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Revision 1.61 by root, Wed Sep 12 17:42:36 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.139 by root, Thu May 23 09:31:32 2013 UTC

1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast 3JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast
4
5=encoding utf-8
6
7JSON::XS - 正しくて高速な JSON シリアライザ/デシリアライザ
8 (http://fleur.hio.jp/perldoc/mix/lib/JSON/XS.html)
4 9
5=head1 SYNOPSIS 10=head1 SYNOPSIS
6 11
7 use JSON::XS; 12 use JSON::XS;
8 13
9 # exported functions, they croak on error 14 # exported functions, they croak on error
10 # and expect/generate UTF-8 15 # and expect/generate UTF-8
11 16
12 $utf8_encoded_json_text = to_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref; 17 $utf8_encoded_json_text = encode_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref;
13 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = from_json $utf8_encoded_json_text; 18 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = decode_json $utf8_encoded_json_text;
14 19
15 # OO-interface 20 # OO-interface
16 21
17 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref; 22 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref;
18 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar); 23 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar);
19 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text); 24 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text);
20 25
26 # Note that JSON version 2.0 and above will automatically use JSON::XS
27 # if available, at virtually no speed overhead either, so you should
28 # be able to just:
29
30 use JSON;
31
32 # and do the same things, except that you have a pure-perl fallback now.
33
21=head1 DESCRIPTION 34=head1 DESCRIPTION
22 35
23This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its 36This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its
24primary goal is to be I<correct> and its secondary goal is to be 37primary goal is to be I<correct> and its secondary goal is to be
25I<fast>. To reach the latter goal it was written in C. 38I<fast>. To reach the latter goal it was written in C.
39
40Beginning with version 2.0 of the JSON module, when both JSON and
41JSON::XS are installed, then JSON will fall back on JSON::XS (this can be
42overridden) with no overhead due to emulation (by inheriting constructor
43and methods). If JSON::XS is not available, it will fall back to the
44compatible JSON::PP module as backend, so using JSON instead of JSON::XS
45gives you a portable JSON API that can be fast when you need and doesn't
46require a C compiler when that is a problem.
26 47
27As this is the n-th-something JSON module on CPAN, what was the reason 48As this is the n-th-something JSON module on CPAN, what was the reason
28to write yet another JSON module? While it seems there are many JSON 49to write yet another JSON module? While it seems there are many JSON
29modules, none of them correctly handle all corner cases, and in most cases 50modules, none of them correctly handle all corner cases, and in most cases
30their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug 51their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug
31reports for other reasons. 52reports for other reasons.
32 53
33See COMPARISON, below, for a comparison to some other JSON modules.
34
35See MAPPING, below, on how JSON::XS maps perl values to JSON values and 54See MAPPING, below, on how JSON::XS maps perl values to JSON values and
36vice versa. 55vice versa.
37 56
38=head2 FEATURES 57=head2 FEATURES
39 58
40=over 4 59=over 4
41 60
42=item * correct unicode handling 61=item * correct Unicode handling
43 62
44This module knows how to handle Unicode, and even documents how and when 63This module knows how to handle Unicode, documents how and when it does
45it does so. 64so, and even documents what "correct" means.
46 65
47=item * round-trip integrity 66=item * round-trip integrity
48 67
49When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported 68When you serialise a perl data structure using only data types supported
50by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level. 69by JSON and Perl, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl
51(e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because it looks 70level. (e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because
52like a number). 71it looks like a number). There I<are> minor exceptions to this, read the
72MAPPING section below to learn about those.
53 73
54=item * strict checking of JSON correctness 74=item * strict checking of JSON correctness
55 75
56There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default, 76There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default,
57and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security 77and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security
58feature). 78feature).
59 79
60=item * fast 80=item * fast
61 81
62Compared to other JSON modules, this module compares favourably in terms 82Compared to other JSON modules and other serialisers such as Storable,
63of speed, too. 83this module usually compares favourably in terms of speed, too.
64 84
65=item * simple to use 85=item * simple to use
66 86
67This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an OO 87This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an object
68interface. 88oriented interface interface.
69 89
70=item * reasonably versatile output formats 90=item * reasonably versatile output formats
71 91
72You can choose between the most compact guarenteed single-line format 92You can choose between the most compact guaranteed-single-line format
73possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format 93possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ASCII format
74(for when your transport is not 8-bit clean, still supports the whole 94(for when your transport is not 8-bit clean, still supports the whole
75unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that 95Unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that
76stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like. 96stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like.
77 97
78=back 98=back
79 99
80=cut 100=cut
81 101
82package JSON::XS; 102package JSON::XS;
83 103
84use strict; 104use common::sense;
85 105
86our $VERSION = '1.5'; 106our $VERSION = 2.34;
87our @ISA = qw(Exporter); 107our @ISA = qw(Exporter);
88 108
89our @EXPORT = qw(to_json from_json); 109our @EXPORT = qw(encode_json decode_json to_json from_json);
110
111sub to_json($) {
112 require Carp;
113 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");
114}
115
116sub from_json($) {
117 require Carp;
118 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");
119}
90 120
91use Exporter; 121use Exporter;
92use XSLoader; 122use XSLoader;
93 123
94=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE 124=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE
95 125
96The following convinience methods are provided by this module. They are 126The following convenience methods are provided by this module. They are
97exported by default: 127exported by default:
98 128
99=over 4 129=over 4
100 130
101=item $json_text = to_json $perl_scalar 131=item $json_text = encode_json $perl_scalar
102 132
103Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference to 133Converts the given Perl data structure to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string
104a hash or array) to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string (that is, the string contains 134(that is, the string contains octets only). Croaks on error.
