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Revision 1.69 by root, Tue Oct 23 03:31:14 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.106 by root, Tue May 27 05:31:39 2008 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
42 60
43=over 4 61=over 4
44 62
45=item * correct Unicode handling 63=item * correct Unicode handling
46 64
47This module knows how to handle Unicode, and even documents how and when 65This module knows how to handle Unicode, documents how and when it does
48it does so. 66so, and even documents what "correct" means.
49 67
50=item * round-trip integrity 68=item * round-trip integrity
51 69
52When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported 70When you serialise a perl data structure using only data types supported
53by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level. 71by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level.
54(e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because it looks 72(e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because it looks
55like a number). 73like a number). There minor I<are> exceptions to this, read the MAPPING
74section below to learn about those.
56 75
57=item * strict checking of JSON correctness 76=item * strict checking of JSON correctness
58 77
59There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default, 78There 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 79and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security
61feature). 80feature).
62 81
63=item * fast 82=item * fast
64 83
65Compared to other JSON modules, this module compares favourably in terms 84Compared to other JSON modules and other serialisers such as Storable,
66of speed, too. 85this module usually compares favourably in terms of speed, too.
67 86
68=item * simple to use 87=item * simple to use
69 88
70This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an OO 89This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an object
71interface. 90oriented interface interface.
72 91
73=item * reasonably versatile output formats 92=item * reasonably versatile output formats
74 93
75You can choose between the most compact guaranteed single-line format 94You can choose between the most compact guaranteed-single-line format
76possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format 95possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ASCII format
77(for when your transport is not 8-bit clean, still supports the whole 96(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 97Unicode 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. 98stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like.
80 99
81=back 100=back
84 103
85package JSON::XS; 104package JSON::XS;
86 105
87use strict; 106use strict;
88 107
89our $VERSION = '1.52'; 108our $VERSION = '2.2';
90our @ISA = qw(Exporter); 109our @ISA = qw(Exporter);
91 110
92our @EXPORT = qw(to_json from_json); 111our @EXPORT = qw(encode_json decode_json to_json from_json);
112
113sub to_json($) {
114 require Carp;
115 Carp::croak ("JSON::XS::to_json has been renamed to encode_json, either downgrade to pre-2.0 versions of JSON::XS or rename the call");
116}
117
118sub from_json($) {
119 require Carp;
120 Carp::croak ("JSON::XS::from_json has been renamed to decode_json, either downgrade to pre-2.0 versions of JSON::XS or rename the call");
121}
93 122
94use Exporter; 123use Exporter;
95use XSLoader; 124use XSLoader;
96 125
97=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE 126=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE
99The following convenience methods are provided by this module. They are 128The following convenience methods are provided by this module. They are
100exported by default: 129exported by default:
101 130
102=over 4 131=over 4
103 132
104=item $json_text = to_json $perl_scalar 133=item $json_text = encode_json $perl_scalar
105 134
106Converts the given Perl data structure to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string 135Converts the given Perl data structure to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string
107(that is, the string contains octets only). Croaks on error. 136(that is, the string contains octets only). Croaks on error.
108 137
109This function call is functionally identical to: 138This function call is functionally identical to:
110 139
111 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar) 140 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar)
112 141
113except being faster. 142Except being faster.
114 143
115=item $perl_scalar = from_json $json_text 144=item $perl_scalar = decode_json $json_text
116 145
117The opposite of C<to_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries 146The 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 147to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting
119reference. Croaks on error. 148reference. Croaks on error.
120 149
121This function call is functionally identical to: 150This function call is functionally identical to:
122 151
123 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text) 152 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text)
124 153
125except being faster. 154Except being faster.
126 155
127=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar 156=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar
128 157
129Returns true if the passed scalar represents either JSON::XS::true or 158Returns 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 159JSON::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 177This enables you to store Unicode characters as single characters in a
149Perl string - very natural. 178Perl string - very natural.
150 179
151=item 2. Perl does I<not> associate an encoding with your strings. 180=item 2. Perl does I<not> associate an encoding with your strings.
152 181
153Unless you force it to, e.g. when matching it against a regex, or printing 182... 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 183printing the scalar to a file, in which case Perl either interprets your
155locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode, depending on various 184string as locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode, depending
156settings. In no case is an encoding stored together with your data, it is 185on various settings. In no case is an encoding stored together with your
157I<use> that decides encoding, not any magical metadata. 186data, it is I<use> that decides encoding, not any magical meta data.
158 187
159=item 3. The internal utf-8 flag has no meaning with regards to the 188=item 3. The internal utf-8 flag has no meaning with regards to the
160encoding of your string. 189encoding of your string.
161 190
162Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written in 191Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written in
168 197
169If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it doesn't 198If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it doesn't
170exist. 199exist.
171 200
172=item 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be 201=item 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be
173validly interpreted as a Unicode codepoint. 202validly interpreted as a Unicode code point.
