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Revision 1.56 by root, Thu Jul 26 11:33:35 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.107 by root, Tue Jun 3 06:43:45 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
6
7JSON::XS - 正しくて高速な JSON シリアライザ/デシリアライザ
8 (http://fleur.hio.jp/perldoc/mix/lib/JSON/XS.html)
4 9
5=head1 SYNOPSIS 10=head1 SYNOPSIS
6 11
7 use JSON::XS; 12 use JSON::XS;
8 13
9 # exported functions, they croak on error 14 # exported functions, they croak on error
10 # and expect/generate UTF-8 15 # and expect/generate UTF-8
11 16
12 $utf8_encoded_json_text = to_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref; 17 $utf8_encoded_json_text = encode_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref;
13 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = from_json $utf8_encoded_json_text; 18 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = decode_json $utf8_encoded_json_text;
14 19
15 # OO-interface 20 # OO-interface
16 21
17 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref; 22 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref;
18 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar); 23 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar);
19 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text); 24 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text);
20 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
21=head1 DESCRIPTION 34=head1 DESCRIPTION
22 35
23This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its 36This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its
24primary 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
25I<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.
26 47
27As 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
28to 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
29modules, 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
30their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug 51their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug
37 58
38=head2 FEATURES 59=head2 FEATURES
39 60
40=over 4 61=over 4
41 62
42=item * correct unicode handling 63=item * correct Unicode handling
43 64
44This 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
45it does so. 66so, and even documents what "correct" means.
46 67
47=item * round-trip integrity 68=item * round-trip integrity
48 69
49When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported 70When you serialise a perl data structure using only data types supported
50by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level. 71by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level.
51(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
52like a number). 73like a number). There minor I<are> exceptions to this, read the MAPPING
74section below to learn about those.
53 75
54=item * strict checking of JSON correctness 76=item * strict checking of JSON correctness
55 77
56There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default, 78There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default,
57and 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
58feature). 80feature).
59 81
60=item * fast 82=item * fast
61 83
62Compared to other JSON modules, this module compares favourably in terms 84Compared to other JSON modules and other serialisers such as Storable,
63of speed, too. 85this module usually compares favourably in terms of speed, too.
64 86
65=item * simple to use 87=item * simple to use
66 88
67This 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
68interface. 90oriented interface interface.
69 91
70=item * reasonably versatile output formats 92=item * reasonably versatile output formats
71 93
72You can choose between the most compact guarenteed single-line format 94You can choose between the most compact guaranteed-single-line format
73possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format 95possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ASCII format
74(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
75unicode 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
76stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like. 98stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like.
77 99
78=back 100=back
79 101
80=cut 102=cut
81 103
82package JSON::XS; 104package JSON::XS;
83 105
84use strict; 106use strict;
85 107
86our $VERSION = '1.43'; 108our $VERSION = '2.21';
87our @ISA = qw(Exporter); 109our @ISA = qw(Exporter);
88 110
89our @EXPORT = qw(to_json from_json); 111our @EXPORT = qw(encode_json decode_json to_json from_json);
112
113sub to_json($) {
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}
90 122
91use Exporter; 123use Exporter;
92use XSLoader; 124use XSLoader;
93 125
94=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE 126=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE
95 127
96The following convinience methods are provided by this module. They are 128The following convenience methods are provided by this module. They are
97exported by default: 129exported by default:
98 130
99=over 4 131=over 4
100 132
101=item $json_text = to_json $perl_scalar 133=item $json_text = encode_json $perl_scalar
102 134
103Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference to 135Converts the given Perl data structure to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string
104a hash or array) to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string (that is, the string contains 136(that is, the string contains octets only). Croaks on error.
105octets only). Croaks on error.
106 137
107This function call is functionally identical to: 138This function call is functionally identical to:
108 139
109 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar) 140 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar)
110 141
111except being faster. 142Except being faster.
112 143
113=item $perl_scalar = from_json $json_text 144=item $perl_scalar = decode_json $json_text
114 145
115The opposite of C<to_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries to 146The opposite of C<encode_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries
116parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting simple 147to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting
117scalar or reference. Croaks on error. 148reference. Croaks on error.
118 149
119This function call is functionally identical to: 150This function call is functionally identical to:
120 151
121 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text) 152 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text)
122 153
123except being faster. 154Except being faster.
