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Revision 1.63 by root, Thu Oct 11 23:07:43 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.110 by root, Sun Jul 20 17:55:19 2008 UTC

1=head1 NAME
2
3JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast
4
1=encoding utf-8 5=encoding utf-8
2
3=head1 NAME
4
5JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast
6 6
7JSON::XS - 正しくて高速な JSON シリアライザ/デシリアライザ 7JSON::XS - 正しくて高速な JSON シリアライザ/デシリアライザ
8 (http://fleur.hio.jp/perldoc/mix/lib/JSON/XS.html) 8 (http://fleur.hio.jp/perldoc/mix/lib/JSON/XS.html)
9 9
10=head1 SYNOPSIS 10=head1 SYNOPSIS
12 use JSON::XS; 12 use JSON::XS;
13 13
14 # exported functions, they croak on error 14 # exported functions, they croak on error
15 # and expect/generate UTF-8 15 # and expect/generate UTF-8
16 16
17 $utf8_encoded_json_text = to_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref; 17 $utf8_encoded_json_text = encode_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref;
18 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = from_json $utf8_encoded_json_text; 18 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = decode_json $utf8_encoded_json_text;
19 19
20 # OO-interface 20 # OO-interface
21 21
22 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref; 22 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref;
23 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar); 23 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar);
24 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text); 24 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text);
25 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
26=head1 DESCRIPTION 34=head1 DESCRIPTION
27 35
28This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its 36This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its
29primary 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
30I<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.
31 47
32As 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
33to 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
34modules, 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
35their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug 51their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug
42 58
43=head2 FEATURES 59=head2 FEATURES
44 60
45=over 4 61=over 4
46 62
47=item * correct unicode handling 63=item * correct Unicode handling
48 64
49This 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
50it does so. 66so, and even documents what "correct" means.
51 67
52=item * round-trip integrity 68=item * round-trip integrity
53 69
54When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported 70When you serialise a perl data structure using only data types supported
55by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level. 71by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level.
56(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
57like a number). 73like a number). There minor I<are> exceptions to this, read the MAPPING
74section below to learn about those.
58 75
59=item * strict checking of JSON correctness 76=item * strict checking of JSON correctness
60 77
61There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default, 78There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default,
62and 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
63feature). 80feature).
64 81
65=item * fast 82=item * fast
66 83
67Compared to other JSON modules, this module compares favourably in terms 84Compared to other JSON modules and other serialisers such as Storable,
68of speed, too. 85this module usually compares favourably in terms of speed, too.
69 86
70=item * simple to use 87=item * simple to use
71 88
72This 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
73interface. 90oriented interface interface.
74 91
75=item * reasonably versatile output formats 92=item * reasonably versatile output formats
76 93
77You can choose between the most compact guarenteed single-line format 94You can choose between the most compact guaranteed-single-line format
78possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format 95possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ASCII format
79(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
80unicode 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
81stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like. 98stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like.
82 99
83=back 100=back
84 101
85=cut 102=cut
86 103
87package JSON::XS; 104package JSON::XS;
88 105
106no warnings;
89use strict; 107use strict;
90 108
91our $VERSION = '1.5'; 109our $VERSION = '2.2222';
92our @ISA = qw(Exporter); 110our @ISA = qw(Exporter);
93 111
94our @EXPORT = qw(to_json from_json); 112our @EXPORT = qw(encode_json decode_json to_json from_json);
113
114sub to_json($) {
115 require Carp;
116 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");
117}
118
119sub from_json($) {
120 require Carp;
121 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");
122}
95 123
96use Exporter; 124use Exporter;
97use XSLoader; 125use XSLoader;
98 126
99=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE 127=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE
100 128
101The following convinience methods are provided by this module. They are 129The following convenience methods are provided by this module. They are
102exported by default: 130exported by default:
103 131
104=over 4 132=over 4
105 133
106=item $json_text = to_json $perl_scalar 134=item $json_text = encode_json $perl_scalar
107 135
108Converts the given Perl data structure to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string 136Converts the given Perl data structure to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string
109(that is, the string contains octets only). Croaks on error. 137(that is, the string contains octets only). Croaks on error.
110 138
111This function call is functionally identical to: 139This function call is functionally identical to:
112 140
113 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar) 141 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar)
114 142
115except being faster. 143Except being faster.
116 144
117=item $perl_scalar = from_json $json_text 145=item $perl_scalar = decode_json $json_text
118 146
119The opposite of C<to_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries 147The opposite of C<encode_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries
120to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting 148to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting
121reference. Croaks on error. 149reference. Croaks on error.
122 150
123This function call is functionally identical to: 151This function call is functionally identical to:
124 152
125 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text) 153 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text)
126 154
127except being faster. 155Except being faster.
128 156
129=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar 157=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar
130 158
131Returns true if the passed scalar represents either JSON::XS::true or 159Returns true if the passed scalar represents either JSON::XS::true or
132JSON::XS::false, two constants that act like C<1> and C<0>, respectively 160JSON::XS::false, two constants that act like C<1> and C<0>, respectively
145 173
146=over 4 174=over 4
147 175
148=item 1. Perl strings can store characters with ordinal values > 255. 176=item 1. Perl strings can store characters with ordinal values > 255.
149 177
150This enables you to store unicode characters as single characters in a 178This enables you to store Unicode characters as single characters in a
151Perl string - very natural. 179Perl string - very natural.
152 180
153=item 2. Perl does I<not> associate an encoding with your strings. 181=item 2. Perl does I<not> associate an encoding with your strings.
154 182
155Unless you force it to, e.g. when matching it against a regex, or printing 183... until you force it to, e.g. when matching it against a regex, or
156the scalar to a file, in which case Perl either interprets your string as 184printing the scalar to a file, in which case Perl either interprets your
157locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode, depending on various 185string as locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode, depending
158settings. In no case is an encoding stored together with your data, it is 186on various settings. In no case is an encoding stored together with your
159I<use> that decides encoding, not any magical metadata. 187data, it is I<use> that decides encoding, not any magical meta data.
