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Revision 1.143 by root, Fri Oct 25 20:02:54 2013 UTC

1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast 3JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast
4
5=encoding utf-8
4 6
5JSON::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
6 (http://fleur.hio.jp/perldoc/mix/lib/JSON/XS.html) 8 (http://fleur.hio.jp/perldoc/mix/lib/JSON/XS.html)
7 9
8=head1 SYNOPSIS 10=head1 SYNOPSIS
10 use JSON::XS; 12 use JSON::XS;
11 13
12 # exported functions, they croak on error 14 # exported functions, they croak on error
13 # and expect/generate UTF-8 15 # and expect/generate UTF-8
14 16
15 $utf8_encoded_json_text = to_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref; 17 $utf8_encoded_json_text = encode_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref;
16 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = from_json $utf8_encoded_json_text; 18 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = decode_json $utf8_encoded_json_text;
17 19
18 # OO-interface 20 # OO-interface
19 21
20 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref; 22 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref;
21 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar); 23 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar);
22 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text); 24 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text);
23 25
26 # Note that JSON version 2.0 and above will automatically use JSON::XS
27 # if available, at virtually no speed overhead either, so you should
28 # be able to just:
29
30 use JSON;
31
32 # and do the same things, except that you have a pure-perl fallback now.
33
24=head1 DESCRIPTION 34=head1 DESCRIPTION
25 35
26This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its 36This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its
27primary 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
28I<fast>. To reach the latter goal it was written in C. 38I<fast>. To reach the latter goal it was written in C.
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
42overridden) with no overhead due to emulation (by inheriting 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.
29 47
30As this is the n-th-something JSON module on CPAN, what was the reason 48As this is the n-th-something JSON module on CPAN, what was the reason
31to write yet another JSON module? While it seems there are many JSON 49to write yet another JSON module? While it seems there are many JSON
32modules, none of them correctly handle all corner cases, and in most cases 50modules, none of them correctly handle all corner cases, and in most cases
33their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug 51their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug
34reports for other reasons. 52reports for other reasons.
35 53
36See COMPARISON, below, for a comparison to some other JSON modules.
37
38See MAPPING, below, on how JSON::XS maps perl values to JSON values and 54See MAPPING, below, on how JSON::XS maps perl values to JSON values and
39vice versa. 55vice versa.
40 56
41=head2 FEATURES 57=head2 FEATURES
42 58
43=over 4 59=over 4
44 60
45=item * correct Unicode handling 61=item * correct Unicode handling
46 62
47This module knows how to handle Unicode, and even documents how and when 63This module knows how to handle Unicode, documents how and when it does
48it does so. 64so, and even documents what "correct" means.
49 65
50=item * round-trip integrity 66=item * round-trip integrity
51 67
52When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported 68When you serialise a perl data structure using only data types supported
53by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level. 69by JSON and Perl, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl
54(e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because it looks 70level. (e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because
55like a number). 71it looks like a number). There I<are> minor exceptions to this, read the
72MAPPING section below to learn about those.
56 73
57=item * strict checking of JSON correctness 74=item * strict checking of JSON correctness
58 75
59There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default, 76There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default,
60and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security 77and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security
61feature). 78feature).
62 79
63=item * fast 80=item * fast
64 81
65Compared to other JSON modules, this module compares favourably in terms 82Compared to other JSON modules and other serialisers such as Storable,
66of speed, too. 83this module usually compares favourably in terms of speed, too.
67 84
68=item * simple to use 85=item * simple to use
69 86
70This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an OO 87This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an object
71interface. 88oriented interface.
72 89
73=item * reasonably versatile output formats 90=item * reasonably versatile output formats
74 91
75You can choose between the most compact guaranteed single-line format 92You can choose between the most compact guaranteed-single-line format
76possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format 93possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ASCII format
77(for when your transport is not 8-bit clean, still supports the whole 94(for when your transport is not 8-bit clean, still supports the whole
78Unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that 95Unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that
79stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like. 96stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like.
80 97
81=back 98=back
82 99
83=cut 100=cut
84 101
85package JSON::XS; 102package JSON::XS;
86 103
87use strict; 104use common::sense;
88 105
89our $VERSION = '2.0'; 106our $VERSION = 2.34;
90our @ISA = qw(Exporter); 107our @ISA = qw(Exporter);
91 108
92our @EXPORT = qw(to_json from_json); 109our @EXPORT = qw(encode_json decode_json);
93 110
94use Exporter; 111use Exporter;
95use XSLoader; 112use XSLoader;
96 113
97=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE 114=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE
99The following convenience methods are provided by this module. They are 116The following convenience methods are provided by this module. They are
100exported by default: 117exported by default:
101 118
102=over 4 119=over 4
103 120
104=item $json_text = to_json $perl_scalar 121=item $json_text = encode_json $perl_scalar
105 122
106Converts the given Perl data structure to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string 123Converts the given Perl data structure to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string
107(that is, the string contains octets only). Croaks on error. 124(that is, the string contains octets only). Croaks on error.
108 125
109This function call is functionally identical to: 126This function call is functionally identical to:
110 127
111 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar) 128 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar)
112 129
113except being faster. 130Except being faster.
114 131
115=item $perl_scalar = from_json $json_text 132=item $perl_scalar = decode_json $json_text
116 133
117The opposite of C<to_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries 134The opposite of C<encode_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries
118to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting 135to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting
119reference. Croaks on error. 136reference. Croaks on error.
120 137
121This function call is functionally identical to: 138This function call is functionally identical to:
122 139
123 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text) 140 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text)
124 141
125except being faster. 142Except being faster.
126 143
127=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar 144=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar
128 145
129Returns true if the passed scalar represents either JSON::XS::true or 146Returns true if the passed scalar represents either JSON::XS::true or
130JSON::XS::false, two constants that act like C<1> and C<0>, respectively 147JSON::XS::false, two constants that act like C<1> and C<0>, respectively
148This enables you to store Unicode characters as single characters in a 165This enables you to store Unicode characters as single characters in a
149Perl string - very natural. 166Perl string - very natural.
