ViewVC Help
View File | Revision Log | Show Annotations | Download File
/cvs/JSON-XS/XS.pm
(Generate patch)

Comparing JSON-XS/XS.pm (file contents):
Revision 1.11 by root, Fri Mar 23 17:48:59 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.56 by root, Thu Jul 26 11:33:35 2007 UTC

3JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast 3JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast
4 4
5=head1 SYNOPSIS 5=head1 SYNOPSIS
6 6
7 use JSON::XS; 7 use JSON::XS;
8
9 # exported functions, they croak on error
10 # and expect/generate UTF-8
11
12 $utf8_encoded_json_text = to_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref;
13 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = from_json $utf8_encoded_json_text;
14
15 # OO-interface
16
17 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref;
18 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar);
19 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text);
8 20
9=head1 DESCRIPTION 21=head1 DESCRIPTION
10 22
11This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its 23This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its
12primary goal is to be I<correct> and its secondary goal is to be 24primary goal is to be I<correct> and its secondary goal is to be
25 37
26=head2 FEATURES 38=head2 FEATURES
27 39
28=over 4 40=over 4
29 41
30=item * correct handling of unicode issues 42=item * correct unicode handling
31 43
32This module knows how to handle Unicode, and even documents how and when 44This module knows how to handle Unicode, and even documents how and when
33it does so. 45it does so.
34 46
35=item * round-trip integrity 47=item * round-trip integrity
36 48
37When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported 49When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported
38by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level. 50by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level.
39(e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2"). 51(e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because it looks
52like a number).
40 53
41=item * strict checking of JSON correctness 54=item * strict checking of JSON correctness
42 55
43There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON strings by default, 56There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default,
44and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security 57and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security
45feature). 58feature).
46 59
47=item * fast 60=item * fast
48 61
55interface. 68interface.
56 69
57=item * reasonably versatile output formats 70=item * reasonably versatile output formats
58 71
59You can choose between the most compact guarenteed single-line format 72You can choose between the most compact guarenteed single-line format
60possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format (for 73possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format
61when your transport is not 8-bit clean), or a pretty-printed format (for 74(for when your transport is not 8-bit clean, still supports the whole
62when you want to read that stuff). Or you can combine those features in 75unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that
63whatever way you like. 76stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like.
64 77
65=back 78=back
66 79
67=cut 80=cut
68 81
69package JSON::XS; 82package JSON::XS;
70 83
71BEGIN { 84use strict;
85
72 $VERSION = '0.3'; 86our $VERSION = '1.43';
73 @ISA = qw(Exporter); 87our @ISA = qw(Exporter);
74 88
75 @EXPORT = qw(to_json from_json); 89our @EXPORT = qw(to_json from_json);
76 require Exporter;
77 90
78 require XSLoader; 91use Exporter;
79 XSLoader::load JSON::XS::, $VERSION; 92use XSLoader;
80}
81 93
82=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE 94=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE
83 95
84The following convinience methods are provided by this module. They are 96The following convinience methods are provided by this module. They are
85exported by default: 97exported by default:
86 98
87=over 4 99=over 4
88 100
89=item $json_string = to_json $perl_scalar 101=item $json_text = to_json $perl_scalar
90 102
91Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference to 103Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference to
92a hash or array) to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string (that is, the string contains 104a hash or array) to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string (that is, the string contains
93octets only). Croaks on error. 105octets only). Croaks on error.
94 106
95This function call is functionally identical to C<< JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar) >>. 107This function call is functionally identical to:
96 108
109 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar)
110
111except being faster.
112
97=item $perl_scalar = from_json $json_string 113=item $perl_scalar = from_json $json_text
98 114
99The opposite of C<to_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries to 115The opposite of C<to_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries to
100parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON string, returning the resulting simple 116parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting simple
101scalar or reference. Croaks on error. 117scalar or reference. Croaks on error.
102 118
103This function call is functionally identical to C<< JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_string) >>. 119This function call is functionally identical to:
120
121 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text)
122
123except being faster.
124
125=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar
126
127Returns 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
129and are used to represent JSON C<true> and C<false> values in Perl.
130
131See MAPPING, below, for more information on how JSON values are mapped to
132Perl.
104 133
105=back 134=back
135
106 136
107=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE 137=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE
108 138
109The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or 139The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or
110decoding style, within the limits of supported formats. 140decoding style, within the limits of supported formats.