160 188
161=item 3. The internal utf-8 flag has no meaning with regards to the 189=item 3. The internal utf-8 flag has no meaning with regards to the
162encoding of your string. 190encoding of your string.
163 191
164Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written in 192Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written in
165XS or want to dive into the internals of perl. Otherwise it will only 193XS or want to dive into the internals of perl. Otherwise it will only
166confuse you, as, despite the name, it says nothing about how your string 194confuse you, as, despite the name, it says nothing about how your string
167is encoded. You can have unicode strings with that flag set, with that 195is encoded. You can have Unicode strings with that flag set, with that
168flag clear, and you can have binary data with that flag set and that flag 196flag clear, and you can have binary data with that flag set and that flag
169clear. Other possibilities exist, too. 197clear. Other possibilities exist, too.
170 198
171If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it doesn't 199If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it doesn't
172exist. 200exist.
173 201
174=item 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be 202=item 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be
175validly interpreted as a Unicode codepoint. 203validly interpreted as a Unicode code point.
176 204
177If you have UTF-8 encoded data, it is no longer a Unicode string, but a 205If you have UTF-8 encoded data, it is no longer a Unicode string, but a
178Unicode string encoded in UTF-8, giving you a binary string. 206Unicode string encoded in UTF-8, giving you a binary string.
179 207
180=item 5. A string containing "high" (> 255) character values is I<not> a UTF-8 string. 208=item 5. A string containing "high" (> 255) character values is I<not> a UTF-8 string.
181 209
182Its a fact. Learn to live with it. 210It's a fact. Learn to live with it.
183 211
184=back 212=back
185 213
186I hope this helps :) 214I hope this helps :)
187 215
204 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]}) 232 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]})
205 => {"a": [1, 2]} 233 => {"a": [1, 2]}
206 234
207=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable]) 235=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable])
208 236
237=item $enabled = $json->get_ascii
238
209If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not 239If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
210generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any 240generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any
211unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a 241Unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a
212single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence, 242single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence,
213as per RFC4627. The resulting encoded JSON text can be treated as a native 243as per RFC4627. The resulting encoded JSON text can be treated as a native
214unicode string, an ascii-encoded, latin1-encoded or UTF-8 encoded string, 244Unicode string, an ascii-encoded, latin1-encoded or UTF-8 encoded string,
215or any other superset of ASCII. 245or any other superset of ASCII.
216 246
217If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 247If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
218characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results 248characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results
219in a faster and more compact format. 249in a faster and more compact format.
220 250
251See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
252document.
253
221The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be 254The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be
222transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not 255transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not
223contain any 8 bit characters. 256contain any 8 bit characters.
224 257
225 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401]) 258 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401])
226 => ["\ud801\udc01"] 259 => ["\ud801\udc01"]
227 260
228=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable]) 261=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable])
229 262
263=item $enabled = $json->get_latin1
264
230If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode 265If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
231the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters 266the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters
232outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a 267outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a
233latin1-encoded JSON text or a native unicode string. The C<decode> method 268latin1-encoded JSON text or a native Unicode string. The C<decode> method
234will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default 269will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default
235expects unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1. 270expects Unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1.
236 271
237If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 272If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
238characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. 273characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags.
274
275See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
276document.
239 277
240The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON 278The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON
241text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded 279text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded
242size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded 280size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded
243in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and 281in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and
244transfering), a rare encoding for JSON. It is therefore most useful when 282transferring), a rare encoding for JSON. It is therefore most useful when
245you want to store data structures known to contain binary data efficiently 283you want to store data structures known to contain binary data efficiently
246in files or databases, not when talking to other JSON encoders/decoders. 284in files or databases, not when talking to other JSON encoders/decoders.
247 285
248 JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"] 286 JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"]
249 => ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not) 287 => ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not)
250 288
251=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable]) 289=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable])
290
291=item $enabled = $json->get_utf8
252 292
253If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode 293If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
254the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the 294the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the
255C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please 295C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please
256note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the 296note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the
257range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future 297range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future
258versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16 298versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16
259and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627. 299and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627.
260 300
261If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON 301If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON
262string as a (non-encoded) unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a 302string as a (non-encoded) Unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a
263unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs 303Unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs
264to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module. 304to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module.
305
306See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
307document.
265 308
266Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON: 309Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON:
267 310
268 use Encode; 311 use Encode;
269 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object); 312 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object);
290 ] 333 ]
291 } 334 }
292 335
293=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable]) 336=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable])
294 337
338=item $enabled = $json->get_indent
339
295If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline 340If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline
296format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair 341format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair
297into its own line, identing them properly. 342into its own line, indenting them properly.
298 343
299If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the 344If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the
300resulting JSON text is guarenteed not to contain any C<newlines>. 345resulting JSON text is guaranteed not to contain any C<newlines>.
301 346
302This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 347This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
303 348
304=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable]) 349=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable])
350
351=item $enabled = $json->get_space_before
305 352
306If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 353If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
307optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects. 354optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects.
308 355
309If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra 356If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra
315Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled: 362Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled:
316 363
317 {"key" :"value"} 364 {"key" :"value"}
318 365
319=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable]) 366=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable])
367
368=item $enabled = $json->get_space_after
320 369
321If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 370If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
322optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects 371optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects
323and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array 372and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array
324members. 373members.
331Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled: 380Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled:
332 381
333 {"key": "value"} 382 {"key": "value"}
334 383
335=item $json = $json->relaxed ([$enable]) 384=item $json = $json->relaxed ([$enable])
385
386=item $enabled = $json->get_relaxed
336 387
337If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<decode> will accept some 388If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<decode> will accept some
338extensions to normal JSON syntax (see below). C<encode> will not be 389extensions to normal JSON syntax (see below). C<encode> will not be
339affected in anyway. I<Be aware that this option makes you accept invalid 390affected in anyway. I<Be aware that this option makes you accept invalid
340JSON texts as if they were valid!>. I suggest only to use this option to 391JSON texts as if they were valid!>. I suggest only to use this option to
377 428
378=back 429=back
379 430
380=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable]) 431=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable])
381 432
433=item $enabled = $json->get_canonical
434
382If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects 435If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects
383by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead. 436by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead.