150 167
151=item 2. Perl does I<not> associate an encoding with your strings. 168=item 2. Perl does I<not> associate an encoding with your strings.
152 169
153Unless you force it to, e.g. when matching it against a regex, or printing 170... until you force it to, e.g. when matching it against a regex, or
154the scalar to a file, in which case Perl either interprets your string as 171printing the scalar to a file, in which case Perl either interprets your
155locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode, depending on various 172string as locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode, depending
156settings. In no case is an encoding stored together with your data, it is 173on various settings. In no case is an encoding stored together with your
157I<use> that decides encoding, not any magical metadata. 174data, it is I<use> that decides encoding, not any magical meta data.
158 175
159=item 3. The internal utf-8 flag has no meaning with regards to the 176=item 3. The internal utf-8 flag has no meaning with regards to the
160encoding of your string. 177encoding of your string.
161 178
162Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written in 179Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written in
168 185
169If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it doesn't 186If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it doesn't
170exist. 187exist.
171 188
172=item 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be 189=item 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be
173validly interpreted as a Unicode codepoint. 190validly interpreted as a Unicode code point.
174 191
175If you have UTF-8 encoded data, it is no longer a Unicode string, but a 192If you have UTF-8 encoded data, it is no longer a Unicode string, but a
176Unicode string encoded in UTF-8, giving you a binary string. 193Unicode string encoded in UTF-8, giving you a binary string.
177 194
178=item 5. A string containing "high" (> 255) character values is I<not> a UTF-8 string. 195=item 5. A string containing "high" (> 255) character values is I<not> a UTF-8 string.
216 233
217If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 234If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
218characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results 235characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results
219in a faster and more compact format. 236in a faster and more compact format.
220 237
238See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
239document.
240
221The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be 241The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be
222transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not 242transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not
223contain any 8 bit characters. 243contain any 8 bit characters.
224 244
225 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401]) 245 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401])
236will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default 256will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default
237expects Unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1. 257expects Unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1.
238 258
239If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 259If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
240characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. 260characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags.
261
262See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
263document.
241 264
242The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON 265The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON
243text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded 266text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded
244size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded 267size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded
245in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and 268in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and
264 287
265If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON 288If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON
266string as a (non-encoded) Unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a 289string as a (non-encoded) Unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a
267Unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs 290Unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs
268to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module. 291to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module.
292
293See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
294document.
269 295
270Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON: 296Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON:
271 297
272 use Encode; 298 use Encode;
273 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object); 299 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object);
396If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects 422If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects
397by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead. 423by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead.
398 424
399If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value 425If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value
400pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs 426pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs
401of the same script). 427of the same script, and can change even within the same run from 5.18
428onwards).
402 429
403This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as 430This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as
404the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled, 431the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled,
405the same hash might be encoded differently even if contains the same data, 432the same hash might be encoded differently even if contains the same data,
406as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl. 433as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl.
407 434
408This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 435This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
409 436
437This setting has currently no effect on tied hashes.
438
410=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable]) 439=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable])
411 440
412=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_nonref 441=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_nonref
413 442
414If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a 443If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a
424Example, encode a Perl scalar as JSON value with enabled C<allow_nonref>, 453Example, encode a Perl scalar as JSON value with enabled C<allow_nonref>,
425resulting in an invalid JSON text: 454resulting in an invalid JSON text:
426 455
427 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!") 456 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!")
428 => "Hello, World!" 457 => "Hello, World!"
458
459=item $json = $json->allow_unknown ([$enable])
460
461=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_unknown
462
463If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode> will I<not> throw an
464exception when it encounters values it cannot represent in JSON (for
465example, filehandles) but instead will encode a JSON C<null> value. Note
466that blessed objects are not included here and are handled separately by
467c<allow_nonref>.
468
469If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
470exception when it encounters anything it cannot encode as JSON.
471
472This option does not affect C<decode> in any way, and it is recommended to
473leave it off unless you know your communications partner.
429 474
430=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable]) 475=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable])
431 476
432=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_blessed 477=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_blessed
433 478
455The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON> 500The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON>
456returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same 501returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same
457way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle 502way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle
458(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other 503(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other
459methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are 504methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are
460usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with the C<to_json> 505usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with any C<to_json>
461function. 506function or method.
462 507
463This setting does not yet influence C<decode> in any way, but in the 508This setting does not yet influence C<decode> in any way, but in the
464future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are 509future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are
465enabled by this setting. 510enabled by this setting.
466 511
574=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth]) 619=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])
575 620
576=item $max_depth = $json->get_max_depth 621=item $max_depth = $json->get_max_depth
577 622
578Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding 623Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding
579or decoding. If the JSON text or Perl data structure has an equal or 624or decoding. If a higher nesting level is detected in JSON text or a Perl
580higher nesting level then this limit, then the encoder and decoder will 625data structure, then the encoder and decoder will stop and croak at that
581stop and croak at that point. 626point.
582 627
583Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder 628Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder
584needs to traverse to reach a given point or the number of C<{> or C<[> 629needs to traverse to reach a given point or the number of C<{> or C<[>
585characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a 630characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a
586given character in a string. 631given character in a string.
587 632
588Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures 633Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures
589that the object is only a single hash/object or array. 634that the object is only a single hash/object or array.
590 635
591The argument to C<max_depth> will be rounded up to the next highest power
592of two. If no argument is given, the highest possible setting will be 636If no argument is given, the highest possible setting will be used, which
593used, which is rarely useful. 637is rarely useful.
638
639Note that nesting is implemented by recursion in C. The default value has
640been chosen to be as large as typical operating systems allow without
641crashing.
594 642
595See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful. 643See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
596 644
597=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size]) 645=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size])
598 646
599=item $max_size = $json->get_max_size 647=item $max_size = $json->get_max_size
600 648
601Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where decoding is 649Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where decoding is
602being attempted. The default is C<0>, meaning no limit. When C<decode> 650being attempted. The default is C<0>, meaning no limit. When C<decode>
603is called on a string longer then this number of characters it will not 651is called on a string that is longer then this many bytes, it will not
604attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no 652attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no
605effect on C<encode> (yet). 653effect on C<encode> (yet).