174 203
175If you have UTF-8 encoded data, it is no longer a Unicode string, but a 204If 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. 205Unicode string encoded in UTF-8, giving you a binary string.
177 206
178=item 5. A string containing "high" (> 255) character values is I<not> a UTF-8 string. 207=item 5. A string containing "high" (> 255) character values is I<not> a UTF-8 string.
201 230
202 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]}) 231 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]})
203 => {"a": [1, 2]} 232 => {"a": [1, 2]}
204 233
205=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable]) 234=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable])
235
236=item $enabled = $json->get_ascii
206 237
207If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not 238If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
208generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any 239generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any
209Unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a 240Unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a
210single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence, 241single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence,
214 245
215If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 246If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
216characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results 247characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results
217in a faster and more compact format. 248in a faster and more compact format.
218 249
250See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
251document.
252
219The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be 253The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be
220transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not 254transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not
221contain any 8 bit characters. 255contain any 8 bit characters.
222 256
223 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401]) 257 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401])
224 => ["\ud801\udc01"] 258 => ["\ud801\udc01"]
225 259
226=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable]) 260=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable])
261
262=item $enabled = $json->get_latin1
227 263
228If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode 264If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
229the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters 265the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters
230outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a 266outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a
231latin1-encoded JSON text or a native Unicode string. The C<decode> method 267latin1-encoded JSON text or a native Unicode string. The C<decode> method
232will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default 268will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default
233expects Unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1. 269expects Unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1.
234 270
235If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 271If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
236characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. 272characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags.
273
274See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
275document.
237 276
238The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON 277The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON
239text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded 278text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded
240size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded 279size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded
241in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and 280in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and
246 JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"] 285 JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"]
247 => ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not) 286 => ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not)
248 287
249=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable]) 288=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable])
250 289
290=item $enabled = $json->get_utf8
291
251If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode 292If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
252the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the 293the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the
253C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please 294C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please
254note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the 295note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the
255range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future 296range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future
258 299
259If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON 300If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON
260string as a (non-encoded) Unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a 301string as a (non-encoded) Unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a
261Unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs 302Unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs
262to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module. 303to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module.
304
305See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
306document.
263 307
264Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON: 308Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON:
265 309
266 use Encode; 310 use Encode;
267 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object); 311 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object);
288 ] 332 ]
289 } 333 }
290 334
291=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable]) 335=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable])
292 336
337=item $enabled = $json->get_indent
338
293If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline 339If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline
294format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair 340format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair
295into its own line, indenting them properly. 341into its own line, indenting them properly.
296 342
297If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the 343If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the
299 345
300This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 346This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
301 347
302=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable]) 348=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable])
303 349
350=item $enabled = $json->get_space_before
351
304If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 352If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
305optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects. 353optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects.
306 354
307If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra 355If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra
308space at those places. 356space at those places.
313Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled: 361Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled:
314 362
315 {"key" :"value"} 363 {"key" :"value"}
316 364
317=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable]) 365=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable])
366
367=item $enabled = $json->get_space_after
318 368
319If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 369If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
320optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects 370optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects
321and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array 371and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array
322members. 372members.
329Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled: 379Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled:
330 380
331 {"key": "value"} 381 {"key": "value"}
332 382
333=item $json = $json->relaxed ([$enable]) 383=item $json = $json->relaxed ([$enable])
384
385=item $enabled = $json->get_relaxed
334 386
335If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<decode> will accept some 387If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<decode> will accept some
336extensions to normal JSON syntax (see below). C<encode> will not be 388extensions to normal JSON syntax (see below). C<encode> will not be
337affected in anyway. I<Be aware that this option makes you accept invalid 389affected in anyway. I<Be aware that this option makes you accept invalid
338JSON texts as if they were valid!>. I suggest only to use this option to 390JSON texts as if they were valid!>. I suggest only to use this option to
375 427
376=back 428=back
377 429
378=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable]) 430=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable])
379 431
432=item $enabled = $json->get_canonical
433
380If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects 434If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects
381by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead. 435by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead.
382 436
383If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value 437If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value
384pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs 438pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs
391 445
392This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 446This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
393 447
394=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable]) 448=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable])
395 449
450=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_nonref
451
396If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a 452If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a
397non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value, 453non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value,
398which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON 454which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON
399values instead of croaking. 455values instead of croaking.
400 456
407resulting in an invalid JSON text: 463resulting in an invalid JSON text:
408 464
409 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!") 465 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!")
410 => "Hello, World!" 466 => "Hello, World!"
411 467
468=item $json = $json->allow_unknown ([$enable])
469
470=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_unknown
471
472If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode> will I<not> throw an
473exception when it encounters values it cannot represent in JSON (for
474example, filehandles) but instead will encode a JSON C<null> value. Note
475that blessed objects are not included here and are handled separately by
476c<allow_nonref>.
477
478If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
479exception when it encounters anything it cannot encode as JSON.
480
481This option does not affect C<decode> in any way, and it is recommended to
482leave it off unless you know your communications partner.