384 437
385If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value 438If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value
386pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs 439pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs
387of the same script). 440of the same script).
388 441
389This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as 442This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as
390the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled, 443the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled,
391the same hash migh be encoded differently even if contains the same data, 444the same hash might be encoded differently even if contains the same data,
392as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl. 445as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl.
393 446
394This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 447This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
395 448
396=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable]) 449=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable])
450
451=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_nonref
397 452
398If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a 453If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a
399non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value, 454non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value,
400which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON 455which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON
401values instead of croaking. 456values instead of croaking.
409resulting in an invalid JSON text: 464resulting in an invalid JSON text:
410 465
411 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!") 466 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!")
412 => "Hello, World!" 467 => "Hello, World!"
413 468
469=item $json = $json->allow_unknown ([$enable])
470
471=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_unknown
472
473If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode> will I<not> throw an
474exception when it encounters values it cannot represent in JSON (for
475example, filehandles) but instead will encode a JSON C<null> value. Note
476that blessed objects are not included here and are handled separately by
477c<allow_nonref>.
478
479If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
480exception when it encounters anything it cannot encode as JSON.
481
482This option does not affect C<decode> in any way, and it is recommended to
483leave it off unless you know your communications partner.
484
414=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable]) 485=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable])
486
487=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_blessed
415 488
416If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not 489If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
417barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the 490barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the
418B<convert_blessed> option will decide wether C<null> (C<convert_blessed> 491B<convert_blessed> option will decide whether C<null> (C<convert_blessed>
419disabled or no C<to_json> method found) or a representation of the 492disabled or no C<TO_JSON> method found) or a representation of the
420object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<to_json> method found) is being 493object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<TO_JSON> method found) is being
421encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>. 494encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>.
422 495
423If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an 496If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
424exception when it encounters a blessed object. 497exception when it encounters a blessed object.
425 498
426=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable]) 499=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable])
500
501=item $enabled = $json->get_convert_blessed
427 502
428If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a 503If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a
429blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<TO_JSON> method 504blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<TO_JSON> method
430on the object's class. If found, it will be called in scalar context 505on the object's class. If found, it will be called in scalar context
431and the resulting scalar will be encoded instead of the object. If no 506and the resulting scalar will be encoded instead of the object. If no
435The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON> 510The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON>
436returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same 511returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same
437way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle 512way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle
438(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other 513(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other
439methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are 514methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are
440usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with the C<to_json> 515usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with any C<to_json>
441function. 516function or method.
442 517
443This setting does not yet influence C<decode> in any way, but in the 518This setting does not yet influence C<decode> in any way, but in the
444future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are 519future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are
445enabled by this setting. 520enabled by this setting.
446 521
488 563
489As this callback gets called less often then the C<filter_json_object> 564As this callback gets called less often then the C<filter_json_object>
490one, decoding speed will not usually suffer as much. Therefore, single-key 565one, decoding speed will not usually suffer as much. Therefore, single-key
491objects make excellent targets to serialise Perl objects into, especially 566objects make excellent targets to serialise Perl objects into, especially
492as single-key JSON objects are as close to the type-tagged value concept 567as single-key JSON objects are as close to the type-tagged value concept
493as JSON gets (its basically an ID/VALUE tuple). Of course, JSON does not 568as JSON gets (it's basically an ID/VALUE tuple). Of course, JSON does not
494support this in any way, so you need to make sure your data never looks 569support this in any way, so you need to make sure your data never looks
495like a serialised Perl hash. 570like a serialised Perl hash.
496 571
497Typical names for the single object key are C<__class_whatever__>, or 572Typical names for the single object key are C<__class_whatever__>, or
498C<$__dollars_are_rarely_used__$> or C<}ugly_brace_placement>, or even 573C<$__dollars_are_rarely_used__$> or C<}ugly_brace_placement>, or even
522 597
523 { __widget__ => $self->{id} } 598 { __widget__ => $self->{id} }
524 } 599 }
525 600
526=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable]) 601=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable])
602
603=item $enabled = $json->get_shrink
527 604
528Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for 605Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for
529strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either 606strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either
530C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save 607C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save
531memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many 608memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many
549strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats 626strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats
550internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space. 627internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space.
551 628
552=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth]) 629=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])
553 630
631=item $max_depth = $json->get_max_depth
632
554Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding 633Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding
555or decoding. If the JSON text or Perl data structure has an equal or 634or decoding. If a higher nesting level is detected in JSON text or a Perl
556higher nesting level then this limit, then the encoder and decoder will 635data structure, then the encoder and decoder will stop and croak at that
557stop and croak at that point. 636point.
558 637
559Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder 638Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder
560needs to traverse to reach a given point or the number of C<{> or C<[> 639needs to traverse to reach a given point or the number of C<{> or C<[>
561characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a 640characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a
562given character in a string. 641given character in a string.
563 642
564Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures 643Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures
565that the object is only a single hash/object or array. 644that the object is only a single hash/object or array.
566 645
567The argument to C<max_depth> will be rounded up to the next highest power
568of two. If no argument is given, the highest possible setting will be 646If no argument is given, the highest possible setting will be used, which
569used, which is rarely useful. 647is rarely useful.
648
649Note that nesting is implemented by recursion in C. The default value has
650been chosen to be as large as typical operating systems allow without
651crashing.
570 652
571See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful. 653See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
572 654
573=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size]) 655=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size])
656
657=item $max_size = $json->get_max_size
574 658
575Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where decoding is 659Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where decoding is
576being attempted. The default is C<0>, meaning no limit. When C<decode> 660being attempted. The default is C<0>, meaning no limit. When C<decode>
577is called on a string longer then this number of characters it will not 661is called on a string that is longer then this many bytes, it will not
578attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no 662attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no
579effect on C<encode> (yet). 663effect on C<encode> (yet).