606 654
607The argument to C<max_size> will be rounded up to the next B<highest> 655If no argument is given, the limit check will be deactivated (same as when
608power of two (so may be more than requested). If no argument is given, the 656C<0> is specified).
609limit check will be deactivated (same as when C<0> is specified).
610 657
611See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful. 658See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
612 659
613=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar) 660=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar)
614 661
615Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference 662Converts the given Perl value or data structure to its JSON
616to a hash or array) to its JSON representation. Simple scalars will be 663representation. Croaks on error.
617converted into JSON string or number sequences, while references to arrays
618become JSON arrays and references to hashes become JSON objects. Undefined
619Perl values (e.g. C<undef>) become JSON C<null> values. Neither C<true>
620nor C<false> values will be generated.
621 664
622=item $perl_scalar = $json->decode ($json_text) 665=item $perl_scalar = $json->decode ($json_text)
623 666
624The opposite of C<encode>: expects a JSON text and tries to parse it, 667The opposite of C<encode>: expects a JSON text and tries to parse it,
625returning the resulting simple scalar or reference. Croaks on error. 668returning the resulting simple scalar or reference. Croaks on error.
626
627JSON numbers and strings become simple Perl scalars. JSON arrays become
628Perl arrayrefs and JSON objects become Perl hashrefs. C<true> becomes
629C<1>, C<false> becomes C<0> and C<null> becomes C<undef>.
630 669
631=item ($perl_scalar, $characters) = $json->decode_prefix ($json_text) 670=item ($perl_scalar, $characters) = $json->decode_prefix ($json_text)
632 671
633This works like the C<decode> method, but instead of raising an exception 672This works like the C<decode> method, but instead of raising an exception
634when there is trailing garbage after the first JSON object, it will 673when there is trailing garbage after the first JSON object, it will
635silently stop parsing there and return the number of characters consumed 674silently stop parsing there and return the number of characters consumed
636so far. 675so far.
637 676
638This is useful if your JSON texts are not delimited by an outer protocol 677This is useful if your JSON texts are not delimited by an outer protocol
639(which is not the brightest thing to do in the first place) and you need
640to know where the JSON text ends. 678and you need to know where the JSON text ends.
641 679
642 JSON::XS->new->decode_prefix ("[1] the tail") 680 JSON::XS->new->decode_prefix ("[1] the tail")
643 => ([], 3) 681 => ([], 3)
644 682
645=back 683=back
684
685
686=head1 INCREMENTAL PARSING
687
688In some cases, there is the need for incremental parsing of JSON
689texts. While this module always has to keep both JSON text and resulting
690Perl data structure in memory at one time, it does allow you to parse a
691JSON stream incrementally. It does so by accumulating text until it has
692a full JSON object, which it then can decode. This process is similar to
693using C<decode_prefix> to see if a full JSON object is available, but
694is much more efficient (and can be implemented with a minimum of method
695calls).
696
697JSON::XS will only attempt to parse the JSON text once it is sure it
698has enough text to get a decisive result, using a very simple but
699truly incremental parser. This means that it sometimes won't stop as
700early as the full parser, for example, it doesn't detect mismatched
701parentheses. The only thing it guarantees is that it starts decoding as
702soon as a syntactically valid JSON text has been seen. This means you need
703to set resource limits (e.g. C<max_size>) to ensure the parser will stop
704parsing in the presence if syntax errors.
705
706The following methods implement this incremental parser.
707
708=over 4
709
710=item [void, scalar or list context] = $json->incr_parse ([$string])
711
712This is the central parsing function. It can both append new text and
713extract objects from the stream accumulated so far (both of these
714functions are optional).
715
716If C<$string> is given, then this string is appended to the already
717existing JSON fragment stored in the C<$json> object.
718
719After that, if the function is called in void context, it will simply
720return without doing anything further. This can be used to add more text
721in as many chunks as you want.
722
723If the method is called in scalar context, then it will try to extract
724exactly I<one> JSON object. If that is successful, it will return this
725object, otherwise it will return C<undef>. If there is a parse error,
726this method will croak just as C<decode> would do (one can then use
727C<incr_skip> to skip the erroneous part). This is the most common way of
728using the method.
729
730And finally, in list context, it will try to extract as many objects
731from the stream as it can find and return them, or the empty list
732otherwise. For this to work, there must be no separators between the JSON
733objects or arrays, instead they must be concatenated back-to-back. If
734an error occurs, an exception will be raised as in the scalar context
735case. Note that in this case, any previously-parsed JSON texts will be
736lost.
737
738Example: Parse some JSON arrays/objects in a given string and return
739them.
740
741 my @objs = JSON::XS->new->incr_parse ("[5][7][1,2]");
742
743=item $lvalue_string = $json->incr_text
744
745This method returns the currently stored JSON fragment as an lvalue, that
746is, you can manipulate it. This I<only> works when a preceding call to
747C<incr_parse> in I<scalar context> successfully returned an object. Under
748all other circumstances you must not call this function (I mean it.
749although in simple tests it might actually work, it I<will> fail under
750real world conditions). As a special exception, you can also call this
751method before having parsed anything.
752
753This function is useful in two cases: a) finding the trailing text after a
754JSON object or b) parsing multiple JSON objects separated by non-JSON text
755(such as commas).
756
757=item $json->incr_skip
758
759This will reset the state of the incremental parser and will remove
760the parsed text from the input buffer so far. This is useful after
761C<incr_parse> died, in which case the input buffer and incremental parser
762state is left unchanged, to skip the text parsed so far and to reset the
763parse state.
764
765The difference to C<incr_reset> is that only text until the parse error
766occurred is removed.
767
768=item $json->incr_reset
769
770This completely resets the incremental parser, that is, after this call,
771it will be as if the parser had never parsed anything.