105octets only). Croaks on error.
106 135
107This function call is functionally identical to: 136This function call is functionally identical to:
108 137
109 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar) 138 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar)
110 139
111except being faster. 140Except being faster.
112 141
113=item $perl_scalar = from_json $json_text 142=item $perl_scalar = decode_json $json_text
114 143
115The opposite of C<to_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries to 144The opposite of C<encode_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries
116parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting simple 145to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting
117scalar or reference. Croaks on error. 146reference. Croaks on error.
118 147
119This function call is functionally identical to: 148This function call is functionally identical to:
120 149
121 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text) 150 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text)
122 151
123except being faster. 152Except being faster.
124 153
125=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar 154=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar
126 155
127Returns true if the passed scalar represents either JSON::XS::true or 156Returns 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 157JSON::XS::false, two constants that act like C<1> and C<0>, respectively
132Perl. 161Perl.
133 162
134=back 163=back
135 164
136 165
166=head1 A FEW NOTES ON UNICODE AND PERL
167
168Since this often leads to confusion, here are a few very clear words on
169how Unicode works in Perl, modulo bugs.
170
171=over 4
172
173=item 1. Perl strings can store characters with ordinal values > 255.
174
175This enables you to store Unicode characters as single characters in a
176Perl string - very natural.
177
178=item 2. Perl does I<not> associate an encoding with your strings.
179
180... until you force it to, e.g. when matching it against a regex, or
181printing the scalar to a file, in which case Perl either interprets your
182string as locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode, depending
183on various settings. In no case is an encoding stored together with your
184data, it is I<use> that decides encoding, not any magical meta data.
185
186=item 3. The internal utf-8 flag has no meaning with regards to the
187encoding of your string.
188
189Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written in
190XS or want to dive into the internals of perl. Otherwise it will only
191confuse you, as, despite the name, it says nothing about how your string
192is encoded. You can have Unicode strings with that flag set, with that
193flag clear, and you can have binary data with that flag set and that flag
194clear. Other possibilities exist, too.
195
196If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it doesn't
197exist.
198
199=item 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be
200validly interpreted as a Unicode code point.
201
202If you have UTF-8 encoded data, it is no longer a Unicode string, but a
203Unicode string encoded in UTF-8, giving you a binary string.
204
205=item 5. A string containing "high" (> 255) character values is I<not> a UTF-8 string.
206
207It's a fact. Learn to live with it.
208
209=back
210
211I hope this helps :)
212
213
137=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE 214=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE
138 215
139The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or 216The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or
140decoding style, within the limits of supported formats. 217decoding style, within the limits of supported formats.
141 218
152 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]}) 229 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]})
153 => {"a": [1, 2]} 230 => {"a": [1, 2]}
154 231
155=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable]) 232=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable])
156 233
234=item $enabled = $json->get_ascii
235
157If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not 236If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
158generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any 237generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any
159unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a 238Unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a
160single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence, 239single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence,
161as per RFC4627. The resulting encoded JSON text can be treated as a native 240as per RFC4627. The resulting encoded JSON text can be treated as a native
162unicode string, an ascii-encoded, latin1-encoded or UTF-8 encoded string, 241Unicode string, an ascii-encoded, latin1-encoded or UTF-8 encoded string,
163or any other superset of ASCII. 242or any other superset of ASCII.
164 243
165If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 244If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
166characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results 245characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results
167in a faster and more compact format. 246in a faster and more compact format.
168 247
248See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
249document.
250
169The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be 251The 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 252transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not
171contain any 8 bit characters. 253contain any 8 bit characters.
172 254
173 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401]) 255 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401])
174 => ["\ud801\udc01"] 256 => ["\ud801\udc01"]
175 257
176=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable]) 258=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable])
177 259
260=item $enabled = $json->get_latin1
261
178If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode 262If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
179the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters 263the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters
180outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a 264outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a
181latin1-encoded JSON text or a native unicode string. The C<decode> method 265latin1-encoded JSON text or a native Unicode string. The C<decode> method
182will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default 266will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default
183expects unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1. 267expects Unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1.
184 268
185If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 269If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
186characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. 270characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags.
271
272See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
273document.
187 274
188The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON 275The 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 276text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded
190size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded 277size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded
191in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and 278in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and
192transfering), a rare encoding for JSON. It is therefore most useful when 279transferring), a rare encoding for JSON. It is therefore most useful when
193you want to store data structures known to contain binary data efficiently 280you want to store data structures known to contain binary data efficiently
194in files or databases, not when talking to other JSON encoders/decoders. 281in files or databases, not when talking to other JSON encoders/decoders.
195 282
196 JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"] 283 JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"]
197 => ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not) 284 => ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not)
198 285
199=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable]) 286=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable])
287
288=item $enabled = $json->get_utf8
200 289
201If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode 290If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
202the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the 291the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the
203C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please 292C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please
204note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the 293note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the
205range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future 294range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future
206versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16 295versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16
207and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627. 296and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627.
208 297
209If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON 298If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON
210string as a (non-encoded) unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a 299string as a (non-encoded) Unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a
211unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs 300Unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs
212to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module. 301to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module.
302
303See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
304document.
213 305
214Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON: 306Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON:
215 307
216 use Encode; 308 use Encode;
217 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object); 309 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object);
238 ] 330 ]
239 } 331 }
240 332
241=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable]) 333=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable])
242 334
335=item $enabled = $json->get_indent
336
243If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline 337If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline
244format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair 338format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair
245into its own line, identing them properly. 339into its own line, indenting them properly.