117strings. All boolean flags described below are by default I<disabled>. 147strings. All boolean flags described below are by default I<disabled>.
118 148
119The mutators for flags all return the JSON object again and thus calls can 149The mutators for flags all return the JSON object again and thus calls can
120be chained: 150be chained:
121 151
122 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8(1)->space_after(1)->encode ({a => [1,2]}) 152 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]})
123 => {"a": [1, 2]} 153 => {"a": [1, 2]}
124 154
125=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable]) 155=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable])
126 156
127If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will 157If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
128not generate characters outside the code range C<0..127>. Any unicode 158generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any
129characters outside that range will be escaped using either a single 159unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a
130\uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence, as per 160single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence,
131RFC4627. 161as 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,
163or any other superset of ASCII.
132 164
133If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 165If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
134characters unless necessary. 166characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results
167in a faster and more compact format.
135 168
169The 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
171contain any 8 bit characters.
172
136 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode (chr 0x10401) 173 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401])
137 => \ud801\udc01 174 => ["\ud801\udc01"]
175
176=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable])
177
178If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
179the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters
180outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a
181latin1-encoded JSON text or a native unicode string. The C<decode> method
182will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default
183expects unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1.
184
185If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
186characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags.
187
188The 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
190size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded
191in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and
192transfering), a rare encoding for JSON. It is therefore most useful when
193you want to store data structures known to contain binary data efficiently
194in files or databases, not when talking to other JSON encoders/decoders.
195
196 JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"]
197 => ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not)
138 198
139=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable]) 199=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable])
140 200
141If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode 201If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
142the JSON string into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the 202the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the
143C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please 203C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please
144note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the 204note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the
145range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. 205range 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
207and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627.
146 208
147If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON 209If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON
148string as a (non-encoded) unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a 210string as a (non-encoded) unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a
149unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs 211unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs
150to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module. 212to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module.
151 213
214Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON:
215
216 use Encode;
217 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object);
218
219Example, decode UTF-32LE-encoded JSON:
220
221 use Encode;
222 $object = JSON::XS->new->decode (decode "UTF-32LE", $jsontext);
223
152=item $json = $json->pretty ([$enable]) 224=item $json = $json->pretty ([$enable])
153 225
154This enables (or disables) all of the C<indent>, C<space_before> and 226This enables (or disables) all of the C<indent>, C<space_before> and
155C<space_after> (and in the future possibly more) flags in one call to 227C<space_after> (and in the future possibly more) flags in one call to
156generate the most readable (or most compact) form possible. 228generate the most readable (or most compact) form possible.
229
230Example, pretty-print some simple structure:
157 231
158 my $json = JSON::XS->new->pretty(1)->encode ({a => [1,2]}) 232 my $json = JSON::XS->new->pretty(1)->encode ({a => [1,2]})
159 => 233 =>
160 { 234 {
161 "a" : [ 235 "a" : [
169If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline 243If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline
170format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair 244format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair
171into its own line, identing them properly. 245into its own line, identing them properly.
172 246
173If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the 247If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the
174resulting JSON strings is guarenteed not to contain any C<newlines>. 248resulting JSON text is guarenteed not to contain any C<newlines>.
175 249
176This setting has no effect when decoding JSON strings. 250This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
177 251
178=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable]) 252=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable])
179 253
180If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 254If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
181optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects. 255optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects.
182 256
183If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra 257If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra
184space at those places. 258space at those places.
185 259
186This setting has no effect when decoding JSON strings. You will also most 260This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. You will also
187likely combine this setting with C<space_after>. 261most likely combine this setting with C<space_after>.
262
263Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled:
264
265 {"key" :"value"}
188 266
189=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable]) 267=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable])
190 268
191If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 269If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
192optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects 270optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects
194members. 272members.
195 273
196If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra 274If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra
197space at those places. 275space at those places.
198 276
199This setting has no effect when decoding JSON strings. 277This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
278
279Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled:
280
281 {"key": "value"}
200 282
201=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable]) 283=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable])
202 284
203If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects 285If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects
204by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead. 286by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead.
206If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value 288If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value
207pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs 289pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs
208of the same script). 290of the same script).