483
412=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable]) 484=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable])
485
486=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_blessed
413 487
414If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not 488If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
415barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the 489barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the
416B<convert_blessed> option will decide whether C<null> (C<convert_blessed> 490B<convert_blessed> option will decide whether C<null> (C<convert_blessed>
417disabled or no C<to_json> method found) or a representation of the 491disabled or no C<TO_JSON> method found) or a representation of the
418object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<to_json> method found) is being 492object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<TO_JSON> method found) is being
419encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>. 493encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>.
420 494
421If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an 495If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
422exception when it encounters a blessed object. 496exception when it encounters a blessed object.
423 497
424=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable]) 498=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable])
499
500=item $enabled = $json->get_convert_blessed
425 501
426If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a 502If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a
427blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<TO_JSON> method 503blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<TO_JSON> method
428on the object's class. If found, it will be called in scalar context 504on the object's class. If found, it will be called in scalar context
429and the resulting scalar will be encoded instead of the object. If no 505and the resulting scalar will be encoded instead of the object. If no
433The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON> 509The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON>
434returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same 510returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same
435way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle 511way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle
436(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other 512(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other
437methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are 513methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are
438usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with the C<to_json> 514usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with any C<to_json>
439function. 515function or method.
440 516
441This setting does not yet influence C<decode> in any way, but in the 517This setting does not yet influence C<decode> in any way, but in the
442future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are 518future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are
443enabled by this setting. 519enabled by this setting.
444 520
520 596
521 { __widget__ => $self->{id} } 597 { __widget__ => $self->{id} }
522 } 598 }
523 599
524=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable]) 600=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable])
601
602=item $enabled = $json->get_shrink
525 603
526Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for 604Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for
527strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either 605strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either
528C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save 606C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save
529memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many 607memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many
547strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats 625strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats
548internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space. 626internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space.
549 627
550=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth]) 628=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])
551 629
630=item $max_depth = $json->get_max_depth
631
552Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding 632Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding
553or decoding. If the JSON text or Perl data structure has an equal or 633or decoding. If a higher nesting level is detected in JSON text or a Perl
554higher nesting level then this limit, then the encoder and decoder will 634data structure, then the encoder and decoder will stop and croak at that
555stop and croak at that point. 635point.
556 636
557Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder 637Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder
558needs to traverse to reach a given point or the number of C<{> or C<[> 638needs to traverse to reach a given point or the number of C<{> or C<[>
559characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a 639characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a
560given character in a string. 640given character in a string.
561 641
562Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures 642Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures
563that the object is only a single hash/object or array. 643that the object is only a single hash/object or array.
564 644
565The argument to C<max_depth> will be rounded up to the next highest power
566of two. If no argument is given, the highest possible setting will be 645If no argument is given, the highest possible setting will be used, which
567used, which is rarely useful. 646is rarely useful.
647
648Note that nesting is implemented by recursion in C. The default value has
649been chosen to be as large as typical operating systems allow without
650crashing.
568 651
569See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful. 652See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
570 653
571=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size]) 654=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size])
655
656=item $max_size = $json->get_max_size
572 657
573Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where decoding is 658Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where decoding is
574being attempted. The default is C<0>, meaning no limit. When C<decode> 659being attempted. The default is C<0>, meaning no limit. When C<decode>
575is called on a string longer then this number of characters it will not 660is called on a string that is longer then this many bytes, it will not
576attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no 661attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no
577effect on C<encode> (yet). 662effect on C<encode> (yet).
578 663
579The argument to C<max_size> will be rounded up to the next B<highest> 664If no argument is given, the limit check will be deactivated (same as when
580power of two (so may be more than requested). If no argument is given, the 665C<0> is specified).
581limit check will be deactivated (same as when C<0> is specified).
582 666
583See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful. 667See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
584 668
585=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar) 669=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar)
586 670
615 => ([], 3) 699 => ([], 3)
616 700
617=back 701=back
618 702
619 703
704=head1 INCREMENTAL PARSING
705
706In some cases, there is the need for incremental parsing of JSON
707texts. While this module always has to keep both JSON text and resulting
708Perl data structure in memory at one time, it does allow you to parse a
709JSON stream incrementally. It does so by accumulating text until it has
710a full JSON object, which it then can decode. This process is similar to
711using C<decode_prefix> to see if a full JSON object is available, but is
712much more efficient (JSON::XS will only attempt to parse the JSON text
713once it is sure it has enough text to get a decisive result, using a very
714simple but truly incremental parser).
715
716The following two methods deal with this.
717
718=over 4
719
720=item [void, scalar or list context] = $json->incr_parse ([$string])
721
722This is the central parsing function. It can both append new text and
723extract objects from the stream accumulated so far (both of these
724functions are optional).
725
726If C<$string> is given, then this string is appended to the already
727existing JSON fragment stored in the C<$json> object.