246 340
247If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the 341If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the
248resulting JSON text is guarenteed not to contain any C<newlines>. 342resulting JSON text is guaranteed not to contain any C<newlines>.
249 343
250This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 344This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
251 345
252=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable]) 346=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable])
347
348=item $enabled = $json->get_space_before
253 349
254If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 350If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
255optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects. 351optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects.
256 352
257If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra 353If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra
263Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled: 359Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled:
264 360
265 {"key" :"value"} 361 {"key" :"value"}
266 362
267=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable]) 363=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable])
364
365=item $enabled = $json->get_space_after
268 366
269If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 367If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
270optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects 368optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects
271and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array 369and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array
272members. 370members.
279Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled: 377Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled:
280 378
281 {"key": "value"} 379 {"key": "value"}
282 380
283=item $json = $json->relaxed ([$enable]) 381=item $json = $json->relaxed ([$enable])
382
383=item $enabled = $json->get_relaxed
284 384
285If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<decode> will accept some 385If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<decode> will accept some
286extensions to normal JSON syntax (see below). C<encode> will not be 386extensions to normal JSON syntax (see below). C<encode> will not be
287affected in anyway. I<Be aware that this option makes you accept invalid 387affected in anyway. I<Be aware that this option makes you accept invalid
288JSON texts as if they were valid!>. I suggest only to use this option to 388JSON texts as if they were valid!>. I suggest only to use this option to
325 425
326=back 426=back
327 427
328=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable]) 428=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable])
329 429
430=item $enabled = $json->get_canonical
431
330If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects 432If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects
331by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead. 433by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead.
332 434
333If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value 435If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value
334pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs 436pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs
335of the same script). 437of the same script, and can change even within the same run from 5.18
438onwards).
336 439
337This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as 440This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as
338the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled, 441the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled,
339the same hash migh be encoded differently even if contains the same data, 442the same hash might be encoded differently even if contains the same data,
340as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl. 443as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl.
341 444
342This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 445This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
343 446
447This setting has currently no effect on tied hashes.
448
344=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable]) 449=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable])
450
451=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_nonref
345 452
346If C<$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
347non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value, 454non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value,
348which 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
349values instead of croaking. 456values instead of croaking.
357resulting in an invalid JSON text: 464resulting in an invalid JSON text:
358 465
359 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!") 466 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!")
360 => "Hello, World!" 467 => "Hello, World!"
361 468
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
362=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable]) 485=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable])
486
487=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_blessed
363 488
364If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not 489If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
365barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the 490barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the
366B<convert_blessed> option will decide wether C<null> (C<convert_blessed> 491B<convert_blessed> option will decide whether C<null> (C<convert_blessed>
367disabled or no C<to_json> method found) or a representation of the 492disabled or no C<TO_JSON> method found) or a representation of the
368object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<to_json> method found) is being 493object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<TO_JSON> method found) is being
369encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>. 494encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>.
370 495
371If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an 496If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
372exception when it encounters a blessed object. 497exception when it encounters a blessed object.
373 498
374=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable]) 499=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable])
500
501=item $enabled = $json->get_convert_blessed
375 502
376If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a 503If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a
377blessed 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
378on 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
379and 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
383The 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>
384returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same 511returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same
385way. 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
386(== 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
387methods 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
388usually 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>
389function. 516function or method.
390 517
391This 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
392future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are 519future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are
393enabled by this setting. 520enabled by this setting.
394 521
436 563
437As 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>
438one, decoding speed will not usually suffer as much. Therefore, single-key 565one, decoding speed will not usually suffer as much. Therefore, single-key
439objects make excellent targets to serialise Perl objects into, especially 566objects make excellent targets to serialise Perl objects into, especially
440as 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
441as 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
442support 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
443like a serialised Perl hash. 570like a serialised Perl hash.
444 571
445Typical names for the single object key are C<__class_whatever__>, or 572Typical names for the single object key are C<__class_whatever__>, or
446C<$__dollars_are_rarely_used__$> or C<}ugly_brace_placement>, or even 573C<$__dollars_are_rarely_used__$> or C<}ugly_brace_placement>, or even
470 597
471 { __widget__ => $self->{id} } 598 { __widget__ => $self->{id} }
472 } 599 }
473 600
474=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable]) 601=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable])
602
603=item $enabled = $json->get_shrink
475 604
476Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for 605Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for
477strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either 606strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either
478C<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
479memory 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
497strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats 626strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats
498internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space. 627internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space.
499 628
500=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth]) 629=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])
501 630
631=item $max_depth = $json->get_max_depth
632
502Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding 633Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding
503or 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
504higher nesting level then this limit, then the encoder and decoder will 635data structure, then the encoder and decoder will stop and croak at that
505stop and croak at that point. 636point.
506 637
507Nesting 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
508needs 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<[>
509characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a 640characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a
510given character in a string. 641given character in a string.
511 642
512Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures 643Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures
513that the object is only a single hash/object or array. 644that the object is only a single hash/object or array.
514 645
515The argument to C<max_depth> will be rounded up to the next highest power
516of 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
517used, 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.
518 652
519See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful. 653See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
520 654
521=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
522 658
523Set 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
524being 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>
525is 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
526attempt 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
527effect on C<encode> (yet). 663effect on C<encode> (yet).
528 664
529The 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
530power of two (so may be more than requested). If no argument is given, the 666C<0> is specified).
531limit check will be deactivated (same as when C<0> is specified).
532 667
533See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful. 668See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
534 669
535=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar) 670=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar)
536 671
565 => ([], 3) 700 => ([], 3)
566 701
567=back 702=back
568 703
569 704
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 mismatched
720parentheses. 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
757Example: Parse some JSON arrays/objects in a given string and return
758them.