772
773This is useful if you want to repeatedly parse JSON objects and want to
774ignore any trailing data, which means you have to reset the parser after
775each successful decode.
776
777=back
778
779=head2 LIMITATIONS
780
781All options that affect decoding are supported, except
782C<allow_nonref>. The reason for this is that it cannot be made to work
783sensibly: JSON objects and arrays are self-delimited, i.e. you can
784concatenate them back to back and still decode them perfectly. This does
785not hold true for JSON numbers, however.
786
787For example, is the string C<1> a single JSON number, or is it simply the
788start of C<12>? Or is C<12> a single JSON number, or the concatenation
789of C<1> and C<2>? In neither case you can tell, and this is why JSON::XS
790takes the conservative route and disallows this case.
791
792=head2 EXAMPLES
793
794Some examples will make all this clearer. First, a simple example that
795works similarly to C<decode_prefix>: We want to decode the JSON object at
796the start of a string and identify the portion after the JSON object:
797
798 my $text = "[1,2,3] hello";
799
800 my $json = new JSON::XS;
801
802 my $obj = $json->incr_parse ($text)
803 or die "expected JSON object or array at beginning of string";
804
805 my $tail = $json->incr_text;
806 # $tail now contains " hello"
807
808Easy, isn't it?
809
810Now for a more complicated example: Imagine a hypothetical protocol where
811you read some requests from a TCP stream, and each request is a JSON
812array, without any separation between them (in fact, it is often useful to
813use newlines as "separators", as these get interpreted as whitespace at
814the start of the JSON text, which makes it possible to test said protocol
815with C<telnet>...).
816
817Here is how you'd do it (it is trivial to write this in an event-based
818manner):
819
820 my $json = new JSON::XS;
821
822 # read some data from the socket
823 while (sysread $socket, my $buf, 4096) {
824
825 # split and decode as many requests as possible
826 for my $request ($json->incr_parse ($buf)) {
827 # act on the $request
828 }
829 }
830
831Another complicated example: Assume you have a string with JSON objects
832or arrays, all separated by (optional) comma characters (e.g. C<[1],[2],
833[3]>). To parse them, we have to skip the commas between the JSON texts,
834and here is where the lvalue-ness of C<incr_text> comes in useful:
835
836 my $text = "[1],[2], [3]";
837 my $json = new JSON::XS;
838
839 # void context, so no parsing done
840 $json->incr_parse ($text);
841
842 # now extract as many objects as possible. note the
843 # use of scalar context so incr_text can be called.
844 while (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
845 # do something with $obj
846
847 # now skip the optional comma
848 $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* , //x;
849 }
850
851Now lets go for a very complex example: Assume that you have a gigantic
852JSON array-of-objects, many gigabytes in size, and you want to parse it,
853but you cannot load it into memory fully (this has actually happened in
854the real world :).
855
856Well, you lost, you have to implement your own JSON parser. But JSON::XS
857can still help you: You implement a (very simple) array parser and let
858JSON decode the array elements, which are all full JSON objects on their
859own (this wouldn't work if the array elements could be JSON numbers, for
860example):
861
862 my $json = new JSON::XS;
863
864 # open the monster
865 open my $fh, "<bigfile.json"
866 or die "bigfile: $!";
867
868 # first parse the initial "["
869 for (;;) {
870 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
871 or die "read error: $!";
872 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
873
874 # Exit the loop once we found and removed(!) the initial "[".
875 # In essence, we are (ab-)using the $json object as a simple scalar
876 # we append data to.
877 last if $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* \[ //x;
878 }
879
880 # now we have the skipped the initial "[", so continue
881 # parsing all the elements.
882 for (;;) {
883 # in this loop we read data until we got a single JSON object
884 for (;;) {
885 if (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
886 # do something with $obj
887 last;
888 }
889
890 # add more data
891 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
892 or die "read error: $!";
893 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
894 }
895
896 # in this loop we read data until we either found and parsed the
897 # separating "," between elements, or the final "]"
898 for (;;) {
899 # first skip whitespace
900 $json->incr_text =~ s/^\s*//;
901
902 # if we find "]", we are done
903 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^\]//) {
904 print "finished.\n";
905 exit;
906 }
907
908 # if we find ",", we can continue with the next element
909 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^,//) {
910 last;
911 }
912
913 # if we find anything else, we have a parse error!
914 if (length $json->incr_text) {
915 die "parse error near ", $json->incr_text;
916 }
917
918 # else add more data
919 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
920 or die "read error: $!";
921 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
922 }
923
924This is a complex example, but most of the complexity comes from the fact
925that we are trying to be correct (bear with me if I am wrong, I never ran
926the above example :).
927
646 928
647 929
648=head1 MAPPING 930=head1 MAPPING
649 931
650This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and 932This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and
680 962
681A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or 963A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or
682string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On 964string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On
683the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all 965the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all
684the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and 966the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and
685might represent more values exactly than (floating point) numbers. 967might represent more values exactly than floating point numbers.
686 968
687If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent 969If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent
688it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as 970it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as
689a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of 971a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of
690precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value. 972precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value (in
973which case you lose roundtripping ability, as the JSON number will be
974re-encoded to a JSON string).
691 975
692Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be 976Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be
693represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of 977represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of
694precision. 978precision (in which case you might lose perfect roundtripping ability, but
979the JSON number will still be re-encoded as a JSON number).
695 980
696This might create round-tripping problems as numbers might become strings, 981Note that precision is not accuracy - binary floating point values cannot
697but as Perl is typeless there is no other way to do it. 982represent most decimal fractions exactly, and when converting from and to
983floating point, JSON::XS only guarantees precision up to but not including
984the least significant bit.