728
729After that, if the function is called in void context, it will simply
730return without doing anything further. This can be used to add more text
731in as many chunks as you want.
732
733If the method is called in scalar context, then it will try to extract
734exactly I<one> JSON object. If that is successful, it will return this
735object, otherwise it will return C<undef>. If there is a parse error,
736this method will croak just as C<decode> would do (one can then use
737C<incr_skip> to skip the errornous part). This is the most common way of
738using the method.
739
740And finally, in list context, it will try to extract as many objects
741from the stream as it can find and return them, or the empty list
742otherwise. For this to work, there must be no separators between the JSON
743objects or arrays, instead they must be concatenated back-to-back. If
744an error occurs, an exception will be raised as in the scalar context
745case. Note that in this case, any previously-parsed JSON texts will be
746lost.
747
748=item $lvalue_string = $json->incr_text
749
750This method returns the currently stored JSON fragment as an lvalue, that
751is, you can manipulate it. This I<only> works when a preceding call to
752C<incr_parse> in I<scalar context> successfully returned an object. Under
753all other circumstances you must not call this function (I mean it.
754although in simple tests it might actually work, it I<will> fail under
755real world conditions). As a special exception, you can also call this
756method before having parsed anything.
757
758This function is useful in two cases: a) finding the trailing text after a
759JSON object or b) parsing multiple JSON objects separated by non-JSON text
760(such as commas).
761
762=item $json->incr_skip
763
764This will reset the state of the incremental parser and will remove the
765parsed text from the input buffer. This is useful after C<incr_parse>
766died, in which case the input buffer and incremental parser state is left
767unchanged, to skip the text parsed so far and to reset the parse state.
768
769=item $json->incr_reset
770
771This completely resets the incremental parser, that is, after this call,
772it will be as if the parser had never parsed anything.
773
774This is useful if you want ot repeatedly parse JSON objects and want to
775ignore any trailing data, which means you have to reset the parser after
776each successful decode.
777
778=back
779
780=head2 LIMITATIONS
781
782All options that affect decoding are supported, except
783C<allow_nonref>. The reason for this is that it cannot be made to
784work sensibly: JSON objects and arrays are self-delimited, i.e. you can concatenate
785them back to back and still decode them perfectly. This does not hold true
786for JSON numbers, however.
787
788For example, is the string C<1> a single JSON number, or is it simply the
789start of C<12>? Or is C<12> a single JSON number, or the concatenation
790of C<1> and C<2>? In neither case you can tell, and this is why JSON::XS
791takes the conservative route and disallows this case.
792
793=head2 EXAMPLES
794
795Some examples will make all this clearer. First, a simple example that
796works similarly to C<decode_prefix>: We want to decode the JSON object at
797the start of a string and identify the portion after the JSON object:
798
799 my $text = "[1,2,3] hello";
800
801 my $json = new JSON::XS;
802
803 my $obj = $json->incr_parse ($text)
804 or die "expected JSON object or array at beginning of string";
805
806 my $tail = $json->incr_text;
807 # $tail now contains " hello"
808
809Easy, isn't it?
810
811Now for a more complicated example: Imagine a hypothetical protocol where
812you read some requests from a TCP stream, and each request is a JSON
813array, without any separation between them (in fact, it is often useful to
814use newlines as "separators", as these get interpreted as whitespace at
815the start of the JSON text, which makes it possible to test said protocol
816with C<telnet>...).
817
818Here is how you'd do it (it is trivial to write this in an event-based
819manner):
820
821 my $json = new JSON::XS;
822
823 # read some data from the socket
824 while (sysread $socket, my $buf, 4096) {
825
826 # split and decode as many requests as possible
827 for my $request ($json->incr_parse ($buf)) {
828 # act on the $request
829 }
830 }
831
832Another complicated example: Assume you have a string with JSON objects
833or arrays, all separated by (optional) comma characters (e.g. C<[1],[2],
834[3]>). To parse them, we have to skip the commas between the JSON texts,
835and here is where the lvalue-ness of C<incr_text> comes in useful:
836
837 my $text = "[1],[2], [3]";
838 my $json = new JSON::XS;
839
840 # void context, so no parsing done
841 $json->incr_parse ($text);
842
843 # now extract as many objects as possible. note the
844 # use of scalar context so incr_text can be called.
845 while (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
846 # do something with $obj
847
848 # now skip the optional comma
849 $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* , //x;
850 }
851
852Now lets go for a very complex example: Assume that you have a gigantic
853JSON array-of-objects, many gigabytes in size, and you want to parse it,
854but you cannot load it into memory fully (this has actually happened in
855the real world :).
856
857Well, you lost, you have to implement your own JSON parser. But JSON::XS
858can still help you: You implement a (very simple) array parser and let
859JSON decode the array elements, which are all full JSON objects on their
860own (this wouldn't work if the array elements could be JSON numbers, for
861example):
862
863 my $json = new JSON::XS;
864
865 # open the monster
866 open my $fh, "<bigfile.json"
867 or die "bigfile: $!";
868
869 # first parse the initial "["
870 for (;;) {
871 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
872 or die "read error: $!";
873 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
874
875 # Exit the loop once we found and removed(!) the initial "[".