759
760 my @objs = JSON::XS->new->incr_parse ("[5][7][1,2]");
761
762=item $lvalue_string = $json->incr_text
763
764This method returns the currently stored JSON fragment as an lvalue, that
765is, you can manipulate it. This I<only> works when a preceding call to
766C<incr_parse> in I<scalar context> successfully returned an object. Under
767all other circumstances you must not call this function (I mean it.
768although in simple tests it might actually work, it I<will> fail under
769real world conditions). As a special exception, you can also call this
770method before having parsed anything.
771
772This function is useful in two cases: a) finding the trailing text after a
773JSON object or b) parsing multiple JSON objects separated by non-JSON text
774(such as commas).
775
776=item $json->incr_skip
777
778This will reset the state of the incremental parser and will remove
779the parsed text from the input buffer so far. This is useful after
780C<incr_parse> died, in which case the input buffer and incremental parser
781state is left unchanged, to skip the text parsed so far and to reset the
782parse state.
783
784The difference to C<incr_reset> is that only text until the parse error
785occured is removed.
786
787=item $json->incr_reset
788
789This completely resets the incremental parser, that is, after this call,
790it will be as if the parser had never parsed anything.
791
792This is useful if you want to repeatedly parse JSON objects and want to
793ignore any trailing data, which means you have to reset the parser after
794each successful decode.
795
796=back
797
798=head2 LIMITATIONS
799
800All options that affect decoding are supported, except
801C<allow_nonref>. The reason for this is that it cannot be made to
802work sensibly: JSON objects and arrays are self-delimited, i.e. you can concatenate
803them back to back and still decode them perfectly. This does not hold true
804for JSON numbers, however.
805
806For example, is the string C<1> a single JSON number, or is it simply the
807start of C<12>? Or is C<12> a single JSON number, or the concatenation
808of C<1> and C<2>? In neither case you can tell, and this is why JSON::XS
809takes the conservative route and disallows this case.
810
811=head2 EXAMPLES
812
813Some examples will make all this clearer. First, a simple example that
814works similarly to C<decode_prefix>: We want to decode the JSON object at
815the start of a string and identify the portion after the JSON object:
816
817 my $text = "[1,2,3] hello";
818
819 my $json = new JSON::XS;
820
821 my $obj = $json->incr_parse ($text)
822 or die "expected JSON object or array at beginning of string";
823
824 my $tail = $json->incr_text;
825 # $tail now contains " hello"
826
827Easy, isn't it?
828
829Now for a more complicated example: Imagine a hypothetical protocol where
830you read some requests from a TCP stream, and each request is a JSON
831array, without any separation between them (in fact, it is often useful to
832use newlines as "separators", as these get interpreted as whitespace at
833the start of the JSON text, which makes it possible to test said protocol
834with C<telnet>...).
835
836Here is how you'd do it (it is trivial to write this in an event-based
837manner):
838
839 my $json = new JSON::XS;
840
841 # read some data from the socket
842 while (sysread $socket, my $buf, 4096) {
843
844 # split and decode as many requests as possible
845 for my $request ($json->incr_parse ($buf)) {
846 # act on the $request
847 }
848 }
849
850Another complicated example: Assume you have a string with JSON objects
851or arrays, all separated by (optional) comma characters (e.g. C<[1],[2],
852[3]>). To parse them, we have to skip the commas between the JSON texts,
853and here is where the lvalue-ness of C<incr_text> comes in useful:
854
855 my $text = "[1],[2], [3]";
856 my $json = new JSON::XS;
857
858 # void context, so no parsing done
859 $json->incr_parse ($text);
860
861 # now extract as many objects as possible. note the
862 # use of scalar context so incr_text can be called.
863 while (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
864 # do something with $obj
865
866 # now skip the optional comma
867 $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* , //x;
868 }
869
870Now lets go for a very complex example: Assume that you have a gigantic
871JSON array-of-objects, many gigabytes in size, and you want to parse it,
872but you cannot load it into memory fully (this has actually happened in
873the real world :).
874
875Well, you lost, you have to implement your own JSON parser. But JSON::XS
876can still help you: You implement a (very simple) array parser and let
877JSON decode the array elements, which are all full JSON objects on their
878own (this wouldn't work if the array elements could be JSON numbers, for
879example):
880
881 my $json = new JSON::XS;
882
883 # open the monster
884 open my $fh, "<bigfile.json"
885 or die "bigfile: $!";
886
887 # first parse the initial "["
888 for (;;) {
889 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
890 or die "read error: $!";
891 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
892
893 # Exit the loop once we found and removed(!) the initial "[".
894 # In essence, we are (ab-)using the $json object as a simple scalar
895 # we append data to.
896 last if $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* \[ //x;
897 }
898
899 # now we have the skipped the initial "[", so continue
900 # parsing all the elements.
901 for (;;) {
902 # in this loop we read data until we got a single JSON object
903 for (;;) {
904 if (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
905 # do something with $obj
906 last;
907 }
908
909 # add more data
910 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
911 or die "read error: $!";
912 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
913 }
914
915 # in this loop we read data until we either found and parsed the
916 # separating "," between elements, or the final "]"
917 for (;;) {
918 # first skip whitespace
919 $json->incr_text =~ s/^\s*//;
920
921 # if we find "]", we are done
922 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^\]//) {
923 print "finished.\n";
924 exit;
925 }
926
927 # if we find ",", we can continue with the next element
928 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^,//) {
929 last;
930 }
931
932 # if we find anything else, we have a parse error!