209 291
210This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as 292This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as
211the same JSON string (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled, 293the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled,
212the same hash migh be encoded differently even if contains the same data, 294the same hash migh be encoded differently even if contains the same data,
213as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl. 295as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl.
214 296
215This setting has no effect when decoding JSON strings. 297This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
216 298
217=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable]) 299=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable])
218 300
219If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a 301If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a
220non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value, 302non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value,
221which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON 303which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON
222values instead of croaking. 304values instead of croaking.
223 305
224If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will croak if it isn't 306If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will croak if it isn't
225passed an arrayref or hashref, as JSON strings must either be an object 307passed an arrayref or hashref, as JSON texts must either be an object
226or array. Likewise, C<decode> will croak if given something that is not a 308or array. Likewise, C<decode> will croak if given something that is not a
227JSON object or array. 309JSON object or array.
228 310
311Example, encode a Perl scalar as JSON value with enabled C<allow_nonref>,
312resulting in an invalid JSON text:
313
314 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!")
315 => "Hello, World!"
316
317=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable])
318
319If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
320barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the
321B<convert_blessed> option will decide wether C<null> (C<convert_blessed>
322disabled or no C<to_json> method found) or a representation of the
323object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<to_json> method found) is being
324encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>.
325
326If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
327exception when it encounters a blessed object.
328
329=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable])
330
331If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a
332blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<TO_JSON> method
333on the object's class. If found, it will be called in scalar context
334and the resulting scalar will be encoded instead of the object. If no
335C<TO_JSON> method is found, the value of C<allow_blessed> will decide what
336to do.
337
338The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON>
339returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same
340way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle
341(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other
342methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are
343usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with the C<to_json>
344function.
345
346This setting does not yet influence C<decode> in any way, but in the
347future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are
348enabled by this setting.
349
350If C<$enable> is false, then the C<allow_blessed> setting will decide what
351to do when a blessed object is found.
352
353=item $json = $json->filter_json_object ([$coderef->($hashref)])
354
355When C<$coderef> is specified, it will be called from C<decode> each
356time it decodes a JSON object. The only argument is a reference to the
357newly-created hash. If the code references returns a single scalar (which
358need not be a reference), this value (i.e. a copy of that scalar to avoid
359aliasing) is inserted into the deserialised data structure. If it returns
360an empty list (NOTE: I<not> C<undef>, which is a valid scalar), the
361original deserialised hash will be inserted. This setting can slow down
362decoding considerably.
363
364When C<$coderef> is omitted or undefined, any existing callback will
365be removed and C<decode> will not change the deserialised hash in any
366way.
367
368Example, convert all JSON objects into the integer 5:
369
370 my $js = JSON::XS->new->filter_json_object (sub { 5 });
371 # returns [5]
372 $js->decode ('[{}]')
373 # throw an exception because allow_nonref is not enabled
374 # so a lone 5 is not allowed.
375 $js->decode ('{"a":1, "b":2}');
376
377=item $json = $json->filter_json_single_key_object ($key [=> $coderef->($value)])
378
379Works remotely similar to C<filter_json_object>, but is only called for
380JSON objects having a single key named C<$key>.
381
382This C<$coderef> is called before the one specified via
383C<filter_json_object>, if any. It gets passed the single value in the JSON
384object. If it returns a single value, it will be inserted into the data
385structure. If it returns nothing (not even C<undef> but the empty list),
386the callback from C<filter_json_object> will be called next, as if no
387single-key callback were specified.
388
389If C<$coderef> is omitted or undefined, the corresponding callback will be
390disabled. There can only ever be one callback for a given key.
391
392As this callback gets called less often then the C<filter_json_object>
393one, decoding speed will not usually suffer as much. Therefore, single-key
394objects make excellent targets to serialise Perl objects into, especially
395as single-key JSON objects are as close to the type-tagged value concept
396as JSON gets (its basically an ID/VALUE tuple). Of course, JSON does not
397support this in any way, so you need to make sure your data never looks
398like a serialised Perl hash.
399
400Typical names for the single object key are C<__class_whatever__>, or
401C<$__dollars_are_rarely_used__$> or C<}ugly_brace_placement>, or even
402things like C<__class_md5sum(classname)__>, to reduce the risk of clashing
403with real hashes.