876 # In essence, we are (ab-)using the $json object as a simple scalar
877 # we append data to.
878 last if $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* \[ //x;
879 }
880
881 # now we have the skipped the initial "[", so continue
882 # parsing all the elements.
883 for (;;) {
884 # in this loop we read data until we got a single JSON object
885 for (;;) {
886 if (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
887 # do something with $obj
888 last;
889 }
890
891 # add more data
892 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
893 or die "read error: $!";
894 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
895 }
896
897 # in this loop we read data until we either found and parsed the
898 # separating "," between elements, or the final "]"
899 for (;;) {
900 # first skip whitespace
901 $json->incr_text =~ s/^\s*//;
902
903 # if we find "]", we are done
904 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^\]//) {
905 print "finished.\n";
906 exit;
907 }
908
909 # if we find ",", we can continue with the next element
910 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^,//) {
911 last;
912 }
913
914 # if we find anything else, we have a parse error!
915 if (length $json->incr_text) {
916 die "parse error near ", $json->incr_text;
917 }
918
919 # else add more data
920 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
921 or die "read error: $!";
922 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
923 }
924
925This is a complex example, but most of the complexity comes from the fact
926that we are trying to be correct (bear with me if I am wrong, I never ran
927the above example :).
928
929
930
620=head1 MAPPING 931=head1 MAPPING
621 932
622This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and 933This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and
623vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most 934vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most
624circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics 935circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics
652 963
653A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or 964A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or
654string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On 965string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On
655the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all 966the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all
656the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and 967the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and
657might represent more values exactly than (floating point) numbers. 968might represent more values exactly than floating point numbers.
658 969
659If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent 970If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent
660it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as 971it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as
661a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of 972a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of
662precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value. 973precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value (in
974which case you lose roundtripping ability, as the JSON number will be
975re-encoded toa JSON string).
663 976
664Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be 977Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be
665represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of 978represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of
666precision. 979precision (in which case you might lose perfect roundtripping ability, but
667 980the JSON number will still be re-encoded as a JSON number).
668This might create round-tripping problems as numbers might become strings,
669but as Perl is typeless there is no other way to do it.
670 981
671=item true, false 982=item true, false
672 983
673These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>, 984These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>,
674respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers 985respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers
711Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an 1022Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an
712exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and 1023exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and
713C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can 1024C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can
714also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability. 1025also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability.
715 1026
716 to_json [\0,JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true] 1027 encode_json [\0, JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true]
717 1028
718=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false 1029=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false
719 1030
720These special values become JSON true and JSON false values, 1031These special values become JSON true and JSON false values,
721respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want. 1032respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want.
722 1033
723=item blessed objects 1034=item blessed objects
724 1035
725Blessed objects are not allowed. JSON::XS currently tries to encode their 1036Blessed objects are not directly representable in JSON. See the
726underlying representation (hash- or arrayref), but this behaviour might 1037C<allow_blessed> and C<convert_blessed> methods on various options on
727change in future versions. 1038how to deal with this: basically, you can choose between throwing an
1039exception, encoding the reference as if it weren't blessed, or provide
1040your own serialiser method.
728 1041
729=item simple scalars 1042=item simple scalars
730 1043
731Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most 1044Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most
732difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as 1045difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as
733JSON null value, scalars that have last been used in a string context 1046JSON C<null> values, scalars that have last been used in a string context
734before encoding as JSON strings and anything else as number value: 1047before encoding as JSON strings, and anything else as number value:
735 1048
736 # dump as number 1049 # dump as number
737 to_json [2] # yields [2] 1050 encode_json [2] # yields [2]
738 to_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17] 1051 encode_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17]
739 my $value = 5; to_json [$value] # yields [5] 1052 my $value = 5; encode_json [$value] # yields [5]
740 1053
741 # used as string, so dump as string 1054 # used as string, so dump as string
742 print $value; 1055 print $value;
743 to_json [$value] # yields ["5"] 1056 encode_json [$value] # yields ["5"]
744 1057
745 # undef becomes null 1058 # undef becomes null
746 to_json [undef] # yields [null] 1059 encode_json [undef] # yields [null]
747 1060
748You can force the type to be a JSON string by stringifying it: 1061You can force the type to be a JSON string by stringifying it:
749 1062
750 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number 1063 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number
751 "$x"; # stringified 1064 "$x"; # stringified
757 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string 1070 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string
758 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number 1071 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number
759 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours. 1072 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours.
760 1073
761You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me 1074You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me
762if you need this capability. 1075if you need this capability (but don't forget to explain why it's needed
1076:).