580 664
581The argument to C<max_size> will be rounded up to the next B<highest> 665If no argument is given, the limit check will be deactivated (same as when
582power of two (so may be more than requested). If no argument is given, the 666C<0> is specified).
583limit check will be deactivated (same as when C<0> is specified).
584 667
585See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful. 668See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
586 669
587=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar) 670=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar)
588 671
617 => ([], 3) 700 => ([], 3)
618 701
619=back 702=back
620 703
621 704
705=head1 INCREMENTAL PARSING
706
707In some cases, there is the need for incremental parsing of JSON
708texts. While this module always has to keep both JSON text and resulting
709Perl data structure in memory at one time, it does allow you to parse a
710JSON stream incrementally. It does so by accumulating text until it has
711a full JSON object, which it then can decode. This process is similar to
712using C<decode_prefix> to see if a full JSON object is available, but
713is much more efficient (and can be implemented with a minimum of method
714calls).
715
716JSON::XS will only attempt to parse the JSON text once it is sure it
717has enough text to get a decisive result, using a very simple but
718truly incremental parser. This means that it sometimes won't stop as
719early as the full parser, for example, it doesn't detect parenthese
720mismatches. The only thing it guarantees is that it starts decoding as
721soon as a syntactically valid JSON text has been seen. This means you need
722to set resource limits (e.g. C<max_size>) to ensure the parser will stop
723parsing in the presence if syntax errors.
724
725The following methods implement this incremental parser.
726
727=over 4
728
729=item [void, scalar or list context] = $json->incr_parse ([$string])
730
731This is the central parsing function. It can both append new text and
732extract objects from the stream accumulated so far (both of these
733functions are optional).
734
735If C<$string> is given, then this string is appended to the already
736existing JSON fragment stored in the C<$json> object.
737
738After that, if the function is called in void context, it will simply
739return without doing anything further. This can be used to add more text
740in as many chunks as you want.
741
742If the method is called in scalar context, then it will try to extract
743exactly I<one> JSON object. If that is successful, it will return this
744object, otherwise it will return C<undef>. If there is a parse error,
745this method will croak just as C<decode> would do (one can then use
746C<incr_skip> to skip the errornous part). This is the most common way of
747using the method.
748
749And finally, in list context, it will try to extract as many objects
750from the stream as it can find and return them, or the empty list
751otherwise. For this to work, there must be no separators between the JSON
752objects or arrays, instead they must be concatenated back-to-back. If
753an error occurs, an exception will be raised as in the scalar context
754case. Note that in this case, any previously-parsed JSON texts will be
755lost.
756
757=item $lvalue_string = $json->incr_text
758
759This method returns the currently stored JSON fragment as an lvalue, that
760is, you can manipulate it. This I<only> works when a preceding call to
761C<incr_parse> in I<scalar context> successfully returned an object. Under
762all other circumstances you must not call this function (I mean it.
763although in simple tests it might actually work, it I<will> fail under
764real world conditions). As a special exception, you can also call this
765method before having parsed anything.
766
767This function is useful in two cases: a) finding the trailing text after a
768JSON object or b) parsing multiple JSON objects separated by non-JSON text
769(such as commas).
770
771=item $json->incr_skip
772
773This will reset the state of the incremental parser and will remove the
774parsed text from the input buffer. This is useful after C<incr_parse>
775died, in which case the input buffer and incremental parser state is left
776unchanged, to skip the text parsed so far and to reset the parse state.
777
778=item $json->incr_reset
779
780This completely resets the incremental parser, that is, after this call,
781it will be as if the parser had never parsed anything.
782
783This is useful if you want ot repeatedly parse JSON objects and want to
784ignore any trailing data, which means you have to reset the parser after
785each successful decode.
786
787=back
788
789=head2 LIMITATIONS
790
791All options that affect decoding are supported, except
792C<allow_nonref>. The reason for this is that it cannot be made to
793work sensibly: JSON objects and arrays are self-delimited, i.e. you can concatenate
794them back to back and still decode them perfectly. This does not hold true
795for JSON numbers, however.
796
797For example, is the string C<1> a single JSON number, or is it simply the
798start of C<12>? Or is C<12> a single JSON number, or the concatenation
799of C<1> and C<2>? In neither case you can tell, and this is why JSON::XS
800takes the conservative route and disallows this case.
801
802=head2 EXAMPLES
803
804Some examples will make all this clearer. First, a simple example that
805works similarly to C<decode_prefix>: We want to decode the JSON object at
806the start of a string and identify the portion after the JSON object:
807
808 my $text = "[1,2,3] hello";
809
810 my $json = new JSON::XS;
811
812 my $obj = $json->incr_parse ($text)
813 or die "expected JSON object or array at beginning of string";
814
815 my $tail = $json->incr_text;
816 # $tail now contains " hello"
817
818Easy, isn't it?
819
820Now for a more complicated example: Imagine a hypothetical protocol where
821you read some requests from a TCP stream, and each request is a JSON
822array, without any separation between them (in fact, it is often useful to
823use newlines as "separators", as these get interpreted as whitespace at
824the start of the JSON text, which makes it possible to test said protocol
825with C<telnet>...).
826
827Here is how you'd do it (it is trivial to write this in an event-based
828manner):
829
830 my $json = new JSON::XS;
831
832 # read some data from the socket
833 while (sysread $socket, my $buf, 4096) {
834
835 # split and decode as many requests as possible
836 for my $request ($json->incr_parse ($buf)) {
837 # act on the $request
838 }
839 }
840
841Another complicated example: Assume you have a string with JSON objects
842or arrays, all separated by (optional) comma characters (e.g. C<[1],[2],
843[3]>). To parse them, we have to skip the commas between the JSON texts,
844and here is where the lvalue-ness of C<incr_text> comes in useful:
845
846 my $text = "[1],[2], [3]";
847 my $json = new JSON::XS;
848
849 # void context, so no parsing done
850 $json->incr_parse ($text);
851
852 # now extract as many objects as possible. note the
853 # use of scalar context so incr_text can be called.