124 155
125=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar 156=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar
126 157
127Returns true if the passed scalar represents either JSON::XS::true or 158Returns true if the passed scalar represents either JSON::XS::true or
128JSON::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
132Perl. 163Perl.
133 164
134=back 165=back
135 166
136 167
168=head1 A FEW NOTES ON UNICODE AND PERL
169
170Since this often leads to confusion, here are a few very clear words on
171how Unicode works in Perl, modulo bugs.
172
173=over 4
174
175=item 1. Perl strings can store characters with ordinal values > 255.
176
177This enables you to store Unicode characters as single characters in a
178Perl string - very natural.
179
180=item 2. Perl does I<not> associate an encoding with your strings.
181
182... until you force it to, e.g. when matching it against a regex, or
183printing the scalar to a file, in which case Perl either interprets your
184string as locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode, depending
185on various settings. In no case is an encoding stored together with your
186data, it is I<use> that decides encoding, not any magical meta data.
187
188=item 3. The internal utf-8 flag has no meaning with regards to the
189encoding of your string.
190
191Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written in
192XS or want to dive into the internals of perl. Otherwise it will only
193confuse you, as, despite the name, it says nothing about how your string
194is encoded. You can have Unicode strings with that flag set, with that
195flag clear, and you can have binary data with that flag set and that flag
196clear. Other possibilities exist, too.
197
198If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it doesn't
199exist.
200
201=item 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be
202validly interpreted as a Unicode code point.
203
204If you have UTF-8 encoded data, it is no longer a Unicode string, but a
205Unicode string encoded in UTF-8, giving you a binary string.
206
207=item 5. A string containing "high" (> 255) character values is I<not> a UTF-8 string.
208
209It's a fact. Learn to live with it.
210
211=back
212
213I hope this helps :)
214
215
137=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE 216=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE
138 217
139The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or 218The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or
140decoding style, within the limits of supported formats. 219decoding style, within the limits of supported formats.
141 220
152 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]})
153 => {"a": [1, 2]} 232 => {"a": [1, 2]}
154 233
155=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable]) 234=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable])
156 235
236=item $enabled = $json->get_ascii
237
157If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not 238If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
158generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any 239generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any
159unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a 240Unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a
160single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence, 241single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence,
161as per RFC4627. The resulting encoded JSON text can be treated as a native 242as per RFC4627. The resulting encoded JSON text can be treated as a native
162unicode string, an ascii-encoded, latin1-encoded or UTF-8 encoded string, 243Unicode string, an ascii-encoded, latin1-encoded or UTF-8 encoded string,
163or any other superset of ASCII. 244or any other superset of ASCII.
164 245
165If C<$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
166characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results 247characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results
167in a faster and more compact format. 248in a faster and more compact format.
168 249
250See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
251document.
252
169The 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
170transmitted 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
171contain any 8 bit characters. 255contain any 8 bit characters.
172 256
173 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401]) 257 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401])
174 => ["\ud801\udc01"] 258 => ["\ud801\udc01"]
175 259
176=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable]) 260=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable])
177 261
262=item $enabled = $json->get_latin1
263
178If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode 264If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
179the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters 265the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters
180outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a 266outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a
181latin1-encoded JSON text or a native unicode string. The C<decode> method 267latin1-encoded JSON text or a native Unicode string. The C<decode> method
182will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default 268will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default
183expects unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1. 269expects Unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1.
184 270
185If C<$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
186characters 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.
187 276
188The 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
189text, 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
190size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded 279size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded
191in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and 280in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and
192transfering), a rare encoding for JSON. It is therefore most useful when 281transferring), a rare encoding for JSON. It is therefore most useful when
193you want to store data structures known to contain binary data efficiently 282you want to store data structures known to contain binary data efficiently
194in files or databases, not when talking to other JSON encoders/decoders. 283in files or databases, not when talking to other JSON encoders/decoders.
195 284
196 JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"] 285 JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"]
197 => ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not) 286 => ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not)
198 287
199=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable]) 288=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable])
289
290=item $enabled = $json->get_utf8
200 291
201If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode 292If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
202the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the 293the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the
203C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please 294C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please
204note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the 295note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the
205range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future 296range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future
206versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16 297versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16
207and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627. 298and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627.