698 985
699=item true, false 986=item true, false
700 987
701These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>, 988These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>,
702respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers 989respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers
718 1005
719=over 4 1006=over 4
720 1007
721=item hash references 1008=item hash references
722 1009
723Perl hash references become JSON objects. As there is no inherent ordering 1010Perl hash references become JSON objects. As there is no inherent
724in hash keys (or JSON objects), they will usually be encoded in a 1011ordering in hash keys (or JSON objects), they will usually be encoded
725pseudo-random order that can change between runs of the same program but 1012in a pseudo-random order. JSON::XS can optionally sort the hash keys
726stays generally the same within a single run of a program. JSON::XS can 1013(determined by the I<canonical> flag), so the same datastructure will
727optionally sort the hash keys (determined by the I<canonical> flag), so 1014serialise to the same JSON text (given same settings and version of
728the same datastructure will serialise to the same JSON text (given same 1015JSON::XS), but this incurs a runtime overhead and is only rarely useful,
729settings and version of JSON::XS), but this incurs a runtime overhead 1016e.g. when you want to compare some JSON text against another for equality.
730and is only rarely useful, e.g. when you want to compare some JSON text
731against another for equality.
732 1017
733=item array references 1018=item array references
734 1019
735Perl array references become JSON arrays. 1020Perl array references become JSON arrays.
736 1021
739Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an 1024Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an
740exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and 1025exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and
741C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can 1026C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can
742also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability. 1027also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability.
743 1028
744 to_json [\0,JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true] 1029 encode_json [\0, JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true]
745 1030
746=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false 1031=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false
747 1032
748These special values become JSON true and JSON false values, 1033These special values become JSON true and JSON false values,
749respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want. 1034respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want.
750 1035
751=item blessed objects 1036=item blessed objects
752 1037
753Blessed objects are not allowed. JSON::XS currently tries to encode their 1038Blessed objects are not directly representable in JSON. See the
754underlying representation (hash- or arrayref), but this behaviour might 1039C<allow_blessed> and C<convert_blessed> methods on various options on
755change in future versions. 1040how to deal with this: basically, you can choose between throwing an
1041exception, encoding the reference as if it weren't blessed, or provide
1042your own serialiser method.
756 1043
757=item simple scalars 1044=item simple scalars
758 1045
759Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most 1046Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most
760difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as 1047difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as
761JSON null value, scalars that have last been used in a string context 1048JSON C<null> values, scalars that have last been used in a string context
762before encoding as JSON strings and anything else as number value: 1049before encoding as JSON strings, and anything else as number value:
763 1050
764 # dump as number 1051 # dump as number
765 to_json [2] # yields [2] 1052 encode_json [2] # yields [2]
766 to_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17] 1053 encode_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17]
767 my $value = 5; to_json [$value] # yields [5] 1054 my $value = 5; encode_json [$value] # yields [5]
768 1055
769 # used as string, so dump as string 1056 # used as string, so dump as string
770 print $value; 1057 print $value;
771 to_json [$value] # yields ["5"] 1058 encode_json [$value] # yields ["5"]
772 1059
773 # undef becomes null 1060 # undef becomes null
774 to_json [undef] # yields [null] 1061 encode_json [undef] # yields [null]
775 1062
776You can force the type to be a JSON string by stringifying it: 1063You can force the type to be a JSON string by stringifying it:
777 1064
778 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number 1065 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number
779 "$x"; # stringified 1066 "$x"; # stringified
785 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string 1072 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string
786 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number 1073 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number
787 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours. 1074 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours.
788 1075
789You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me 1076You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me
790if you need this capability. 1077if you need this capability (but don't forget to explain why it's needed
1078:).
1079
1080Note that numerical precision has the same meaning as under Perl (so
1081binary to decimal conversion follows the same rules as in Perl, which
1082can differ to other languages). Also, your perl interpreter might expose
1083extensions to the floating point numbers of your platform, such as
1084infinities or NaN's - these cannot be represented in JSON, and it is an
1085error to pass those in.
791 1086
792=back 1087=back
793 1088
794 1089
795=head1 COMPARISON 1090=head1 ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES
796 1091
797As already mentioned, this module was created because none of the existing 1092The interested reader might have seen a number of flags that signify
798JSON modules could be made to work correctly. First I will describe the 1093encodings or codesets - C<utf8>, C<latin1> and C<ascii>. There seems to be
799problems (or pleasures) I encountered with various existing JSON modules, 1094some confusion on what these do, so here is a short comparison:
800followed by some benchmark values. JSON::XS was designed not to suffer 1095
801from any of these problems or limitations. 1096C<utf8> controls whether the JSON text created by C<encode> (and expected
1097by C<decode>) is UTF-8 encoded or not, while C<latin1> and C<ascii> only
1098control whether C<encode> escapes character values outside their respective
1099codeset range. Neither of these flags conflict with each other, although
1100some combinations make less sense than others.
1101
1102Care has been taken to make all flags symmetrical with respect to
1103C<encode> and C<decode>, that is, texts encoded with any combination of
1104these flag values will be correctly decoded when the same flags are used
1105- in general, if you use different flag settings while encoding vs. when
1106decoding you likely have a bug somewhere.
1107
1108Below comes a verbose discussion of these flags. Note that a "codeset" is
1109simply an abstract set of character-codepoint pairs, while an encoding
1110takes those codepoint numbers and I<encodes> them, in our case into
1111octets. Unicode is (among other things) a codeset, UTF-8 is an encoding,
1112and ISO-8859-1 (= latin 1) and ASCII are both codesets I<and> encodings at
1113the same time, which can be confusing.
802 1114
803=over 4 1115=over 4
804 1116
805=item JSON 1.07 1117=item C<utf8> flag disabled
806 1118
807Slow (but very portable, as it is written in pure Perl). 1119When C<utf8> is disabled (the default), then C<encode>/C<decode> generate
1120and expect Unicode strings, that is, characters with high ordinal Unicode
1121values (> 255) will be encoded as such characters, and likewise such
1122characters are decoded as-is, no changes to them will be done, except
1123"(re-)interpreting" them as Unicode codepoints or Unicode characters,
1124respectively (to Perl, these are the same thing in strings unless you do
1125funny/weird/dumb stuff).