933 if (length $json->incr_text) {
934 die "parse error near ", $json->incr_text;
935 }
936
937 # else add more data
938 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
939 or die "read error: $!";
940 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
941 }
942
943This is a complex example, but most of the complexity comes from the fact
944that we are trying to be correct (bear with me if I am wrong, I never ran
945the above example :).
946
947
948
570=head1 MAPPING 949=head1 MAPPING
571 950
572This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and 951This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and
573vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most 952vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most
574circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics 953circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics
575(what you put in comes out as something equivalent). 954(what you put in comes out as something equivalent).
576 955
577For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions, 956For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions,
578lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppcercase I<Perl> 957lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppercase I<Perl>
579refers to the abstract Perl language itself. 958refers to the abstract Perl language itself.
580 959
581 960
582=head2 JSON -> PERL 961=head2 JSON -> PERL
583 962
584=over 4 963=over 4
585 964
586=item object 965=item object
587 966
588A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object 967A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object
589keys is preserved (JSON does not preserver object key ordering itself). 968keys is preserved (JSON does not preserve object key ordering itself).
590 969
591=item array 970=item array
592 971
593A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl. 972A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl.
594 973
602 981
603A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or 982A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or
604string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On 983string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On
605the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all 984the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all
606the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and 985the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and
607might represent more values exactly than (floating point) numbers. 986might represent more values exactly than floating point numbers.
608 987
609If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent 988If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent
610it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as 989it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as
611a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of 990a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of
612precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value. 991precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value (in
992which case you lose roundtripping ability, as the JSON number will be
993re-encoded toa JSON string).
613 994
614Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be 995Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be
615represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of 996represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of
616precision. 997precision (in which case you might lose perfect roundtripping ability, but
998the JSON number will still be re-encoded as a JSON number).
617 999
618This might create round-tripping problems as numbers might become strings, 1000Note that precision is not accuracy - binary floating point values cannot
619but as Perl is typeless there is no other way to do it. 1001represent most decimal fractions exactly, and when converting from and to
1002floating point, JSON::XS only guarantees precision up to but not including
1003the leats significant bit.
620 1004
621=item true, false 1005=item true, false
622 1006
623These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>, 1007These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>,
624respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers 1008respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers
625C<1> and C<0>. You can check wether a scalar is a JSON boolean by using 1009C<1> and C<0>. You can check whether a scalar is a JSON boolean by using
626the C<JSON::XS::is_bool> function. 1010the C<JSON::XS::is_bool> function.
627 1011
628=item null 1012=item null
629 1013
630A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl. 1014A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl.
661Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an 1045Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an
662exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and 1046exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and
663C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can 1047C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can
664also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability. 1048also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability.
665 1049
666 to_json [\0,JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true] 1050 encode_json [\0, JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true]
667 1051
668=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false 1052=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false
669 1053
670These special values become JSON true and JSON false values, 1054These special values become JSON true and JSON false values,
671respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want. 1055respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want.
672 1056
673=item blessed objects 1057=item blessed objects
674 1058
675Blessed objects are not allowed. JSON::XS currently tries to encode their 1059Blessed objects are not directly representable in JSON. See the
676underlying representation (hash- or arrayref), but this behaviour might 1060C<allow_blessed> and C<convert_blessed> methods on various options on
677change in future versions. 1061how to deal with this: basically, you can choose between throwing an
1062exception, encoding the reference as if it weren't blessed, or provide
1063your own serialiser method.
678 1064
679=item simple scalars 1065=item simple scalars
680 1066
681Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most 1067Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most
682difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as 1068difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as
683JSON null value, scalars that have last been used in a string context 1069JSON C<null> values, scalars that have last been used in a string context
684before encoding as JSON strings and anything else as number value: 1070before encoding as JSON strings, and anything else as number value:
685 1071
686 # dump as number 1072 # dump as number
687 to_json [2] # yields [2] 1073 encode_json [2] # yields [2]
688 to_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17] 1074 encode_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17]
689 my $value = 5; to_json [$value] # yields [5] 1075 my $value = 5; encode_json [$value] # yields [5]
690 1076
691 # used as string, so dump as string 1077 # used as string, so dump as string
692 print $value; 1078 print $value;
693 to_json [$value] # yields ["5"] 1079 encode_json [$value] # yields ["5"]
694 1080
695 # undef becomes null 1081 # undef becomes null
696 to_json [undef] # yields [null] 1082 encode_json [undef] # yields [null]
697 1083
698You can force the type to be a string by stringifying it: 1084You can force the type to be a JSON string by stringifying it:
699 1085
700 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number 1086 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number
701 "$x"; # stringified 1087 "$x"; # stringified
702 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify 1088 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify
703 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often 1089 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often
704 1090
705You can force the type to be a number by numifying it: 1091You can force the type to be a JSON number by numifying it:
706 1092
707 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string 1093 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string
708 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number 1094 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number
709 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choise is yours. 1095 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours.
710 1096
711You can not currently output JSON booleans or force the type in other, 1097You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me
712less obscure, ways. Tell me if you need this capability. 1098if you need this capability (but don't forget to explain why it's needed
1099:).
1100
1101Note that numerical precision has the same meaning as under Perl (so
1102binary to decimal conversion follows the same rules as in Perl, which
1103can differ to other languages). Also, your perl interpreter might expose
1104extensions to the floating point numbers of your platform, such as
1105infinities or NaN's - these cannot be represented in JSON, and it is an
1106error to pass those in.