208 299
209If C<$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
210string 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
211unicode 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
212to 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.
213 307
214Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON: 308Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON:
215 309
216 use Encode; 310 use Encode;
217 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object); 311 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object);
238 ] 332 ]
239 } 333 }
240 334
241=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable]) 335=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable])
242 336
337=item $enabled = $json->get_indent
338
243If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline 339If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline
244format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair 340format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair
245into its own line, identing them properly. 341into its own line, indenting them properly.
246 342
247If C<$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
248resulting JSON text is guarenteed not to contain any C<newlines>. 344resulting JSON text is guaranteed not to contain any C<newlines>.
249 345
250This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 346This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
251 347
252=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable]) 348=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable])
349
350=item $enabled = $json->get_space_before
253 351
254If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 352If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
255optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects. 353optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects.
256 354
257If C<$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
263Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled: 361Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled:
264 362
265 {"key" :"value"} 363 {"key" :"value"}
266 364
267=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable]) 365=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable])
366
367=item $enabled = $json->get_space_after
268 368
269If C<$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
270optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects 370optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects
271and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array 371and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array
272members. 372members.
278 378
279Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled: 379Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled:
280 380
281 {"key": "value"} 381 {"key": "value"}
282 382
383=item $json = $json->relaxed ([$enable])
384
385=item $enabled = $json->get_relaxed
386
387If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<decode> will accept some
388extensions to normal JSON syntax (see below). C<encode> will not be
389affected in anyway. I<Be aware that this option makes you accept invalid
390JSON texts as if they were valid!>. I suggest only to use this option to
391parse application-specific files written by humans (configuration files,
392resource files etc.)
393
394If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<decode> will only accept
395valid JSON texts.
396
397Currently accepted extensions are:
398
399=over 4
400
401=item * list items can have an end-comma
402
403JSON I<separates> array elements and key-value pairs with commas. This
404can be annoying if you write JSON texts manually and want to be able to
405quickly append elements, so this extension accepts comma at the end of
406such items not just between them:
407
408 [
409 1,
410 2, <- this comma not normally allowed
411 ]
412 {
413 "k1": "v1",
414 "k2": "v2", <- this comma not normally allowed
415 }
416
417=item * shell-style '#'-comments
418
419Whenever JSON allows whitespace, shell-style comments are additionally
420allowed. They are terminated by the first carriage-return or line-feed
421character, after which more white-space and comments are allowed.
422
423 [
424 1, # this comment not allowed in JSON
425 # neither this one...
426 ]
427
428=back
429
283=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable]) 430=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable])
431
432=item $enabled = $json->get_canonical
284 433
285If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects 434If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects
286by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead. 435by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead.
287 436
288If C<$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
289pairs 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
290of the same script). 439of the same script).
291 440
292This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as 441This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as
293the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled, 442the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled,
294the same hash migh be encoded differently even if contains the same data, 443the same hash might be encoded differently even if contains the same data,
295as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl. 444as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl.
296 445
297This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 446This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
298 447
299=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable]) 448=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable])
449
450=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_nonref
300 451
301If C<$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
302non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value, 453non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value,
303which 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
304values instead of croaking. 455values instead of croaking.
312resulting in an invalid JSON text: 463resulting in an invalid JSON text:
313 464
314 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!") 465 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!")
315 => "Hello, World!" 466 => "Hello, World!"
316 467
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
317=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable]) 484=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable])
485
486=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_blessed
318 487
319If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not 488If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
320barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the 489barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the
321B<convert_blessed> option will decide wether C<null> (C<convert_blessed> 490B<convert_blessed> option will decide whether C<null> (C<convert_blessed>
322disabled or no C<to_json> method found) or a representation of the 491disabled or no C<TO_JSON> method found) or a representation of the
323object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<to_json> method found) is being 492object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<TO_JSON> method found) is being
324encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>. 493encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>.
325 494
326If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an 495If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
327exception when it encounters a blessed object. 496exception when it encounters a blessed object.
328 497
329=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable]) 498=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable])
499
500=item $enabled = $json->get_convert_blessed
330 501
331If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a 502If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a
332blessed 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
333on 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
334and 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
338The 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>
339returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same 510returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same
340way. 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
341(== 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
342methods 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
343usually 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>
344function. 515function or method.