404
405Example, decode JSON objects of the form C<< { "__widget__" => <id> } >>
406into the corresponding C<< $WIDGET{<id>} >> object:
407
408 # return whatever is in $WIDGET{5}:
409 JSON::XS
410 ->new
411 ->filter_json_single_key_object (__widget__ => sub {
412 $WIDGET{ $_[0] }
413 })
414 ->decode ('{"__widget__": 5')
415
416 # this can be used with a TO_JSON method in some "widget" class
417 # for serialisation to json:
418 sub WidgetBase::TO_JSON {
419 my ($self) = @_;
420
421 unless ($self->{id}) {
422 $self->{id} = ..get..some..id..;
423 $WIDGET{$self->{id}} = $self;
424 }
425
426 { __widget__ => $self->{id} }
427 }
428
229=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable]) 429=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable])
230 430
231Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for 431Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for
232strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either 432strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either
233C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save 433C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save
234memory when your JSON strings are either very very long or you have many 434memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many
235short strings. It will also try to downgrade any strings to octet-form 435short strings. It will also try to downgrade any strings to octet-form
236if possible: perl stores strings internally either in an encoding called 436if possible: perl stores strings internally either in an encoding called
237UTF-X or in octet-form. The latter cannot store everything but uses less 437UTF-X or in octet-form. The latter cannot store everything but uses less
238space in general. 438space in general (and some buggy Perl or C code might even rely on that
439internal representation being used).
239 440
441The actual definition of what shrink does might change in future versions,
442but it will always try to save space at the expense of time.
443
240If C<$enable> is true (or missing), the string returned by C<encode> will be shrunk-to-fit, 444If C<$enable> is true (or missing), the string returned by C<encode> will
241while all strings generated by C<decode> will also be shrunk-to-fit. 445be shrunk-to-fit, while all strings generated by C<decode> will also be
446shrunk-to-fit.
242 447
243If C<$enable> is false, then the normal perl allocation algorithms are used. 448If C<$enable> is false, then the normal perl allocation algorithms are used.
244If you work with your data, then this is likely to be faster. 449If you work with your data, then this is likely to be faster.
245 450
246In the future, this setting might control other things, such as converting 451In the future, this setting might control other things, such as converting
247strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats 452strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats
248internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space. 453internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space.
249 454
455=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])
456
457Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding
458or decoding. If the JSON text or Perl data structure has an equal or
459higher nesting level then this limit, then the encoder and decoder will
460stop and croak at that point.
461
462Nesting 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<[>
464characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a
465given character in a string.
466
467Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures
468that the object is only a single hash/object or array.
469
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
472used, which is rarely useful.
473
474See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
475
476=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size])
477
478Set 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>
480is called on a string longer then this number of characters it will not
481attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no
482effect on C<encode> (yet).
483
484The argument to C<max_size> will be rounded up to the next B<highest>
485power of two (so may be more than requested). If no argument is given, the
486limit check will be deactivated (same as when C<0> is specified).
487
488See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
489
250=item $json_string = $json->encode ($perl_scalar) 490=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar)
251 491
252Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference 492Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference
253to a hash or array) to its JSON representation. Simple scalars will be 493to a hash or array) to its JSON representation. Simple scalars will be
254converted into JSON string or number sequences, while references to arrays 494converted into JSON string or number sequences, while references to arrays
255become JSON arrays and references to hashes become JSON objects. Undefined 495become JSON arrays and references to hashes become JSON objects. Undefined
256Perl values (e.g. C<undef>) become JSON C<null> values. Neither C<true> 496Perl values (e.g. C<undef>) become JSON C<null> values. Neither C<true>
257nor C<false> values will be generated. 497nor C<false> values will be generated.
258 498
259=item $perl_scalar = $json->decode ($json_string) 499=item $perl_scalar = $json->decode ($json_text)
260 500
261The opposite of C<encode>: expects a JSON string and tries to parse it, 501The opposite of C<encode>: expects a JSON text and tries to parse it,
262returning the resulting simple scalar or reference. Croaks on error. 502returning the resulting simple scalar or reference. Croaks on error.
263 503
264JSON numbers and strings become simple Perl scalars. JSON arrays become 504JSON numbers and strings become simple Perl scalars. JSON arrays become
265Perl arrayrefs and JSON objects become Perl hashrefs. C<true> becomes 505Perl arrayrefs and JSON objects become Perl hashrefs. C<true> becomes
266C<1>, C<false> becomes C<0> and C<null> becomes C<undef>. 506C<1>, C<false> becomes C<0> and C<null> becomes C<undef>.