854 while (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
855 # do something with $obj
856
857 # now skip the optional comma
858 $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* , //x;
859 }
860
861Now lets go for a very complex example: Assume that you have a gigantic
862JSON array-of-objects, many gigabytes in size, and you want to parse it,
863but you cannot load it into memory fully (this has actually happened in
864the real world :).
865
866Well, you lost, you have to implement your own JSON parser. But JSON::XS
867can still help you: You implement a (very simple) array parser and let
868JSON decode the array elements, which are all full JSON objects on their
869own (this wouldn't work if the array elements could be JSON numbers, for
870example):
871
872 my $json = new JSON::XS;
873
874 # open the monster
875 open my $fh, "<bigfile.json"
876 or die "bigfile: $!";
877
878 # first parse the initial "["
879 for (;;) {
880 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
881 or die "read error: $!";
882 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
883
884 # Exit the loop once we found and removed(!) the initial "[".
885 # In essence, we are (ab-)using the $json object as a simple scalar
886 # we append data to.
887 last if $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* \[ //x;
888 }
889
890 # now we have the skipped the initial "[", so continue
891 # parsing all the elements.
892 for (;;) {
893 # in this loop we read data until we got a single JSON object
894 for (;;) {
895 if (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
896 # do something with $obj
897 last;
898 }
899
900 # add more data
901 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
902 or die "read error: $!";
903 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
904 }
905
906 # in this loop we read data until we either found and parsed the
907 # separating "," between elements, or the final "]"
908 for (;;) {
909 # first skip whitespace
910 $json->incr_text =~ s/^\s*//;
911
912 # if we find "]", we are done
913 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^\]//) {
914 print "finished.\n";
915 exit;
916 }
917
918 # if we find ",", we can continue with the next element
919 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^,//) {
920 last;
921 }
922
923 # if we find anything else, we have a parse error!
924 if (length $json->incr_text) {
925 die "parse error near ", $json->incr_text;
926 }
927
928 # else add more data
929 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
930 or die "read error: $!";
931 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
932 }
933
934This is a complex example, but most of the complexity comes from the fact
935that we are trying to be correct (bear with me if I am wrong, I never ran
936the above example :).
937
938
939
622=head1 MAPPING 940=head1 MAPPING
623 941
624This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and 942This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and
625vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most 943vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most
626circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics 944circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics
627(what you put in comes out as something equivalent). 945(what you put in comes out as something equivalent).
628 946
629For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions, 947For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions,
630lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppcercase I<Perl> 948lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppercase I<Perl>
631refers to the abstract Perl language itself. 949refers to the abstract Perl language itself.
632 950
633 951
634=head2 JSON -> PERL 952=head2 JSON -> PERL
635 953
636=over 4 954=over 4
637 955
638=item object 956=item object
639 957
640A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object 958A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object
641keys is preserved (JSON does not preserver object key ordering itself). 959keys is preserved (JSON does not preserve object key ordering itself).
642 960
643=item array 961=item array
644 962
645A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl. 963A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl.
646 964
654 972
655A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or 973A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or
656string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On 974string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On
657the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all 975the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all
658the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and 976the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and
659might represent more values exactly than (floating point) numbers. 977might represent more values exactly than floating point numbers.
660 978
661If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent 979If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent
662it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as 980it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as
663a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of 981a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of
664precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value. 982precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value (in
983which case you lose roundtripping ability, as the JSON number will be
984re-encoded toa JSON string).
665 985
666Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be 986Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be
667represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of 987represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of
668precision. 988precision (in which case you might lose perfect roundtripping ability, but
669 989the JSON number will still be re-encoded as a JSON number).
670This might create round-tripping problems as numbers might become strings,
671but as Perl is typeless there is no other way to do it.
672 990
673=item true, false 991=item true, false
674 992
675These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>, 993These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>,
676respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers 994respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers
677C<1> and C<0>. You can check wether a scalar is a JSON boolean by using 995C<1> and C<0>. You can check whether a scalar is a JSON boolean by using
678the C<JSON::XS::is_bool> function. 996the C<JSON::XS::is_bool> function.
679 997
680=item null 998=item null
681 999
682A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl. 1000A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl.
713Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an 1031Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an
714exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and 1032exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and
715C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can 1033C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can
716also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability. 1034also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability.
717 1035
718 to_json [\0,JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true] 1036 encode_json [\0, JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true]
719 1037
720=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false 1038=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false
721 1039
722These special values become JSON true and JSON false values, 1040These special values become JSON true and JSON false values,
723respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want. 1041respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want.
724 1042
725=item blessed objects 1043=item blessed objects
726 1044
727Blessed objects are not allowed. JSON::XS currently tries to encode their 1045Blessed objects are not directly representable in JSON. See the
728underlying representation (hash- or arrayref), but this behaviour might 1046C<allow_blessed> and C<convert_blessed> methods on various options on
729change in future versions. 1047how to deal with this: basically, you can choose between throwing an
1048exception, encoding the reference as if it weren't blessed, or provide
1049your own serialiser method.
730 1050
731=item simple scalars 1051=item simple scalars
732 1052
733Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most 1053Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most
734difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as 1054difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as
735JSON null value, scalars that have last been used in a string context 1055JSON C<null> values, scalars that have last been used in a string context
736before encoding as JSON strings and anything else as number value: 1056before encoding as JSON strings, and anything else as number value:
737 1057
738 # dump as number 1058 # dump as number
739 to_json [2] # yields [2] 1059 encode_json [2] # yields [2]
740 to_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17] 1060 encode_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17]
741 my $value = 5; to_json [$value] # yields [5] 1061 my $value = 5; encode_json [$value] # yields [5]
742 1062
743 # used as string, so dump as string 1063 # used as string, so dump as string
744 print $value; 1064 print $value;
745 to_json [$value] # yields ["5"] 1065 encode_json [$value] # yields ["5"]
746 1066
747 # undef becomes null 1067 # undef becomes null
748 to_json [undef] # yields [null] 1068 encode_json [undef] # yields [null]
749 1069
750You can force the type to be a string by stringifying it: 1070You can force the type to be a JSON string by stringifying it:
751 1071
752 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number 1072 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number
753 "$x"; # stringified 1073 "$x"; # stringified
754 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify 1074 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify
755 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often 1075 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often
756 1076
757You can force the type to be a number by numifying it: 1077You can force the type to be a JSON number by numifying it:
758 1078
759 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string 1079 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string
760 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number 1080 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number
761 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choise is yours. 1081 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours.