808 1126
809Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling (how JSON handles Unicode values is 1127This is useful when you want to do the encoding yourself (e.g. when you
810undocumented. One can get far by feeding it Unicode strings and doing 1128want to have UTF-16 encoded JSON texts) or when some other layer does
811en-/decoding oneself, but Unicode escapes are not working properly). 1129the encoding for you (for example, when printing to a terminal using a
1130filehandle that transparently encodes to UTF-8 you certainly do NOT want
1131to UTF-8 encode your data first and have Perl encode it another time).
812 1132
813No round-tripping (strings get clobbered if they look like numbers, e.g. 1133=item C<utf8> flag enabled
814the string C<2.0> will encode to C<2.0> instead of C<"2.0">, and that will
815decode into the number 2.
816 1134
817=item JSON::PC 0.01 1135If the C<utf8>-flag is enabled, C<encode>/C<decode> will encode all
1136characters using the corresponding UTF-8 multi-byte sequence, and will
1137expect your input strings to be encoded as UTF-8, that is, no "character"
1138of the input string must have any value > 255, as UTF-8 does not allow
1139that.
818 1140
819Very fast. 1141The C<utf8> flag therefore switches between two modes: disabled means you
1142will get a Unicode string in Perl, enabled means you get an UTF-8 encoded
1143octet/binary string in Perl.
820 1144
821Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling. 1145=item C<latin1> or C<ascii> flags enabled
822 1146
823No round-tripping. 1147With C<latin1> (or C<ascii>) enabled, C<encode> will escape characters
1148with ordinal values > 255 (> 127 with C<ascii>) and encode the remaining
1149characters as specified by the C<utf8> flag.
824 1150
825Has problems handling many Perl values (e.g. regex results and other magic 1151If C<utf8> is disabled, then the result is also correctly encoded in those
826values will make it croak). 1152character sets (as both are proper subsets of Unicode, meaning that a
1153Unicode string with all character values < 256 is the same thing as a
1154ISO-8859-1 string, and a Unicode string with all character values < 128 is
1155the same thing as an ASCII string in Perl).
827 1156
828Does not even generate valid JSON (C<{1,2}> gets converted to C<{1:2}> 1157If C<utf8> is enabled, you still get a correct UTF-8-encoded string,
829which is not a valid JSON text. 1158regardless of these flags, just some more characters will be escaped using
1159C<\uXXXX> then before.
830 1160
831Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not 1161Note that ISO-8859-1-I<encoded> strings are not compatible with UTF-8
832getting fixed). 1162encoding, while ASCII-encoded strings are. That is because the ISO-8859-1
1163encoding is NOT a subset of UTF-8 (despite the ISO-8859-1 I<codeset> being
1164a subset of Unicode), while ASCII is.
833 1165
834=item JSON::Syck 0.21 1166Surprisingly, C<decode> will ignore these flags and so treat all input
1167values as governed by the C<utf8> flag. If it is disabled, this allows you
1168to decode ISO-8859-1- and ASCII-encoded strings, as both strict subsets of
1169Unicode. If it is enabled, you can correctly decode UTF-8 encoded strings.
835 1170
836Very buggy (often crashes). 1171So neither C<latin1> nor C<ascii> are incompatible with the C<utf8> flag -
1172they only govern when the JSON output engine escapes a character or not.
837 1173
838Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty much 1174The main use for C<latin1> is to relatively efficiently store binary data
839undocumented. I need at least a format for easy reading by humans and a 1175as JSON, at the expense of breaking compatibility with most JSON decoders.
840single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and preferably a way to
841generate ASCII-only JSON texts).
842 1176
843Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling (Unicode 1177The main use for C<ascii> is to force the output to not contain characters
844escapes are not working properly, you need to set ImplicitUnicode to 1178with values > 127, which means you can interpret the resulting string
845I<different> values on en- and decoding to get symmetric behaviour). 1179as UTF-8, ISO-8859-1, ASCII, KOI8-R or most about any character set and
846 11808-bit-encoding, and still get the same data structure back. This is useful
847No round-tripping (simple cases work, but this depends on whether the scalar 1181when your channel for JSON transfer is not 8-bit clean or the encoding
848value was used in a numeric context or not). 1182might be mangled in between (e.g. in mail), and works because ASCII is a
849 1183proper subset of most 8-bit and multibyte encodings in use in the world.
850Dumping hashes may skip hash values depending on iterator state.
851
852Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not
853getting fixed).
854
855Does not check input for validity (i.e. will accept non-JSON input and
856return "something" instead of raising an exception. This is a security
857issue: imagine two banks transferring money between each other using
858JSON. One bank might parse a given non-JSON request and deduct money,
859while the other might reject the transaction with a syntax error. While a
860good protocol will at least recover, that is extra unnecessary work and
861the transaction will still not succeed).
862
863=item JSON::DWIW 0.04
864
865Very fast. Very natural. Very nice.
866
867Undocumented Unicode handling (but the best of the pack. Unicode escapes
868still don't get parsed properly).
869
870Very inflexible.
871
872No round-tripping.
873
874Does not generate valid JSON texts (key strings are often unquoted, empty keys
875result in nothing being output)
876
877Does not check input for validity.
878 1184
879=back 1185=back
880 1186
881 1187
1188=head2 JSON and ECMAscript
1189
1190JSON syntax is based on how literals are represented in javascript (the
1191not-standardised predecessor of ECMAscript) which is presumably why it is
1192called "JavaScript Object Notation".
1193
1194However, JSON is not a subset (and also not a superset of course) of
1195ECMAscript (the standard) or javascript (whatever browsers actually
1196implement).
1197
1198If you want to use javascript's C<eval> function to "parse" JSON, you
1199might run into parse errors for valid JSON texts, or the resulting data
1200structure might not be queryable:
1201
1202One of the problems is that U+2028 and U+2029 are valid characters inside
1203JSON strings, but are not allowed in ECMAscript string literals, so the
1204following Perl fragment will not output something that can be guaranteed
1205to be parsable by javascript's C<eval>:
1206
1207 use JSON::XS;
1208
1209 print encode_json [chr 0x2028];
1210
1211The right fix for this is to use a proper JSON parser in your javascript
1212programs, and not rely on C<eval> (see for example Douglas Crockford's
1213F<json2.js> parser).