345 516
346This 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
347future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are 518future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are
348enabled by this setting. 519enabled by this setting.
349 520
391 562
392As this callback gets called less often then the C<filter_json_object> 563As this callback gets called less often then the C<filter_json_object>
393one, decoding speed will not usually suffer as much. Therefore, single-key 564one, decoding speed will not usually suffer as much. Therefore, single-key
394objects make excellent targets to serialise Perl objects into, especially 565objects make excellent targets to serialise Perl objects into, especially
395as single-key JSON objects are as close to the type-tagged value concept 566as single-key JSON objects are as close to the type-tagged value concept
396as JSON gets (its basically an ID/VALUE tuple). Of course, JSON does not 567as JSON gets (it's basically an ID/VALUE tuple). Of course, JSON does not
397support this in any way, so you need to make sure your data never looks 568support this in any way, so you need to make sure your data never looks
398like a serialised Perl hash. 569like a serialised Perl hash.
399 570
400Typical names for the single object key are C<__class_whatever__>, or 571Typical names for the single object key are C<__class_whatever__>, or
401C<$__dollars_are_rarely_used__$> or C<}ugly_brace_placement>, or even 572C<$__dollars_are_rarely_used__$> or C<}ugly_brace_placement>, or even
425 596
426 { __widget__ => $self->{id} } 597 { __widget__ => $self->{id} }
427 } 598 }
428 599
429=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable]) 600=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable])
601
602=item $enabled = $json->get_shrink
430 603
431Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for 604Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for
432strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either 605strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either
433C<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
434memory 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
452strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats 625strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats
453internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space. 626internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space.
454 627
455=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth]) 628=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])
456 629
630=item $max_depth = $json->get_max_depth
631
457Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding 632Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding
458or 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
459higher nesting level then this limit, then the encoder and decoder will 634data structure, then the encoder and decoder will stop and croak at that
460stop and croak at that point. 635point.
461 636
462Nesting 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
463needs 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<[>
464characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a 639characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a
465given character in a string. 640given character in a string.
466 641
467Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures 642Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures
468that the object is only a single hash/object or array. 643that the object is only a single hash/object or array.
469 644
470The argument to C<max_depth> will be rounded up to the next highest power
471of 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
472used, 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.
473 651
474See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful. 652See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
475 653
476=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
477 657
478Set 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
479being 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>
480is 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
481attempt 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
482effect on C<encode> (yet). 662effect on C<encode> (yet).
483 663
484The 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
485power of two (so may be more than requested). If no argument is given, the 665C<0> is specified).
486limit check will be deactivated (same as when C<0> is specified).
487 666
488See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful. 667See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
489 668
490=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar) 669=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar)
491 670
520 => ([], 3) 699 => ([], 3)
521 700
522=back 701=back
523 702
524 703
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
525=head1 MAPPING 931=head1 MAPPING
526 932
527This 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
528vice 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
529circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics 935circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics
530(what you put in comes out as something equivalent). 936(what you put in comes out as something equivalent).
531 937
532For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions, 938For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions,
533lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppcercase I<Perl> 939lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppercase I<Perl>
534refers to the abstract Perl language itself. 940refers to the abstract Perl language itself.
535 941
536 942
537=head2 JSON -> PERL 943=head2 JSON -> PERL
538 944
539=over 4 945=over 4
540 946
541=item object 947=item object
542 948
543A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object 949A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object
544keys is preserved (JSON does not preserver object key ordering itself). 950keys is preserved (JSON does not preserve object key ordering itself).
545 951
546=item array 952=item array
547 953
548A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl. 954A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl.
549 955
557 963
558A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or 964A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or
559string 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
560the 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
561the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and 967the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and
562might represent more values exactly than (floating point) numbers. 968might represent more values exactly than floating point numbers.
563 969
564If 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
565it 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
566a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of 972a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of
567precision. 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).
568 976
569Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be 977Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be
570represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of 978represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of
571precision. 979precision (in which case you might lose perfect roundtripping ability, but
572 980the JSON number will still be re-encoded as a JSON number).
573This might create round-tripping problems as numbers might become strings,
574but as Perl is typeless there is no other way to do it.