763 1077
764=back 1078=back
765 1079
766 1080
767=head1 COMPARISON 1081=head1 ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES
768 1082
769As already mentioned, this module was created because none of the existing 1083The interested reader might have seen a number of flags that signify
770JSON modules could be made to work correctly. First I will describe the 1084encodings or codesets - C<utf8>, C<latin1> and C<ascii>. There seems to be
771problems (or pleasures) I encountered with various existing JSON modules, 1085some confusion on what these do, so here is a short comparison:
772followed by some benchmark values. JSON::XS was designed not to suffer 1086
773from any of these problems or limitations. 1087C<utf8> controls whether the JSON text created by C<encode> (and expected
1088by C<decode>) is UTF-8 encoded or not, while C<latin1> and C<ascii> only
1089control whether C<encode> escapes character values outside their respective
1090codeset range. Neither of these flags conflict with each other, although
1091some combinations make less sense than others.
1092
1093Care has been taken to make all flags symmetrical with respect to
1094C<encode> and C<decode>, that is, texts encoded with any combination of
1095these flag values will be correctly decoded when the same flags are used
1096- in general, if you use different flag settings while encoding vs. when
1097decoding you likely have a bug somewhere.
1098
1099Below comes a verbose discussion of these flags. Note that a "codeset" is
1100simply an abstract set of character-codepoint pairs, while an encoding
1101takes those codepoint numbers and I<encodes> them, in our case into
1102octets. Unicode is (among other things) a codeset, UTF-8 is an encoding,
1103and ISO-8859-1 (= latin 1) and ASCII are both codesets I<and> encodings at
1104the same time, which can be confusing.
774 1105
775=over 4 1106=over 4
776 1107
777=item JSON 1.07 1108=item C<utf8> flag disabled
778 1109
779Slow (but very portable, as it is written in pure Perl). 1110When C<utf8> is disabled (the default), then C<encode>/C<decode> generate
1111and expect Unicode strings, that is, characters with high ordinal Unicode
1112values (> 255) will be encoded as such characters, and likewise such
1113characters are decoded as-is, no canges to them will be done, except
1114"(re-)interpreting" them as Unicode codepoints or Unicode characters,
1115respectively (to Perl, these are the same thing in strings unless you do
1116funny/weird/dumb stuff).
780 1117
781Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling (how JSON handles Unicode values is 1118This is useful when you want to do the encoding yourself (e.g. when you
782undocumented. One can get far by feeding it Unicode strings and doing 1119want to have UTF-16 encoded JSON texts) or when some other layer does
783en-/decoding oneself, but Unicode escapes are not working properly). 1120the encoding for you (for example, when printing to a terminal using a
1121filehandle that transparently encodes to UTF-8 you certainly do NOT want
1122to UTF-8 encode your data first and have Perl encode it another time).
784 1123
785No round-tripping (strings get clobbered if they look like numbers, e.g. 1124=item C<utf8> flag enabled
786the string C<2.0> will encode to C<2.0> instead of C<"2.0">, and that will
787decode into the number 2.
788 1125
789=item JSON::PC 0.01 1126If the C<utf8>-flag is enabled, C<encode>/C<decode> will encode all
1127characters using the corresponding UTF-8 multi-byte sequence, and will
1128expect your input strings to be encoded as UTF-8, that is, no "character"
1129of the input string must have any value > 255, as UTF-8 does not allow
1130that.
790 1131
791Very fast. 1132The C<utf8> flag therefore switches between two modes: disabled means you
1133will get a Unicode string in Perl, enabled means you get an UTF-8 encoded
1134octet/binary string in Perl.
792 1135
793Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling. 1136=item C<latin1> or C<ascii> flags enabled
794 1137
795No round-tripping. 1138With C<latin1> (or C<ascii>) enabled, C<encode> will escape characters
1139with ordinal values > 255 (> 127 with C<ascii>) and encode the remaining
1140characters as specified by the C<utf8> flag.
796 1141
797Has problems handling many Perl values (e.g. regex results and other magic 1142If C<utf8> is disabled, then the result is also correctly encoded in those
798values will make it croak). 1143character sets (as both are proper subsets of Unicode, meaning that a
1144Unicode string with all character values < 256 is the same thing as a
1145ISO-8859-1 string, and a Unicode string with all character values < 128 is
1146the same thing as an ASCII string in Perl).
799 1147
800Does not even generate valid JSON (C<{1,2}> gets converted to C<{1:2}> 1148If C<utf8> is enabled, you still get a correct UTF-8-encoded string,
801which is not a valid JSON text. 1149regardless of these flags, just some more characters will be escaped using
1150C<\uXXXX> then before.
802 1151
803Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not 1152Note that ISO-8859-1-I<encoded> strings are not compatible with UTF-8
804getting fixed). 1153encoding, while ASCII-encoded strings are. That is because the ISO-8859-1
1154encoding is NOT a subset of UTF-8 (despite the ISO-8859-1 I<codeset> being
1155a subset of Unicode), while ASCII is.
805 1156
806=item JSON::Syck 0.21 1157Surprisingly, C<decode> will ignore these flags and so treat all input
1158values as governed by the C<utf8> flag. If it is disabled, this allows you
1159to decode ISO-8859-1- and ASCII-encoded strings, as both strict subsets of
1160Unicode. If it is enabled, you can correctly decode UTF-8 encoded strings.