762 1082
763You can not currently output JSON booleans or force the type in other, 1083You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me
764less obscure, ways. Tell me if you need this capability. 1084if you need this capability (but don't forget to explain why it's needed
1085:).
765 1086
766=back 1087=back
767 1088
768 1089
769=head1 COMPARISON 1090=head1 ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES
770 1091
771As already mentioned, this module was created because none of the existing 1092The interested reader might have seen a number of flags that signify
772JSON modules could be made to work correctly. First I will describe the 1093encodings or codesets - C<utf8>, C<latin1> and C<ascii>. There seems to be
773problems (or pleasures) I encountered with various existing JSON modules, 1094some confusion on what these do, so here is a short comparison:
774followed by some benchmark values. JSON::XS was designed not to suffer 1095
775from any of these problems or limitations. 1096C<utf8> controls whether the JSON text created by C<encode> (and expected
1097by C<decode>) is UTF-8 encoded or not, while C<latin1> and C<ascii> only
1098control whether C<encode> escapes character values outside their respective
1099codeset range. Neither of these flags conflict with each other, although
1100some combinations make less sense than others.
1101
1102Care has been taken to make all flags symmetrical with respect to
1103C<encode> and C<decode>, that is, texts encoded with any combination of
1104these flag values will be correctly decoded when the same flags are used
1105- in general, if you use different flag settings while encoding vs. when
1106decoding you likely have a bug somewhere.
1107
1108Below comes a verbose discussion of these flags. Note that a "codeset" is
1109simply an abstract set of character-codepoint pairs, while an encoding
1110takes those codepoint numbers and I<encodes> them, in our case into
1111octets. Unicode is (among other things) a codeset, UTF-8 is an encoding,
1112and ISO-8859-1 (= latin 1) and ASCII are both codesets I<and> encodings at
1113the same time, which can be confusing.
776 1114
777=over 4 1115=over 4
778 1116
779=item JSON 1.07 1117=item C<utf8> flag disabled
780 1118
781Slow (but very portable, as it is written in pure Perl). 1119When C<utf8> is disabled (the default), then C<encode>/C<decode> generate
1120and expect Unicode strings, that is, characters with high ordinal Unicode
1121values (> 255) will be encoded as such characters, and likewise such
1122characters are decoded as-is, no canges to them will be done, except
1123"(re-)interpreting" them as Unicode codepoints or Unicode characters,
1124respectively (to Perl, these are the same thing in strings unless you do
1125funny/weird/dumb stuff).
782 1126
783Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling (how JSON handles unicode values is 1127This is useful when you want to do the encoding yourself (e.g. when you
784undocumented. One can get far by feeding it unicode strings and doing 1128want to have UTF-16 encoded JSON texts) or when some other layer does
785en-/decoding oneself, but unicode escapes are not working properly). 1129the encoding for you (for example, when printing to a terminal using a
1130filehandle that transparently encodes to UTF-8 you certainly do NOT want
1131to UTF-8 encode your data first and have Perl encode it another time).
786 1132
787No roundtripping (strings get clobbered if they look like numbers, e.g. 1133=item C<utf8> flag enabled
788the string C<2.0> will encode to C<2.0> instead of C<"2.0">, and that will
789decode into the number 2.
790 1134
791=item JSON::PC 0.01 1135If the C<utf8>-flag is enabled, C<encode>/C<decode> will encode all
1136characters using the corresponding UTF-8 multi-byte sequence, and will
1137expect your input strings to be encoded as UTF-8, that is, no "character"
1138of the input string must have any value > 255, as UTF-8 does not allow
1139that.
792 1140
793Very fast. 1141The C<utf8> flag therefore switches between two modes: disabled means you
1142will get a Unicode string in Perl, enabled means you get an UTF-8 encoded
1143octet/binary string in Perl.
794 1144
795Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling. 1145=item C<latin1> or C<ascii> flags enabled
796 1146
797No roundtripping. 1147With C<latin1> (or C<ascii>) enabled, C<encode> will escape characters
1148with ordinal values > 255 (> 127 with C<ascii>) and encode the remaining
1149characters as specified by the C<utf8> flag.
798 1150
799Has problems handling many Perl values (e.g. regex results and other magic 1151If C<utf8> is disabled, then the result is also correctly encoded in those
800values will make it croak). 1152character sets (as both are proper subsets of Unicode, meaning that a
1153Unicode string with all character values < 256 is the same thing as a
1154ISO-8859-1 string, and a Unicode string with all character values < 128 is
1155the same thing as an ASCII string in Perl).
801 1156
802Does not even generate valid JSON (C<{1,2}> gets converted to C<{1:2}> 1157If C<utf8> is enabled, you still get a correct UTF-8-encoded string,
803which is not a valid JSON text. 1158regardless of these flags, just some more characters will be escaped using
1159C<\uXXXX> then before.
804 1160
805Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not 1161Note that ISO-8859-1-I<encoded> strings are not compatible with UTF-8
806getting fixed). 1162encoding, while ASCII-encoded strings are. That is because the ISO-8859-1
1163encoding is NOT a subset of UTF-8 (despite the ISO-8859-1 I<codeset> being
1164a subset of Unicode), while ASCII is.