713 1107
714=back 1108=back
715 1109
716 1110
717=head1 COMPARISON 1111=head1 ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES
718 1112
719As already mentioned, this module was created because none of the existing 1113The interested reader might have seen a number of flags that signify
720JSON modules could be made to work correctly. First I will describe the 1114encodings or codesets - C<utf8>, C<latin1> and C<ascii>. There seems to be
721problems (or pleasures) I encountered with various existing JSON modules, 1115some confusion on what these do, so here is a short comparison:
722followed by some benchmark values. JSON::XS was designed not to suffer 1116
723from any of these problems or limitations. 1117C<utf8> controls whether the JSON text created by C<encode> (and expected
1118by C<decode>) is UTF-8 encoded or not, while C<latin1> and C<ascii> only
1119control whether C<encode> escapes character values outside their respective
1120codeset range. Neither of these flags conflict with each other, although
1121some combinations make less sense than others.
1122
1123Care has been taken to make all flags symmetrical with respect to
1124C<encode> and C<decode>, that is, texts encoded with any combination of
1125these flag values will be correctly decoded when the same flags are used
1126- in general, if you use different flag settings while encoding vs. when
1127decoding you likely have a bug somewhere.
1128
1129Below comes a verbose discussion of these flags. Note that a "codeset" is
1130simply an abstract set of character-codepoint pairs, while an encoding
1131takes those codepoint numbers and I<encodes> them, in our case into
1132octets. Unicode is (among other things) a codeset, UTF-8 is an encoding,
1133and ISO-8859-1 (= latin 1) and ASCII are both codesets I<and> encodings at
1134the same time, which can be confusing.
724 1135
725=over 4 1136=over 4
726 1137
727=item JSON 1.07 1138=item C<utf8> flag disabled
728 1139
729Slow (but very portable, as it is written in pure Perl). 1140When C<utf8> is disabled (the default), then C<encode>/C<decode> generate
1141and expect Unicode strings, that is, characters with high ordinal Unicode
1142values (> 255) will be encoded as such characters, and likewise such
1143characters are decoded as-is, no canges to them will be done, except
1144"(re-)interpreting" them as Unicode codepoints or Unicode characters,
1145respectively (to Perl, these are the same thing in strings unless you do
1146funny/weird/dumb stuff).
730 1147
731Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling (how JSON handles unicode values is 1148This is useful when you want to do the encoding yourself (e.g. when you
732undocumented. One can get far by feeding it unicode strings and doing 1149want to have UTF-16 encoded JSON texts) or when some other layer does
733en-/decoding oneself, but unicode escapes are not working properly). 1150the encoding for you (for example, when printing to a terminal using a
1151filehandle that transparently encodes to UTF-8 you certainly do NOT want
1152to UTF-8 encode your data first and have Perl encode it another time).
734 1153
735No roundtripping (strings get clobbered if they look like numbers, e.g. 1154=item C<utf8> flag enabled
736the string C<2.0> will encode to C<2.0> instead of C<"2.0">, and that will
737decode into the number 2.
738 1155
739=item JSON::PC 0.01 1156If the C<utf8>-flag is enabled, C<encode>/C<decode> will encode all
1157characters using the corresponding UTF-8 multi-byte sequence, and will
1158expect your input strings to be encoded as UTF-8, that is, no "character"
1159of the input string must have any value > 255, as UTF-8 does not allow
1160that.
740 1161
741Very fast. 1162The C<utf8> flag therefore switches between two modes: disabled means you
1163will get a Unicode string in Perl, enabled means you get an UTF-8 encoded
1164octet/binary string in Perl.
742 1165
743Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling. 1166=item C<latin1> or C<ascii> flags enabled
744 1167
745No roundtripping. 1168With C<latin1> (or C<ascii>) enabled, C<encode> will escape characters
1169with ordinal values > 255 (> 127 with C<ascii>) and encode the remaining
1170characters as specified by the C<utf8> flag.
746 1171
747Has problems handling many Perl values (e.g. regex results and other magic 1172If C<utf8> is disabled, then the result is also correctly encoded in those
748values will make it croak). 1173character sets (as both are proper subsets of Unicode, meaning that a
1174Unicode string with all character values < 256 is the same thing as a
1175ISO-8859-1 string, and a Unicode string with all character values < 128 is
1176the same thing as an ASCII string in Perl).
749 1177
750Does not even generate valid JSON (C<{1,2}> gets converted to C<{1:2}> 1178If C<utf8> is enabled, you still get a correct UTF-8-encoded string,
751which is not a valid JSON text. 1179regardless of these flags, just some more characters will be escaped using
1180C<\uXXXX> then before.
752 1181
753Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not 1182Note that ISO-8859-1-I<encoded> strings are not compatible with UTF-8
754getting fixed). 1183encoding, while ASCII-encoded strings are. That is because the ISO-8859-1
1184encoding is NOT a subset of UTF-8 (despite the ISO-8859-1 I<codeset> being
1185a subset of Unicode), while ASCII is.
755 1186
756=item JSON::Syck 0.21 1187Surprisingly, C<decode> will ignore these flags and so treat all input
1188values as governed by the C<utf8> flag. If it is disabled, this allows you
1189to decode ISO-8859-1- and ASCII-encoded strings, as both strict subsets of
1190Unicode. If it is enabled, you can correctly decode UTF-8 encoded strings.
757 1191
758Very buggy (often crashes). 1192So neither C<latin1> nor C<ascii> are incompatible with the C<utf8> flag -
1193they only govern when the JSON output engine escapes a character or not.
759 1194
760Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty much 1195The main use for C<latin1> is to relatively efficiently store binary data
761undocumented. I need at least a format for easy reading by humans and a 1196as JSON, at the expense of breaking compatibility with most JSON decoders.
762single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and preferably a way to
763generate ASCII-only JSON texts).