267 507
508=item ($perl_scalar, $characters) = $json->decode_prefix ($json_text)
509
510This works like the C<decode> method, but instead of raising an exception
511when there is trailing garbage after the first JSON object, it will
512silently stop parsing there and return the number of characters consumed
513so far.
514
515This is useful if your JSON texts are not delimited by an outer protocol
516(which is not the brightest thing to do in the first place) and you need
517to know where the JSON text ends.
518
519 JSON::XS->new->decode_prefix ("[1] the tail")
520 => ([], 3)
521
268=back 522=back
523
269 524
270=head1 MAPPING 525=head1 MAPPING
271 526
272This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and 527This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and
273vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most 528vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most
276 531
277For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions, 532For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions,
278lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppcercase I<Perl> 533lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppcercase I<Perl>
279refers to the abstract Perl language itself. 534refers to the abstract Perl language itself.
280 535
536
281=head2 JSON -> PERL 537=head2 JSON -> PERL
282 538
283=over 4 539=over 4
284 540
285=item object 541=item object
286 542
287A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object 543A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object
288keys is preserved. 544keys is preserved (JSON does not preserver object key ordering itself).
289 545
290=item array 546=item array
291 547
292A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl. 548A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl.
293 549
297are represented by the same codepoints in the Perl string, so no manual 553are represented by the same codepoints in the Perl string, so no manual
298decoding is necessary. 554decoding is necessary.
299 555
300=item number 556=item number
301 557
302A JSON number becomes either an integer or numeric (floating point) 558A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or
303scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On the 559string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On
304Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all the 560the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all
305conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and might 561the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and
306represent more values exactly than (floating point) numbers. 562might represent more values exactly than (floating point) numbers.
563
564If 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
566a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of
567precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value.
568
569Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be
570represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of
571precision.
572
573This might create round-tripping problems as numbers might become strings,
574but as Perl is typeless there is no other way to do it.
307 575
308=item true, false 576=item true, false
309 577
310These JSON atoms become C<0>, C<1>, respectively. Information is lost in 578These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>,
311this process. Future versions might represent those values differently, 579respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers
312but they will be guarenteed to act like these integers would normally in 580C<1> and C<0>. You can check wether a scalar is a JSON boolean by using
313Perl. 581the C<JSON::XS::is_bool> function.
314 582
315=item null 583=item null
316 584
317A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl. 585A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl.
318 586
319=back 587=back
588
320 589
321=head2 PERL -> JSON 590=head2 PERL -> JSON
322 591
323The mapping from Perl to JSON is slightly more difficult, as Perl is a 592The mapping from Perl to JSON is slightly more difficult, as Perl is a
324truly typeless language, so we can only guess which JSON type is meant by 593truly typeless language, so we can only guess which JSON type is meant by
327=over 4 596=over 4
328 597
329=item hash references 598=item hash references
330 599
331Perl hash references become JSON objects. As there is no inherent ordering 600Perl hash references become JSON objects. As there is no inherent ordering
332in hash keys, they will usually be encoded in a pseudo-random order that 601in hash keys (or JSON objects), they will usually be encoded in a
333can change between runs of the same program but stays generally the same 602pseudo-random order that can change between runs of the same program but
334within the single run of a program. JSON::XS can optionally sort the hash 603stays generally the same within a single run of a program. JSON::XS can
335keys (determined by the I<canonical> flag), so the same datastructure 604optionally sort the hash keys (determined by the I<canonical> flag), so
336will serialise to the same JSON text (given same settings and version of 605the same datastructure will serialise to the same JSON text (given same
337JSON::XS), but this incurs a runtime overhead. 606settings and version of JSON::XS), but this incurs a runtime overhead
607and is only rarely useful, e.g. when you want to compare some JSON text
608against another for equality.
338 609
339=item array references 610=item array references
340 611
341Perl array references become JSON arrays. 612Perl array references become JSON arrays.
613
614=item other references
615
616Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an
617exception 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
619also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability.
620
621 to_json [\0,JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true]
622
623=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false
624
625These special values become JSON true and JSON false values,
626respectively. You cna alos use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want.