807 1161
808Very buggy (often crashes). 1162So neither C<latin1> nor C<ascii> are incompatible with the C<utf8> flag -
1163they only govern when the JSON output engine escapes a character or not.
809 1164
810Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty much 1165The main use for C<latin1> is to relatively efficiently store binary data
811undocumented. I need at least a format for easy reading by humans and a 1166as JSON, at the expense of breaking compatibility with most JSON decoders.
812single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and preferably a way to
813generate ASCII-only JSON texts).
814 1167
815Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling (Unicode 1168The main use for C<ascii> is to force the output to not contain characters
816escapes are not working properly, you need to set ImplicitUnicode to 1169with values > 127, which means you can interpret the resulting string
817I<different> values on en- and decoding to get symmetric behaviour). 1170as UTF-8, ISO-8859-1, ASCII, KOI8-R or most about any character set and
818 11718-bit-encoding, and still get the same data structure back. This is useful
819No round-tripping (simple cases work, but this depends on whether the scalar 1172when your channel for JSON transfer is not 8-bit clean or the encoding
820value was used in a numeric context or not). 1173might be mangled in between (e.g. in mail), and works because ASCII is a
821 1174proper subset of most 8-bit and multibyte encodings in use in the world.
822Dumping hashes may skip hash values depending on iterator state.
823
824Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not
825getting fixed).
826
827Does not check input for validity (i.e. will accept non-JSON input and
828return "something" instead of raising an exception. This is a security
829issue: imagine two banks transferring money between each other using
830JSON. One bank might parse a given non-JSON request and deduct money,
831while the other might reject the transaction with a syntax error. While a
832good protocol will at least recover, that is extra unnecessary work and
833the transaction will still not succeed).
834
835=item JSON::DWIW 0.04
836
837Very fast. Very natural. Very nice.
838
839Undocumented Unicode handling (but the best of the pack. Unicode escapes
840still don't get parsed properly).
841
842Very inflexible.
843
844No round-tripping.
845
846Does not generate valid JSON texts (key strings are often unquoted, empty keys
847result in nothing being output)
848
849Does not check input for validity.
850 1175
851=back 1176=back
852 1177
853 1178
854=head2 JSON and YAML 1179=head2 JSON and YAML
855 1180
856You often hear that JSON is a subset (or a close subset) of YAML. This is, 1181You often hear that JSON is a subset of YAML. This is, however, a mass
857however, a mass hysteria and very far from the truth. In general, there is 1182hysteria(*) and very far from the truth (as of the time of this writing),
858no way to configure JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML. 1183so let me state it clearly: I<in general, there is no way to configure
1184JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML> that works in all
1185cases.
859 1186
860If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this 1187If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this
861algorithm (subject to change in future versions): 1188algorithm (subject to change in future versions):
862 1189
863 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1); 1190 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1);
864 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n"; 1191 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n";
865 1192
866This will usually generate JSON texts that also parse as valid 1193This will I<usually> generate JSON texts that also parse as valid
867YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key 1194YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key
868lengths that JSON doesn't have, so you should make sure that your hash 1195lengths that JSON doesn't have and also has different and incompatible
1196unicode handling, so you should make sure that your hash keys are
869keys are noticeably shorter than the 1024 characters YAML allows. 1197noticeably shorter than the 1024 "stream characters" YAML allows and that
1198you do not have characters with codepoint values outside the Unicode BMP
1199(basic multilingual page). YAML also does not allow C<\/> sequences in
1200strings (which JSON::XS does not I<currently> generate, but other JSON
1201generators might).
870 1202
871There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of. In general 1203There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of (or the YAML
1204specification has been changed yet again - it does so quite often). In
872you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice versa, 1205general you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice
873or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are high 1206versa, or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are
874that you will run into severe interoperability problems. 1207high that you will run into severe interoperability problems when you
1208least expect it.
1209
1210=over 4
1211
1212=item (*)
1213
1214I have been pressured multiple times by Brian Ingerson (one of the
1215authors of the YAML specification) to remove this paragraph, despite him
1216acknowledging that the actual incompatibilities exist. As I was personally
1217bitten by this "JSON is YAML" lie, I refused and said I will continue to
1218educate people about these issues, so others do not run into the same
1219problem again and again. After this, Brian called me a (quote)I<complete
1220and worthless idiot>(unquote).
1221
1222In my opinion, instead of pressuring and insulting people who actually
1223clarify issues with YAML and the wrong statements of some of its
1224proponents, I would kindly suggest reading the JSON spec (which is not
1225that difficult or long) and finally make YAML compatible to it, and
1226educating users about the changes, instead of spreading lies about the
1227real compatibility for many I<years> and trying to silence people who
1228point out that it isn't true.
1229
1230=back
875 1231
876 1232
877=head2 SPEED 1233=head2 SPEED
878 1234
879It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following 1235It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following
880tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program 1236tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program
881in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own 1237in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own
882system. 1238system.
