | 786 | 722 JSON::Syck | 505.107 | 787.899 |
540 JSON::XS | 37398 | 3202 | 723 JSON::XS | 5747.196 | 3690.220 |
541 JSON::XS/2 | 13765 | 3153 | 724 JSON::XS/2 | 3968.121 | 3676.634 |
725 JSON::XS/3 | 6105.246 | 3662.508 |
726 Storable | 4417.337 | 5285.161 |
542 -----------+------------+------------+ 727 -----------+------------+------------+
543 728
544Again, JSON::XS leads by far in the encoding case, while still beating 729Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly
545every other module in the decoding case. 730decodes faster).
546 731
547On large strings containing lots of unicode characters, some modules 732On large strings containing lots of high unicode characters, some modules
548(such as JSON::PC) decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result will be 733(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result
549broken due to missing unicode handling. Others refuse to decode or encode 734will be broken due to missing (or wrong) unicode handling. Others refuse
550properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair comparison table for that 735to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair
551case. 736comparison table for that case.
552 737
553=head1 RESOURCE LIMITS
554 738
555JSON::XS does not impose any limits on the size of JSON texts or Perl 739=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
556values they represent - if your machine can handle it, JSON::XS will 740
557encode or decode it. Future versions might optionally impose structure 741When you are using JSON in a protocol, talking to untrusted potentially
558depth and memory use resource limits. 742hostile creatures requires relatively few measures.
743
744First of all, your JSON decoder should be secure, that is, should not have
745any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am
746trying hard on making that true, but you never know.
747
748Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you should
749limit the size of JSON texts you accept, or make sure then when your
750resources run out, thats just fine (e.g. by using a separate process that
751can crash safely). The size of a JSON text in octets or characters is
752usually a good indication of the size of the resources required to decode
753it into a Perl structure.
754
755Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and
756arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64
757machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but
758only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak
759to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. to be
760conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process
761has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the
762C<max_depth> method.
763
764And last but least, something else could bomb you that I forgot to think
765of. In that case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints,
766though...
767
768If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption
769by javascript scripts in a browser you should have a look at
770L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see wether
771you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser
772design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it, as major
773browser developers care only for features, not about doing security
774right).
775
559 776
560=head1 BUGS 777=head1 BUGS
561 778
562While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does 779While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does
563not mean its bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is 780not mean its bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is
564still very young and not well-tested. If you keep reporting bugs they will 781still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they
565be fixed swiftly, though. 782will be fixed swiftly, though.
566 783
567=cut 784=cut
785
786our $true = do { bless \(my $dummy = 1), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
787our $false = do { bless \(my $dummy = 0), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
788
789sub true() { $true }
790sub false() { $false }
791
792sub is_bool($) {
793 UNIVERSAL::isa $_[0], "JSON::XS::Boolean"
794# or UNIVERSAL::isa $_[0], "JSON::Literal"
795}
796
797XSLoader::load "JSON::XS", $VERSION;
798
799package JSON::XS::Boolean;
800
801use overload
802 "0+" => sub { ${$_[0]} },
803 "++" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} + 1 },
804 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 },
805 fallback => 1;
568 806
5691; 8071;
570 808
571=head1 AUTHOR 809=head1 AUTHOR
572 810

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