342 627
343=item blessed objects 628=item blessed objects
344 629
345Blessed objects are not allowed. JSON::XS currently tries to encode their 630Blessed objects are not allowed. JSON::XS currently tries to encode their
346underlying representation (hash- or arrayref), but this behaviour might 631underlying representation (hash- or arrayref), but this behaviour might
379 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choise is yours. 664 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choise is yours.
380 665
381You can not currently output JSON booleans or force the type in other, 666You can not currently output JSON booleans or force the type in other,
382less obscure, ways. Tell me if you need this capability. 667less obscure, ways. Tell me if you need this capability.
383 668
384=item circular data structures
385
386Those will be encoded until memory or stackspace runs out.
387
388=back 669=back
670
389 671
390=head1 COMPARISON 672=head1 COMPARISON
391 673
392As already mentioned, this module was created because none of the existing 674As already mentioned, this module was created because none of the existing
393JSON modules could be made to work correctly. First I will describe the 675JSON modules could be made to work correctly. First I will describe the
419 701
420Has problems handling many Perl values (e.g. regex results and other magic 702Has problems handling many Perl values (e.g. regex results and other magic
421values will make it croak). 703values will make it croak).
422 704
423Does not even generate valid JSON (C<{1,2}> gets converted to C<{1:2}> 705Does not even generate valid JSON (C<{1,2}> gets converted to C<{1:2}>
424which is not a valid JSON string. 706which is not a valid JSON text.
425 707
426Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not 708Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not
427getting fixed). 709getting fixed).
428 710
429=item JSON::Syck 0.21 711=item JSON::Syck 0.21
431Very buggy (often crashes). 713Very buggy (often crashes).
432 714
433Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty much 715Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty much
434undocumented. I need at least a format for easy reading by humans and a 716undocumented. I need at least a format for easy reading by humans and a
435single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and preferably a way to 717single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and preferably a way to
436generate ASCII-only JSON strings). 718generate ASCII-only JSON texts).
437 719
438Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling (unicode 720Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling (unicode
439escapes are not working properly, you need to set ImplicitUnicode to 721escapes are not working properly, you need to set ImplicitUnicode to
440I<different> values on en- and decoding to get symmetric behaviour). 722I<different> values on en- and decoding to get symmetric behaviour).
441 723
464 746
465Very inflexible. 747Very inflexible.
466 748
467No roundtripping. 749No roundtripping.
468 750
469Does not generate valid JSON (key strings are often unquoted, empty keys 751Does not generate valid JSON texts (key strings are often unquoted, empty keys
470result in nothing being output) 752result in nothing being output)
471 753
472Does not check input for validity. 754Does not check input for validity.
473 755
474=back 756=back
757
758
759=head2 JSON and YAML
760
761You often hear that JSON is a subset (or a close subset) of YAML. This is,
762however, a mass hysteria and very far from the truth. In general, there is
763no way to configure JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML.
764
765If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this
766algorithm (subject to change in future versions):
767
768 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1);
769 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n";
770
771This will usually generate JSON texts that also parse as valid
772YAML. 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
774keys are noticably shorter than the 1024 characters YAML allows.
775
776There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of. In general
777you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice versa,
778or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are high
779that you will run into severe interoperability problems.
780
475 781
476=head2 SPEED 782=head2 SPEED
477 783
478It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following 784It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following
479tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program 785tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program
480in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own 786in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own
481system. 787system.
482 788
483First is a comparison between various modules using a very simple JSON 789First comes a comparison between various modules using a very short
790single-line JSON string:
791
792 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], \
793 "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7, true, false]}
794
484string, showing the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS is 795It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses
485the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 is the OO interface with 796the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface
486pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled). 797with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables
798shrink). Higher is better:
487 799
800 Storable | 15779.925 | 14169.946 |
801 -----------+------------+------------+
488 module | encode | decode | 802 module | encode | decode |
489 -----------|------------|------------| 803 -----------|------------|------------|
490 JSON | 14006 | 6820 | 804 JSON | 4990.842 | 4088.813 |
491 JSON::DWIW | 200937 | 120386 | 805 JSON::DWIW | 51653.990 | 71575.154 |
492 JSON::PC | 85065 | 129366 | 806 JSON::PC | 65948.176 | 74631.744 |
493 JSON::Syck | 59898 | 44232 | 807 JSON::PP | 8931.652 | 3817.168 |
494 JSON::XS | 1171478 | 342435 | 808 JSON::Syck | 24877.248 | 27776.848 |
495 JSON::XS/2 | 730760 | 328714 | 809 JSON::XS | 388361.481 | 227951.304 |
810 JSON::XS/2 | 227951.304 | 218453.333 |
811 JSON::XS/3 | 338250.323 | 218453.333 |
812 Storable | 16500.016 | 135300.129 |
496 -----------+------------+------------+ 813 -----------+------------+------------+
497 814
498That is, JSON::XS is 6 times faster than than JSON::DWIW and about 80 815That is, JSON::XS is about five times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding,
816about three times faster on decoding, and over fourty times faster
499times faster than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. 817than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares
818favourably to Storable for small amounts of data.