883 1239
884First comes a comparison between various modules using a very short 1240First comes a comparison between various modules using
885single-line JSON string: 1241a very short single-line JSON string (also available at
1242L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/short.json>).
886 1243
887 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], \ 1244 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1",
888 "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7, true, false]} 1245 "we were just talking"], "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7,
1246 true, false]}
889 1247
890It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses 1248It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses
891the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface 1249the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface
892with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables 1250with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables
893shrink). Higher is better: 1251shrink). Higher is better:
894 1252
895 Storable | 15779.925 | 14169.946 |
896 -----------+------------+------------+
897 module | encode | decode | 1253 module | encode | decode |
898 -----------|------------|------------| 1254 -----------|------------|------------|
899 JSON | 4990.842 | 4088.813 | 1255 JSON 1.x | 4990.842 | 4088.813 |
900 JSON::DWIW | 51653.990 | 71575.154 | 1256 JSON::DWIW | 51653.990 | 71575.154 |
901 JSON::PC | 65948.176 | 74631.744 | 1257 JSON::PC | 65948.176 | 74631.744 |
902 JSON::PP | 8931.652 | 3817.168 | 1258 JSON::PP | 8931.652 | 3817.168 |
903 JSON::Syck | 24877.248 | 27776.848 | 1259 JSON::Syck | 24877.248 | 27776.848 |
904 JSON::XS | 388361.481 | 227951.304 | 1260 JSON::XS | 388361.481 | 227951.304 |
911about three times faster on decoding, and over forty times faster 1267about three times faster on decoding, and over forty times faster
912than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares 1268than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares
913favourably to Storable for small amounts of data. 1269favourably to Storable for small amounts of data.
914 1270
915Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals 1271Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals
916search API (http://nanoref.com/yahooapis/mgPdGg): 1272search API (L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/long.json>).
917 1273
918 module | encode | decode | 1274 module | encode | decode |
919 -----------|------------|------------| 1275 -----------|------------|------------|
920 JSON | 55.260 | 34.971 | 1276 JSON 1.x | 55.260 | 34.971 |
921 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 | 1277 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 |
922 JSON::PC | 3571.444 | 2394.829 | 1278 JSON::PC | 3571.444 | 2394.829 |
923 JSON::PP | 210.987 | 32.574 | 1279 JSON::PP | 210.987 | 32.574 |
924 JSON::Syck | 552.551 | 787.544 | 1280 JSON::Syck | 552.551 | 787.544 |
925 JSON::XS | 5780.463 | 4854.519 | 1281 JSON::XS | 5780.463 | 4854.519 |
958 1314
959Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and 1315Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and
960arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64 1316arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64
961machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but 1317machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but
962only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak 1318only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak
963to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. to be 1319to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. To be
964conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process 1320conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process
965has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the 1321has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the
966C<max_depth> method. 1322C<max_depth> method.
967 1323
968And last but least, something else could bomb you that I forgot to think 1324Something else could bomb you, too, that I forgot to think of. In that
969of. In that case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, 1325case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, though...
970though... 1326
1327Also keep in mind that JSON::XS might leak contents of your Perl data
1328structures in its error messages, so when you serialise sensitive
1329information you might want to make sure that exceptions thrown by JSON::XS
1330will not end up in front of untrusted eyes.
971 1331
972If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption 1332If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption
973by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at 1333by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at
974L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see whether 1334L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see whether
975you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser 1335you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser
976design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it, as major 1336design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it, as major
977browser developers care only for features, not about doing security 1337browser developers care only for features, not about getting security
978right). 1338right).
979 1339
980 1340
981=head1 THREADS 1341=head1 THREADS
982 1342
983This module is I<not> guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no 1343This module is I<not> guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no
984plans to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the 1344plans to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the
985horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated 1345horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated
986process simulations - use fork, its I<much> faster, cheaper, better). 1346process simulations - use fork, it's I<much> faster, cheaper, better).
987 1347
988(It might actually work, but you have been warned). 1348(It might actually work, but you have been warned).
989 1349
990 1350
991=head1 BUGS 1351=head1 BUGS
992 1352
993While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does 1353While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does
994not mean its bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is 1354not mean it's bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. If you
995still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they 1355keep reporting bugs they will be fixed swiftly, though.
996will be fixed swiftly, though.
997 1356
998Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting 1357Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting
999service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason. 1358service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason.
1000 1359
1001=cut 1360=cut
1021 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 }, 1380 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 },
1022 fallback => 1; 1381 fallback => 1;
1023 1382
10241; 13831;
1025 1384
1385=head1 SEE ALSO
1386
1387The F<json_xs> command line utility for quick experiments.
1388
1026=head1 AUTHOR 1389=head1 AUTHOR
1027 1390
1028 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 1391 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1029 http://home.schmorp.de/ 1392 http://home.schmorp.de/
1030 1393

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