575 981
576=item true, false 982=item true, false
577 983
578These 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>,
579respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers 985respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers
580C<1> and C<0>. You can check wether a scalar is a JSON boolean by using 986C<1> and C<0>. You can check whether a scalar is a JSON boolean by using
581the C<JSON::XS::is_bool> function. 987the C<JSON::XS::is_bool> function.
582 988
583=item null 989=item null
584 990
585A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl. 991A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl.
616Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an 1022Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an
617exception 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
618C<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
619also 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.
620 1026
621 to_json [\0,JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true] 1027 encode_json [\0, JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true]
622 1028
623=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false 1029=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false
624 1030
625These special values become JSON true and JSON false values, 1031These special values become JSON true and JSON false values,
626respectively. You cna alos use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want. 1032respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want.
627 1033
628=item blessed objects 1034=item blessed objects
629 1035
630Blessed objects are not allowed. JSON::XS currently tries to encode their 1036Blessed objects are not directly representable in JSON. See the
631underlying representation (hash- or arrayref), but this behaviour might 1037C<allow_blessed> and C<convert_blessed> methods on various options on
632change 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.
633 1041
634=item simple scalars 1042=item simple scalars
635 1043
636Simple 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
637difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as 1045difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as
638JSON 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
639before encoding as JSON strings and anything else as number value: 1047before encoding as JSON strings, and anything else as number value:
640 1048
641 # dump as number 1049 # dump as number
642 to_json [2] # yields [2] 1050 encode_json [2] # yields [2]
643 to_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17] 1051 encode_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17]
644 my $value = 5; to_json [$value] # yields [5] 1052 my $value = 5; encode_json [$value] # yields [5]
645 1053
646 # used as string, so dump as string 1054 # used as string, so dump as string
647 print $value; 1055 print $value;
648 to_json [$value] # yields ["5"] 1056 encode_json [$value] # yields ["5"]
649 1057
650 # undef becomes null 1058 # undef becomes null
651 to_json [undef] # yields [null] 1059 encode_json [undef] # yields [null]
652 1060
653You can force the type to be a string by stringifying it: 1061You can force the type to be a JSON string by stringifying it:
654 1062
655 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number 1063 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number
656 "$x"; # stringified 1064 "$x"; # stringified
657 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify 1065 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify
658 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often 1066 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often
659 1067
660You can force the type to be a number by numifying it: 1068You can force the type to be a JSON number by numifying it:
661 1069
662 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string 1070 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string
663 $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
664 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choise is yours. 1072 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours.
665 1073
666You can not currently output JSON booleans or force the type in other, 1074You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me
667less obscure, ways. Tell me if you need this capability. 1075if you need this capability (but don't forget to explain why it's needed
1076:).
668 1077
669=back 1078=back
670 1079
671 1080
672=head1 COMPARISON 1081=head1 ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES
673 1082
674As already mentioned, this module was created because none of the existing 1083The interested reader might have seen a number of flags that signify
675JSON 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
676problems (or pleasures) I encountered with various existing JSON modules, 1085some confusion on what these do, so here is a short comparison:
677followed by some benchmark values. JSON::XS was designed not to suffer 1086
678from 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.
679 1105
680=over 4 1106=over 4
681 1107
682=item JSON 1.07 1108=item C<utf8> flag disabled
683 1109
684Slow (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).
685 1117
686Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling (how JSON handles unicode values is 1118This is useful when you want to do the encoding yourself (e.g. when you
687undocumented. 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
688en-/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).
689 1123
690No roundtripping (strings get clobbered if they look like numbers, e.g. 1124=item C<utf8> flag enabled
691the string C<2.0> will encode to C<2.0> instead of C<"2.0">, and that will
692decode into the number 2.
693 1125
694=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.
695 1131
696Very 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.
697 1135
698Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling. 1136=item C<latin1> or C<ascii> flags enabled
699 1137
700No roundtripping. 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.
701 1141
702Has 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
703values 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).
704 1147
705Does 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,
706which is not a valid JSON text. 1149regardless of these flags, just some more characters will be escaped using
1150C<\uXXXX> then before.
707 1151
708Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not 1152Note that ISO-8859-1-I<encoded> strings are not compatible with UTF-8
709getting 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.
710 1156
711=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.
712 1161
713Very 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.
714 1164
715Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty much 1165The main use for C<latin1> is to relatively efficiently store binary data
716undocumented. 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.