1214
1215If this is not an option, you can, as a stop-gap measure, simply encode to
1216ASCII-only JSON:
1217
1218 use JSON::XS;
1219
1220 print JSON::XS->new->ascii->encode ([chr 0x2028]);
1221
1222Note that this will enlarge the resulting JSON text quite a bit if you
1223have many non-ASCII characters. You might be tempted to run some regexes
1224to only escape U+2028 and U+2029, e.g.:
1225
1226 # DO NOT USE THIS!
1227 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ([chr 0x2028]);
1228 $json =~ s/\xe2\x80\xa8/\\u2028/g; # escape U+2028
1229 $json =~ s/\xe2\x80\xa9/\\u2029/g; # escape U+2029
1230 print $json;
1231
1232Note that I<this is a bad idea>: the above only works for U+2028 and
1233U+2029 and thus only for fully ECMAscript-compliant parsers. Many existing
1234javascript implementations, however, have issues with other characters as
1235well - using C<eval> naively simply I<will> cause problems.
1236
1237Another problem is that some javascript implementations reserve
1238some property names for their own purposes (which probably makes
1239them non-ECMAscript-compliant). For example, Iceweasel reserves the
1240C<__proto__> property name for its own purposes.
1241
1242If that is a problem, you could parse try to filter the resulting JSON
1243output for these property strings, e.g.:
1244
1245 $json =~ s/"__proto__"\s*:/"__proto__renamed":/g;
1246
1247This works because C<__proto__> is not valid outside of strings, so every
1248occurrence of C<"__proto__"\s*:> must be a string used as property name.
1249
1250If you know of other incompatibilities, please let me know.
1251
1252
882=head2 JSON and YAML 1253=head2 JSON and YAML
883 1254
884You often hear that JSON is a subset (or a close subset) of YAML. This is, 1255You often hear that JSON is a subset of YAML. This is, however, a mass
885however, a mass hysteria and very far from the truth. In general, there is 1256hysteria(*) and very far from the truth (as of the time of this writing),
886no way to configure JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML. 1257so let me state it clearly: I<in general, there is no way to configure
1258JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML> that works in all
1259cases.
887 1260
888If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this 1261If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this
889algorithm (subject to change in future versions): 1262algorithm (subject to change in future versions):
890 1263
891 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1); 1264 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1);
892 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n"; 1265 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n";
893 1266
894This will usually generate JSON texts that also parse as valid 1267This will I<usually> generate JSON texts that also parse as valid
895YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key 1268YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key
896lengths that JSON doesn't have, so you should make sure that your hash 1269lengths that JSON doesn't have and also has different and incompatible
1270unicode character escape syntax, so you should make sure that your hash
897keys are noticeably shorter than the 1024 characters YAML allows. 1271keys are noticeably shorter than the 1024 "stream characters" YAML allows
1272and that you do not have characters with codepoint values outside the
1273Unicode BMP (basic multilingual page). YAML also does not allow C<\/>
1274sequences in strings (which JSON::XS does not I<currently> generate, but
1275other JSON generators might).
898 1276
899There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of. In general 1277There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of (or the YAML
1278specification has been changed yet again - it does so quite often). In
900you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice versa, 1279general you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice
901or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are high 1280versa, or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are
902that you will run into severe interoperability problems. 1281high that you will run into severe interoperability problems when you
1282least expect it.
1283
1284=over 4
1285
1286=item (*)
1287
1288I have been pressured multiple times by Brian Ingerson (one of the
1289authors of the YAML specification) to remove this paragraph, despite him
1290acknowledging that the actual incompatibilities exist. As I was personally
1291bitten by this "JSON is YAML" lie, I refused and said I will continue to
1292educate people about these issues, so others do not run into the same
1293problem again and again. After this, Brian called me a (quote)I<complete
1294and worthless idiot>(unquote).
1295
1296In my opinion, instead of pressuring and insulting people who actually
1297clarify issues with YAML and the wrong statements of some of its
1298proponents, I would kindly suggest reading the JSON spec (which is not
1299that difficult or long) and finally make YAML compatible to it, and
1300educating users about the changes, instead of spreading lies about the
1301real compatibility for many I<years> and trying to silence people who
1302point out that it isn't true.
1303
1304Addendum/2009: the YAML 1.2 spec is still incompatible with JSON, even
1305though the incompatibilities have been documented (and are known to Brian)
1306for many years and the spec makes explicit claims that YAML is a superset
1307of JSON. It would be so easy to fix, but apparently, bullying people and
1308corrupting userdata is so much easier.
1309
1310=back
903 1311
904 1312
905=head2 SPEED 1313=head2 SPEED
906 1314
907It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following 1315It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following
908tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program 1316tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program
909in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own 1317in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own
910system. 1318system.
911 1319
912First comes a comparison between various modules using a very short 1320First comes a comparison between various modules using
913single-line JSON string: 1321a very short single-line JSON string (also available at
1322L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/short.json>).