807 1165
808=item JSON::Syck 0.21 1166Surprisingly, C<decode> will ignore these flags and so treat all input
1167values as governed by the C<utf8> flag. If it is disabled, this allows you
1168to decode ISO-8859-1- and ASCII-encoded strings, as both strict subsets of
1169Unicode. If it is enabled, you can correctly decode UTF-8 encoded strings.
809 1170
810Very buggy (often crashes). 1171So neither C<latin1> nor C<ascii> are incompatible with the C<utf8> flag -
1172they only govern when the JSON output engine escapes a character or not.
811 1173
812Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty much 1174The main use for C<latin1> is to relatively efficiently store binary data
813undocumented. I need at least a format for easy reading by humans and a 1175as JSON, at the expense of breaking compatibility with most JSON decoders.
814single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and preferably a way to
815generate ASCII-only JSON texts).
816 1176
817Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling (unicode 1177The main use for C<ascii> is to force the output to not contain characters
818escapes are not working properly, you need to set ImplicitUnicode to 1178with values > 127, which means you can interpret the resulting string
819I<different> values on en- and decoding to get symmetric behaviour). 1179as UTF-8, ISO-8859-1, ASCII, KOI8-R or most about any character set and
820 11808-bit-encoding, and still get the same data structure back. This is useful
821No roundtripping (simple cases work, but this depends on wether the scalar 1181when your channel for JSON transfer is not 8-bit clean or the encoding
822value was used in a numeric context or not). 1182might be mangled in between (e.g. in mail), and works because ASCII is a
823 1183proper subset of most 8-bit and multibyte encodings in use in the world.
824Dumping hashes may skip hash values depending on iterator state.
825
826Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not
827getting fixed).
828
829Does not check input for validity (i.e. will accept non-JSON input and
830return "something" instead of raising an exception. This is a security
831issue: imagine two banks transfering money between each other using
832JSON. One bank might parse a given non-JSON request and deduct money,
833while the other might reject the transaction with a syntax error. While a
834good protocol will at least recover, that is extra unnecessary work and
835the transaction will still not succeed).
836
837=item JSON::DWIW 0.04
838
839Very fast. Very natural. Very nice.
840
841Undocumented unicode handling (but the best of the pack. Unicode escapes
842still don't get parsed properly).
843
844Very inflexible.
845
846No roundtripping.
847
848Does not generate valid JSON texts (key strings are often unquoted, empty keys
849result in nothing being output)
850
851Does not check input for validity.
852 1184
853=back 1185=back
854 1186
855 1187
856=head2 JSON and YAML 1188=head2 JSON and YAML
857 1189
858You often hear that JSON is a subset (or a close subset) of YAML. This is, 1190You often hear that JSON is a subset of YAML. This is, however, a mass
859however, a mass hysteria and very far from the truth. In general, there is 1191hysteria(*) and very far from the truth (as of the time of this writing),
860no way to configure JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML. 1192so let me state it clearly: I<in general, there is no way to configure
1193JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML> that works in all
1194cases.
861 1195
862If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this 1196If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this
863algorithm (subject to change in future versions): 1197algorithm (subject to change in future versions):
864 1198
865 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1); 1199 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1);
866 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n"; 1200 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n";
867 1201
868This will usually generate JSON texts that also parse as valid 1202This will I<usually> generate JSON texts that also parse as valid
869YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key 1203YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key
870lengths that JSON doesn't have, so you should make sure that your hash 1204lengths that JSON doesn't have and also has different and incompatible
1205unicode handling, so you should make sure that your hash keys are
871keys are noticably shorter than the 1024 characters YAML allows. 1206noticeably shorter than the 1024 "stream characters" YAML allows and that
1207you do not have characters with codepoint values outside the Unicode BMP
1208(basic multilingual page). YAML also does not allow C<\/> sequences in
1209strings (which JSON::XS does not I<currently> generate, but other JSON
1210generators might).
872 1211
873There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of. In general 1212There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of (or the YAML
1213specification has been changed yet again - it does so quite often). In
874you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice versa, 1214general you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice
875or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are high 1215versa, or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are
876that you will run into severe interoperability problems. 1216high that you will run into severe interoperability problems when you
1217least expect it.
1218
1219=over 4
1220
1221=item (*)
1222
1223I have been pressured multiple times by Brian Ingerson (one of the
1224authors of the YAML specification) to remove this paragraph, despite him
1225acknowledging that the actual incompatibilities exist. As I was personally
1226bitten by this "JSON is YAML" lie, I refused and said I will continue to
1227educate people about these issues, so others do not run into the same
1228problem again and again. After this, Brian called me a (quote)I<complete
1229and worthless idiot>(unquote).
1230
1231In my opinion, instead of pressuring and insulting people who actually
1232clarify issues with YAML and the wrong statements of some of its
1233proponents, I would kindly suggest reading the JSON spec (which is not
1234that difficult or long) and finally make YAML compatible to it, and
1235educating users about the changes, instead of spreading lies about the
1236real compatibility for many I<years> and trying to silence people who
1237point out that it isn't true.
1238
1239=back
877 1240
878 1241
879=head2 SPEED 1242=head2 SPEED
880 1243
881It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following 1244It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following
882tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program 1245tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program
883in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own 1246in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own
884system. 1247system.
885 1248
886First comes a comparison between various modules using a very short 1249First comes a comparison between various modules using
887single-line JSON string: 1250a very short single-line JSON string (also available at
1251L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/short.json>).