764 1197
765Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling (unicode 1198The main use for C<ascii> is to force the output to not contain characters
766escapes are not working properly, you need to set ImplicitUnicode to 1199with values > 127, which means you can interpret the resulting string
767I<different> values on en- and decoding to get symmetric behaviour). 1200as UTF-8, ISO-8859-1, ASCII, KOI8-R or most about any character set and
768 12018-bit-encoding, and still get the same data structure back. This is useful
769No roundtripping (simple cases work, but this depends on wether the scalar 1202when your channel for JSON transfer is not 8-bit clean or the encoding
770value was used in a numeric context or not). 1203might be mangled in between (e.g. in mail), and works because ASCII is a
771 1204proper subset of most 8-bit and multibyte encodings in use in the world.
772Dumping hashes may skip hash values depending on iterator state.
773
774Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not
775getting fixed).
776
777Does not check input for validity (i.e. will accept non-JSON input and
778return "something" instead of raising an exception. This is a security
779issue: imagine two banks transfering money between each other using
780JSON. One bank might parse a given non-JSON request and deduct money,
781while the other might reject the transaction with a syntax error. While a
782good protocol will at least recover, that is extra unnecessary work and
783the transaction will still not succeed).
784
785=item JSON::DWIW 0.04
786
787Very fast. Very natural. Very nice.
788
789Undocumented unicode handling (but the best of the pack. Unicode escapes
790still don't get parsed properly).
791
792Very inflexible.
793
794No roundtripping.
795
796Does not generate valid JSON texts (key strings are often unquoted, empty keys
797result in nothing being output)
798
799Does not check input for validity.
800 1205
801=back 1206=back
802 1207
803 1208
1209=head2 JSON and ECMAscript
1210
1211JSON syntax is based on how literals are represented in javascript (the
1212not-standardised predecessor of ECMAscript) which is presumably why it is
1213called "JavaScript Object Notation".
1214
1215However, JSON is not a subset (and also not a superset of course) of
1216ECMAscript (the standard) or javascript (whatever browsers actually
1217implement).
1218
1219If you want to use javascript's C<eval> function to "parse" JSON, you
1220might run into parse errors for valid JSON texts, or the resulting data
1221structure might not be queryable:
1222
1223One of the problems is that U+2028 and U+2029 are valid characters inside
1224JSON strings, but are not allowed in ECMAscript string literals, so the
1225following Perl fragment will not output something that can be guaranteed
1226to be parsable by javascript's C<eval>:
1227
1228 use JSON::XS;
1229
1230 print encode_json [chr 0x2028];
1231
1232The right fix for this is to use a proper JSON parser in your javascript
1233programs, and not rely on C<eval> (see for example Douglas Crockford's
1234F<json2.js> parser).
1235
1236If this is not an option, you can, as a stop-gap measure, simply encode to
1237ASCII-only JSON:
1238
1239 use JSON::XS;
1240
1241 print JSON::XS->new->ascii->encode ([chr 0x2028]);
1242
1243Note that this will enlarge the resulting JSON text quite a bit if you
1244have many non-ASCII characters. You might be tempted to run some regexes
1245to only escape U+2028 and U+2029, e.g.:
1246
1247 # DO NOT USE THIS!
1248 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ([chr 0x2028]);
1249 $json =~ s/\xe2\x80\xa8/\\u2028/g; # escape U+2028
1250 $json =~ s/\xe2\x80\xa9/\\u2029/g; # escape U+2029
1251 print $json;
1252
1253Note that I<this is a bad idea>: the above only works for U+2028 and
1254U+2029 and thus only for fully ECMAscript-compliant parsers. Many existing
1255javascript implementations, however, have issues with other characters as
1256well - using C<eval> naively simply I<will> cause problems.
1257
1258Another problem is that some javascript implementations reserve
1259some property names for their own purposes (which probably makes
1260them non-ECMAscript-compliant). For example, Iceweasel reserves the
1261C<__proto__> property name for its own purposes.
1262
1263If that is a problem, you could parse try to filter the resulting JSON
1264output for these property strings, e.g.:
1265
1266 $json =~ s/"__proto__"\s*:/"__proto__renamed":/g;
1267
1268This works because C<__proto__> is not valid outside of strings, so every
1269occurence of C<"__proto__"\s*:> must be a string used as property name.
1270
1271If you know of other incompatibilities, please let me know.
1272
1273
804=head2 JSON and YAML 1274=head2 JSON and YAML
805 1275
806You often hear that JSON is a subset (or a close subset) of YAML. This is, 1276You often hear that JSON is a subset of YAML. This is, however, a mass
807however, a mass hysteria and very far from the truth. In general, there is 1277hysteria(*) and very far from the truth (as of the time of this writing),
808no way to configure JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML. 1278so let me state it clearly: I<in general, there is no way to configure
1279JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML> that works in all
1280cases.
809 1281
810If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this 1282If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this
811algorithm (subject to change in future versions): 1283algorithm (subject to change in future versions):
812 1284
813 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1); 1285 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1);
814 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n"; 1286 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n";
815 1287
816This will usually generate JSON texts that also parse as valid 1288This will I<usually> generate JSON texts that also parse as valid
817YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key 1289YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key
818lengths that JSON doesn't have, so you should make sure that your hash 1290lengths that JSON doesn't have and also has different and incompatible
1291unicode character escape syntax, so you should make sure that your hash
819keys are noticably shorter than the 1024 characters YAML allows. 1292keys are noticeably shorter than the 1024 "stream characters" YAML allows
1293and that you do not have characters with codepoint values outside the
1294Unicode BMP (basic multilingual page). YAML also does not allow C<\/>
1295sequences in strings (which JSON::XS does not I<currently> generate, but
1296other JSON generators might).