500 819
501Using a longer test string (roughly 8KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals 820Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals
502search API (http://nanoref.com/yahooapis/mgPdGg): 821search API (http://nanoref.com/yahooapis/mgPdGg):
503 822
504 module | encode | decode | 823 module | encode | decode |
505 -----------|------------|------------| 824 -----------|------------|------------|
506 JSON | 673 | 38 | 825 JSON | 55.260 | 34.971 |
507 JSON::DWIW | 5271 | 770 | 826 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 |
508 JSON::PC | 9901 | 2491 | 827 JSON::PC | 3571.444 | 2394.829 |
509 JSON::Syck | 2360 | 786 | 828 JSON::PP | 210.987 | 32.574 |
510 JSON::XS | 37398 | 3202 | 829 JSON::Syck | 552.551 | 787.544 |
511 JSON::XS/2 | 13765 | 3153 | 830 JSON::XS | 5780.463 | 4854.519 |
831 JSON::XS/2 | 3869.998 | 4798.975 |
832 JSON::XS/3 | 5862.880 | 4798.975 |
833 Storable | 4445.002 | 5235.027 |
512 -----------+------------+------------+ 834 -----------+------------+------------+
513 835
514Again, JSON::XS leads by far in the encoding case, while still beating 836Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly
515every other module in the decoding case. 837decodes faster).
516 838
517Last example is an almost 8MB large hash with many large binary values 839On large strings containing lots of high unicode characters, some modules
518(PNG files), resulting in a lot of escaping: 840(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
842to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair
843comparison table for that case.
519 844
520=head1 RESOURCE LIMITS
521 845
522JSON::XS does not impose any limits on the size of JSON texts or Perl 846=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
523values they represent - if your machine cna handle it, JSON::XS will 847
524encode or decode it. Future versions might optionally impose structure 848When you are using JSON in a protocol, talking to untrusted potentially
525depth and memory use resource limits. 849hostile creatures requires relatively few measures.
850
851First of all, your JSON decoder should be secure, that is, should not have
852any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am
853trying hard on making that true, but you never know.
854
855Second, 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
857resources run out, thats just fine (e.g. by using a separate process that
858can 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
860it 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
862might want to check the size before you accept the string.
863
864Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and
865arrays. 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
867only 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
869conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process
870has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the
871C<max_depth> method.
872
873And last but least, something else could bomb you that I forgot to think
874of. In that case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints,
875though...
876
877If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption
878by javascript scripts in a browser you should have a look at
879L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see wether
880you 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
882browser developers care only for features, not about doing security
883right).
884
526 885
527=head1 BUGS 886=head1 BUGS
528 887
529While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does 888While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does
530not mean its bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is 889not mean its bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is
531still very young and not well-tested. If you keep reporting bugs they will 890still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they
532be fixed swiftly, though. 891will be fixed swiftly, though.
533 892
534=cut 893=cut
894
895our $true = do { bless \(my $dummy = 1), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
896our $false = do { bless \(my $dummy = 0), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
897
898sub true() { $true }
899sub false() { $false }
900
901sub is_bool($) {
902 UNIVERSAL::isa $_[0], "JSON::XS::Boolean"
903# or UNIVERSAL::isa $_[0], "JSON::Literal"
904}
905
906XSLoader::load "JSON::XS", $VERSION;
907
908package JSON::XS::Boolean;
909
910use overload
911 "0+" => sub { ${$_[0]} },
912 "++" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} + 1 },
913 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 },
914 fallback => 1;
535 915
5361; 9161;
537 917
538=head1 AUTHOR 918=head1 AUTHOR
539 919

Diff Legend

Removed lines
+ Added lines
< Changed lines
> Changed lines