717single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and preferably a way to
718generate ASCII-only JSON texts).
719 1167
720Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling (unicode 1168The main use for C<ascii> is to force the output to not contain characters
721escapes are not working properly, you need to set ImplicitUnicode to 1169with values > 127, which means you can interpret the resulting string
722I<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
723 11718-bit-encoding, and still get the same data structure back. This is useful
724No roundtripping (simple cases work, but this depends on wether the scalar 1172when your channel for JSON transfer is not 8-bit clean or the encoding
725value was used in a numeric context or not). 1173might be mangled in between (e.g. in mail), and works because ASCII is a
726 1174proper subset of most 8-bit and multibyte encodings in use in the world.
727Dumping hashes may skip hash values depending on iterator state.
728
729Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not
730getting fixed).
731
732Does not check input for validity (i.e. will accept non-JSON input and
733return "something" instead of raising an exception. This is a security
734issue: imagine two banks transfering money between each other using
735JSON. One bank might parse a given non-JSON request and deduct money,
736while the other might reject the transaction with a syntax error. While a
737good protocol will at least recover, that is extra unnecessary work and
738the transaction will still not succeed).
739
740=item JSON::DWIW 0.04
741
742Very fast. Very natural. Very nice.
743
744Undocumented unicode handling (but the best of the pack. Unicode escapes
745still don't get parsed properly).
746
747Very inflexible.
748
749No roundtripping.
750
751Does not generate valid JSON texts (key strings are often unquoted, empty keys
752result in nothing being output)
753
754Does not check input for validity.
755 1175
756=back 1176=back
757 1177
758 1178
759=head2 JSON and YAML 1179=head2 JSON and YAML
760 1180
761You 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
762however, 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),
763no 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.
764 1186
765If 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
766algorithm (subject to change in future versions): 1188algorithm (subject to change in future versions):
767 1189
768 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1); 1190 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1);
769 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n"; 1191 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n";
770 1192
771This will usually generate JSON texts that also parse as valid 1193This will I<usually> generate JSON texts that also parse as valid
772YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key 1194YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key
773lengths 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
774keys are noticably 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).
775 1202
776There 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
777you 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
778or 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
779that 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
780 1231
781 1232
782=head2 SPEED 1233=head2 SPEED
783 1234
784It 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
785tables. 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
786in 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
787system. 1238system.
788 1239
789First comes a comparison between various modules using a very short 1240First comes a comparison between various modules using
790single-line JSON string: 1241a very short single-line JSON string (also available at
1242L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/short.json>).
791 1243
792 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], \ 1244 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1",
793 "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]}
794 1247
795It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses 1248It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses
796the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface 1249the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface
797with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables 1250with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables
798shrink). Higher is better: 1251shrink). Higher is better:
799 1252
800 Storable | 15779.925 | 14169.946 |
801 -----------+------------+------------+
802 module | encode | decode | 1253 module | encode | decode |
803 -----------|------------|------------| 1254 -----------|------------|------------|
804 JSON | 4990.842 | 4088.813 | 1255 JSON 1.x | 4990.842 | 4088.813 |
805 JSON::DWIW | 51653.990 | 71575.154 | 1256 JSON::DWIW | 51653.990 | 71575.154 |
806 JSON::PC | 65948.176 | 74631.744 | 1257 JSON::PC | 65948.176 | 74631.744 |
807 JSON::PP | 8931.652 | 3817.168 | 1258 JSON::PP | 8931.652 | 3817.168 |
808 JSON::Syck | 24877.248 | 27776.848 | 1259 JSON::Syck | 24877.248 | 27776.848 |
809 JSON::XS | 388361.481 | 227951.304 | 1260 JSON::XS | 388361.481 | 227951.304 |
811 JSON::XS/3 | 338250.323 | 218453.333 | 1262 JSON::XS/3 | 338250.323 | 218453.333 |
812 Storable | 16500.016 | 135300.129 | 1263 Storable | 16500.016 | 135300.129 |
813 -----------+------------+------------+ 1264 -----------+------------+------------+
814 1265
815That is, JSON::XS is about five times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding, 1266That is, JSON::XS is about five times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding,
816about three times faster on decoding, and over fourty times faster 1267about three times faster on decoding, and over forty times faster
817than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares 1268than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares
818favourably to Storable for small amounts of data. 1269favourably to Storable for small amounts of data.