888 1252
889 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], \ 1253 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1",
890 "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7, true, false]} 1254 "we were just talking"], "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7,
1255 true, false]}
891 1256
892It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses 1257It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses
893the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface 1258the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface
894with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables 1259with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables
895shrink). Higher is better: 1260shrink). Higher is better:
896 1261
897 Storable | 15779.925 | 14169.946 |
898 -----------+------------+------------+
899 module | encode | decode | 1262 module | encode | decode |
900 -----------|------------|------------| 1263 -----------|------------|------------|
901 JSON | 4990.842 | 4088.813 | 1264 JSON 1.x | 4990.842 | 4088.813 |
902 JSON::DWIW | 51653.990 | 71575.154 | 1265 JSON::DWIW | 51653.990 | 71575.154 |
903 JSON::PC | 65948.176 | 74631.744 | 1266 JSON::PC | 65948.176 | 74631.744 |
904 JSON::PP | 8931.652 | 3817.168 | 1267 JSON::PP | 8931.652 | 3817.168 |
905 JSON::Syck | 24877.248 | 27776.848 | 1268 JSON::Syck | 24877.248 | 27776.848 |
906 JSON::XS | 388361.481 | 227951.304 | 1269 JSON::XS | 388361.481 | 227951.304 |
908 JSON::XS/3 | 338250.323 | 218453.333 | 1271 JSON::XS/3 | 338250.323 | 218453.333 |
909 Storable | 16500.016 | 135300.129 | 1272 Storable | 16500.016 | 135300.129 |
910 -----------+------------+------------+ 1273 -----------+------------+------------+
911 1274
912That is, JSON::XS is about five times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding, 1275That is, JSON::XS is about five times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding,
913about three times faster on decoding, and over fourty times faster 1276about three times faster on decoding, and over forty times faster
914than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares 1277than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares
915favourably to Storable for small amounts of data. 1278favourably to Storable for small amounts of data.
916 1279
917Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals 1280Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals
918search API (http://nanoref.com/yahooapis/mgPdGg): 1281search API (L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/long.json>).
919 1282
920 module | encode | decode | 1283 module | encode | decode |
921 -----------|------------|------------| 1284 -----------|------------|------------|
922 JSON | 55.260 | 34.971 | 1285 JSON 1.x | 55.260 | 34.971 |
923 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 | 1286 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 |
924 JSON::PC | 3571.444 | 2394.829 | 1287 JSON::PC | 3571.444 | 2394.829 |
925 JSON::PP | 210.987 | 32.574 | 1288 JSON::PP | 210.987 | 32.574 |
926 JSON::Syck | 552.551 | 787.544 | 1289 JSON::Syck | 552.551 | 787.544 |
927 JSON::XS | 5780.463 | 4854.519 | 1290 JSON::XS | 5780.463 | 4854.519 |
931 -----------+------------+------------+ 1294 -----------+------------+------------+
932 1295
933Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly 1296Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly
934decodes faster). 1297decodes faster).
935 1298
936On large strings containing lots of high unicode characters, some modules 1299On large strings containing lots of high Unicode characters, some modules
937(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result 1300(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result
938will be broken due to missing (or wrong) unicode handling. Others refuse 1301will be broken due to missing (or wrong) Unicode handling. Others refuse
939to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair 1302to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair
940comparison table for that case. 1303comparison table for that case.
941 1304
942 1305
943=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS 1306=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
949any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am 1312any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am
950trying hard on making that true, but you never know. 1313trying hard on making that true, but you never know.
951 1314
952Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you should 1315Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you should
953limit the size of JSON texts you accept, or make sure then when your 1316limit the size of JSON texts you accept, or make sure then when your
954resources run out, thats just fine (e.g. by using a separate process that 1317resources run out, that's just fine (e.g. by using a separate process that
955can crash safely). The size of a JSON text in octets or characters is 1318can crash safely). The size of a JSON text in octets or characters is
956usually a good indication of the size of the resources required to decode 1319usually a good indication of the size of the resources required to decode
957it into a Perl structure. While JSON::XS can check the size of the JSON 1320it into a Perl structure. While JSON::XS can check the size of the JSON
958text, it might be too late when you already have it in memory, so you 1321text, it might be too late when you already have it in memory, so you
959might want to check the size before you accept the string. 1322might want to check the size before you accept the string.
960 1323
961Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and 1324Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and
962arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64 1325arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64
963machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but 1326machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but
964only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak 1327only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak
965to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. to be 1328to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. To be
966conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process 1329conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process
967has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the 1330has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the
968C<max_depth> method. 1331C<max_depth> method.
969 1332
970And last but least, something else could bomb you that I forgot to think 1333Something else could bomb you, too, that I forgot to think of. In that
971of. In that case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, 1334case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, though...
972though... 1335
1336Also keep in mind that JSON::XS might leak contents of your Perl data
1337structures in its error messages, so when you serialise sensitive
1338information you might want to make sure that exceptions thrown by JSON::XS
1339will not end up in front of untrusted eyes.
973 1340
974If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption 1341If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption
975by javascript scripts in a browser you should have a look at 1342by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at
976L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see wether 1343L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see whether
977you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser 1344you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser
978design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it, as major 1345design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it, as major
979browser developers care only for features, not about doing security 1346browser developers care only for features, not about getting security
980right). 1347right).
981 1348
982 1349
1350=head1 THREADS
1351
1352This module is I<not> guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no
1353plans to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the
1354horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated
1355process simulations - use fork, it's I<much> faster, cheaper, better).
1356
1357(It might actually work, but you have been warned).
1358
1359
983=head1 BUGS 1360=head1 BUGS
984 1361
985While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does 1362While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does
986not mean its bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is 1363not mean it's bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. If you
987still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they 1364keep reporting bugs they will be fixed swiftly, though.
988will be fixed swiftly, though. 1365
1366Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting
1367service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason.
989 1368
990=cut 1369=cut
991 1370
992our $true = do { bless \(my $dummy = 1), "JSON::XS::Boolean" }; 1371our $true = do { bless \(my $dummy = 1), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
993our $false = do { bless \(my $dummy = 0), "JSON::XS::Boolean" }; 1372our $false = do { bless \(my $dummy = 0), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
1010 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 }, 1389 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 },
1011 fallback => 1; 1390 fallback => 1;
1012 1391
10131; 13921;
1014 1393
1394=head1 SEE ALSO
1395
1396The F<json_xs> command line utility for quick experiments.
1397
1015=head1 AUTHOR 1398=head1 AUTHOR
1016 1399
1017 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 1400 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1018 http://home.schmorp.de/ 1401 http://home.schmorp.de/
1019 1402

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