914 1323
915 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], \ 1324 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1",
916 "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7, true, false]} 1325 "we were just talking"], "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7,
1326 1, 0]}
917 1327
918It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses 1328It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses
919the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface 1329the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface
920with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables 1330with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables
921shrink). Higher is better: 1331shrink. JSON::DWIW/DS uses the deserialise function, while JSON::DWIW::FJ
1332uses the from_json method). Higher is better:
922 1333
923 module | encode | decode | 1334 module | encode | decode |
924 -----------|------------|------------| 1335 --------------|------------|------------|
925 JSON 1.x | 4990.842 | 4088.813 | 1336 JSON::DWIW/DS | 86302.551 | 102300.098 |
926 JSON::DWIW | 51653.990 | 71575.154 | 1337 JSON::DWIW/FJ | 86302.551 | 75983.768 |
927 JSON::PC | 65948.176 | 74631.744 | 1338 JSON::PP | 15827.562 | 6638.658 |
928 JSON::PP | 8931.652 | 3817.168 | 1339 JSON::Syck | 63358.066 | 47662.545 |
929 JSON::Syck | 24877.248 | 27776.848 | 1340 JSON::XS | 511500.488 | 511500.488 |
930 JSON::XS | 388361.481 | 227951.304 | 1341 JSON::XS/2 | 291271.111 | 388361.481 |
931 JSON::XS/2 | 227951.304 | 218453.333 | 1342 JSON::XS/3 | 361577.931 | 361577.931 |
932 JSON::XS/3 | 338250.323 | 218453.333 | 1343 Storable | 66788.280 | 265462.278 |
933 Storable | 16500.016 | 135300.129 |
934 -----------+------------+------------+ 1344 --------------+------------+------------+
935 1345
936That is, JSON::XS is about five times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding, 1346That is, JSON::XS is almost six times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding,
937about three times faster on decoding, and over forty times faster 1347about five times faster on decoding, and over thirty to seventy times
938than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares 1348faster than JSON's pure perl implementation. It also compares favourably
939favourably to Storable for small amounts of data. 1349to Storable for small amounts of data.
940 1350
941Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals 1351Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals
942search API (http://nanoref.com/yahooapis/mgPdGg): 1352search API (L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/long.json>).
943 1353
944 module | encode | decode | 1354 module | encode | decode |
945 -----------|------------|------------| 1355 --------------|------------|------------|
946 JSON 1.x | 55.260 | 34.971 | 1356 JSON::DWIW/DS | 1647.927 | 2673.916 |
947 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 | 1357 JSON::DWIW/FJ | 1630.249 | 2596.128 |
948 JSON::PC | 3571.444 | 2394.829 |
949 JSON::PP | 210.987 | 32.574 | 1358 JSON::PP | 400.640 | 62.311 |
950 JSON::Syck | 552.551 | 787.544 | 1359 JSON::Syck | 1481.040 | 1524.869 |
951 JSON::XS | 5780.463 | 4854.519 | 1360 JSON::XS | 20661.596 | 9541.183 |
952 JSON::XS/2 | 3869.998 | 4798.975 | 1361 JSON::XS/2 | 10683.403 | 9416.938 |
953 JSON::XS/3 | 5862.880 | 4798.975 | 1362 JSON::XS/3 | 20661.596 | 9400.054 |
954 Storable | 4445.002 | 5235.027 | 1363 Storable | 19765.806 | 10000.725 |
955 -----------+------------+------------+ 1364 --------------+------------+------------+
956 1365
957Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly 1366Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly
958decodes faster). 1367decodes a bit faster).
959 1368
960On large strings containing lots of high Unicode characters, some modules 1369On large strings containing lots of high Unicode characters, some modules
961(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result 1370(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result
962will be broken due to missing (or wrong) Unicode handling. Others refuse 1371will be broken due to missing (or wrong) Unicode handling. Others refuse
963to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair 1372to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair
984 1393
985Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and 1394Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and
986arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64 1395arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64
987machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but 1396machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but
988only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak 1397only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak
989to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. to be 1398to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. To be
990conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process 1399conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process
991has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the 1400has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the
992C<max_depth> method. 1401C<max_depth> method.
993 1402
994And last but least, something else could bomb you that I forgot to think 1403Something else could bomb you, too, that I forgot to think of. In that
995of. In that case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, 1404case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, though...
996though... 1405
1406Also keep in mind that JSON::XS might leak contents of your Perl data
1407structures in its error messages, so when you serialise sensitive
1408information you might want to make sure that exceptions thrown by JSON::XS
1409will not end up in front of untrusted eyes.
997 1410
998If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption 1411If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption
999by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at 1412by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at
1000L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see whether 1413L<http://blog.archive.jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security/> to
1001you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser 1414see whether you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really
1002design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it, as major 1415are browser design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with
1003browser developers care only for features, not about doing security 1416it, as major browser developers care only for features, not about getting
1004right). 1417security right).
1005 1418
1006 1419
1007=head1 THREADS 1420=head1 THREADS
1008 1421
1009This module is I<not> guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no 1422This module is I<not> guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no
1010plans to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the 1423plans to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the
1011horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated 1424horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated
1012process simulations - use fork, its I<much> faster, cheaper, better). 1425process simulations - use fork, it's I<much> faster, cheaper, better).
1013 1426
1014(It might actually work, but you have been warned). 1427(It might actually work, but you have been warned).
1015 1428
1016 1429
1430=head1 THE PERILS OF SETLOCALE
1431
1432Sometimes people avoid the Perl locale support and directly call the
1433system's setlocale function with C<LC_ALL>.
1434
1435This breaks both perl and modules such as JSON::XS, as stringification of
1436numbers no longer works correctly (e.g. C<$x = 0.1; print "$x"+1> might
1437print C<1>, and JSON::XS might output illegal JSON as JSON::XS relies on
1438perl to stringify numbers).
1439
1440The solution is simple: don't call C<setlocale>, or use it for only those
1441categories you need, such as C<LC_MESSAGES> or C<LC_CTYPE>.
1442
1443If you need C<LC_NUMERIC>, you should enable it only around the code that
1444actually needs it (avoiding stringification of numbers), and restore it
1445afterwards.
1446
1447
1017=head1 BUGS 1448=head1 BUGS
1018 1449
1019While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does 1450While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does
1020not mean its bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is 1451not mean it's bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. If you
1021still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they 1452keep reporting bugs they will be fixed swiftly, though.
1022will be fixed swiftly, though.
1023 1453
1024Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting 1454Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting
1025service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason. 1455service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason.
1026 1456
1027=cut 1457=cut
1047 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 }, 1477 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 },
1048 fallback => 1; 1478 fallback => 1;
1049 1479
10501; 14801;
1051 1481
1482=head1 SEE ALSO
1483
1484The F<json_xs> command line utility for quick experiments.
1485
1052=head1 AUTHOR 1486=head1 AUTHOR
1053 1487
1054 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 1488 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1055 http://home.schmorp.de/ 1489 http://home.schmorp.de/
1056 1490

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