819 1270
820Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals 1271Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals
821search API (http://nanoref.com/yahooapis/mgPdGg): 1272search API (L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/long.json>).
822 1273
823 module | encode | decode | 1274 module | encode | decode |
824 -----------|------------|------------| 1275 -----------|------------|------------|
825 JSON | 55.260 | 34.971 | 1276 JSON 1.x | 55.260 | 34.971 |
826 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 | 1277 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 |
827 JSON::PC | 3571.444 | 2394.829 | 1278 JSON::PC | 3571.444 | 2394.829 |
828 JSON::PP | 210.987 | 32.574 | 1279 JSON::PP | 210.987 | 32.574 |
829 JSON::Syck | 552.551 | 787.544 | 1280 JSON::Syck | 552.551 | 787.544 |
830 JSON::XS | 5780.463 | 4854.519 | 1281 JSON::XS | 5780.463 | 4854.519 |
834 -----------+------------+------------+ 1285 -----------+------------+------------+
835 1286
836Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly 1287Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly
837decodes faster). 1288decodes faster).
838 1289
839On large strings containing lots of high unicode characters, some modules 1290On large strings containing lots of high Unicode characters, some modules
840(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result 1291(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result
841will be broken due to missing (or wrong) unicode handling. Others refuse 1292will be broken due to missing (or wrong) Unicode handling. Others refuse
842to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair 1293to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair
843comparison table for that case. 1294comparison table for that case.
844 1295
845 1296
846=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS 1297=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
852any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am 1303any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am
853trying hard on making that true, but you never know. 1304trying hard on making that true, but you never know.
854 1305
855Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you should 1306Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you should
856limit the size of JSON texts you accept, or make sure then when your 1307limit the size of JSON texts you accept, or make sure then when your
857resources run out, thats just fine (e.g. by using a separate process that 1308resources run out, that's just fine (e.g. by using a separate process that
858can crash safely). The size of a JSON text in octets or characters is 1309can crash safely). The size of a JSON text in octets or characters is
859usually a good indication of the size of the resources required to decode 1310usually a good indication of the size of the resources required to decode
860it into a Perl structure. While JSON::XS can check the size of the JSON 1311it into a Perl structure. While JSON::XS can check the size of the JSON
861text, it might be too late when you already have it in memory, so you 1312text, it might be too late when you already have it in memory, so you
862might want to check the size before you accept the string. 1313might want to check the size before you accept the string.
863 1314
864Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and 1315Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and
865arrays. 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
866machine 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
867only 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
868to 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
869conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process 1320conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process
870has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the 1321has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the
871C<max_depth> method. 1322C<max_depth> method.
872 1323
873And 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
874of. 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...
875though... 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.
876 1331
877If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption 1332If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption
878by javascript scripts in a browser you should have a look at 1333by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at
879L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see wether 1334L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see whether
880you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser 1335you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser
881design 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
882browser developers care only for features, not about doing security 1337browser developers care only for features, not about getting security
883right). 1338right).
884 1339
885 1340
1341=head1 THREADS
1342
1343This module is I<not> guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no
1344plans to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the
1345horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated
1346process simulations - use fork, it's I<much> faster, cheaper, better).
1347
1348(It might actually work, but you have been warned).
1349
1350
886=head1 BUGS 1351=head1 BUGS
887 1352
888While 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
889not 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
890still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they 1355keep reporting bugs they will be fixed swiftly, though.
891will be fixed swiftly, though. 1356
1357Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting
1358service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason.
892 1359
893=cut 1360=cut
894 1361
895our $true = do { bless \(my $dummy = 1), "JSON::XS::Boolean" }; 1362our $true = do { bless \(my $dummy = 1), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
896our $false = do { bless \(my $dummy = 0), "JSON::XS::Boolean" }; 1363our $false = do { bless \(my $dummy = 0), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
913 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 }, 1380 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 },
914 fallback => 1; 1381 fallback => 1;
915 1382
9161; 13831;
917 1384
1385=head1 SEE ALSO
1386
1387The F<json_xs> command line utility for quick experiments.
1388
918=head1 AUTHOR 1389=head1 AUTHOR
919 1390
920 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 1391 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
921 http://home.schmorp.de/ 1392 http://home.schmorp.de/
922 1393

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