820 1297
821There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of. In general 1298There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of (or the YAML
1299specification has been changed yet again - it does so quite often). In
822you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice versa, 1300general you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice
823or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are high 1301versa, or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are
824that you will run into severe interoperability problems. 1302high that you will run into severe interoperability problems when you
1303least expect it.
1304
1305=over 4
1306
1307=item (*)
1308
1309I have been pressured multiple times by Brian Ingerson (one of the
1310authors of the YAML specification) to remove this paragraph, despite him
1311acknowledging that the actual incompatibilities exist. As I was personally
1312bitten by this "JSON is YAML" lie, I refused and said I will continue to
1313educate people about these issues, so others do not run into the same
1314problem again and again. After this, Brian called me a (quote)I<complete
1315and worthless idiot>(unquote).
1316
1317In my opinion, instead of pressuring and insulting people who actually
1318clarify issues with YAML and the wrong statements of some of its
1319proponents, I would kindly suggest reading the JSON spec (which is not
1320that difficult or long) and finally make YAML compatible to it, and
1321educating users about the changes, instead of spreading lies about the
1322real compatibility for many I<years> and trying to silence people who
1323point out that it isn't true.
1324
1325Addendum/2009: the YAML 1.2 spec is still incompatible with JSON, even
1326though the incompatibilities have been documented (and are known to Brian)
1327for many years and the spec makes explicit claims that YAML is a superset
1328of JSON. It would be so easy to fix, but apparently, bullying people and
1329corrupting userdata is so much easier.
1330
1331=back
825 1332
826 1333
827=head2 SPEED 1334=head2 SPEED
828 1335
829It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following 1336It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following
830tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program 1337tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program
831in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own 1338in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own
832system. 1339system.
833 1340
834First comes a comparison between various modules using a very short 1341First comes a comparison between various modules using
835single-line JSON string: 1342a very short single-line JSON string (also available at
1343L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/short.json>).
836 1344
837 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], \ 1345 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1",
838 "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7, true, false]} 1346 "we were just talking"], "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7,
1347 1, 0]}
839 1348
840It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses 1349It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses
841the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface 1350the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface
842with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables 1351with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables
843shrink). Higher is better: 1352shrink. JSON::DWIW/DS uses the deserialise function, while JSON::DWIW::FJ
1353uses the from_json method). Higher is better:
844 1354
845 Storable | 15779.925 | 14169.946 |
846 -----------+------------+------------+
847 module | encode | decode | 1355 module | encode | decode |
848 -----------|------------|------------| 1356 --------------|------------|------------|
849 JSON | 4990.842 | 4088.813 | 1357 JSON::DWIW/DS | 86302.551 | 102300.098 |
850 JSON::DWIW | 51653.990 | 71575.154 | 1358 JSON::DWIW/FJ | 86302.551 | 75983.768 |
851 JSON::PC | 65948.176 | 74631.744 | 1359 JSON::PP | 15827.562 | 6638.658 |
852 JSON::PP | 8931.652 | 3817.168 | 1360 JSON::Syck | 63358.066 | 47662.545 |
853 JSON::Syck | 24877.248 | 27776.848 | 1361 JSON::XS | 511500.488 | 511500.488 |
854 JSON::XS | 388361.481 | 227951.304 | 1362 JSON::XS/2 | 291271.111 | 388361.481 |
855 JSON::XS/2 | 227951.304 | 218453.333 | 1363 JSON::XS/3 | 361577.931 | 361577.931 |
856 JSON::XS/3 | 338250.323 | 218453.333 | 1364 Storable | 66788.280 | 265462.278 |
857 Storable | 16500.016 | 135300.129 |
858 -----------+------------+------------+ 1365 --------------+------------+------------+
859 1366
860That is, JSON::XS is about five times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding, 1367That is, JSON::XS is almost six times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding,
861about three times faster on decoding, and over fourty times faster 1368about five times faster on decoding, and over thirty to seventy times
862than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares 1369faster than JSON's pure perl implementation. It also compares favourably
863favourably to Storable for small amounts of data. 1370to Storable for small amounts of data.
864 1371
865Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals 1372Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals
866search API (http://nanoref.com/yahooapis/mgPdGg): 1373search API (L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/long.json>).
867 1374
868 module | encode | decode | 1375 module | encode | decode |
869 -----------|------------|------------| 1376 --------------|------------|------------|
870 JSON | 55.260 | 34.971 | 1377 JSON::DWIW/DS | 1647.927 | 2673.916 |
871 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 | 1378 JSON::DWIW/FJ | 1630.249 | 2596.128 |
872 JSON::PC | 3571.444 | 2394.829 |
873 JSON::PP | 210.987 | 32.574 | 1379 JSON::PP | 400.640 | 62.311 |
874 JSON::Syck | 552.551 | 787.544 | 1380 JSON::Syck | 1481.040 | 1524.869 |
875 JSON::XS | 5780.463 | 4854.519 | 1381 JSON::XS | 20661.596 | 9541.183 |
876 JSON::XS/2 | 3869.998 | 4798.975 | 1382 JSON::XS/2 | 10683.403 | 9416.938 |
877 JSON::XS/3 | 5862.880 | 4798.975 | 1383 JSON::XS/3 | 20661.596 | 9400.054 |
878 Storable | 4445.002 | 5235.027 | 1384 Storable | 19765.806 | 10000.725 |
879 -----------+------------+------------+ 1385 --------------+------------+------------+
880 1386
881Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly 1387Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly
882decodes faster). 1388decodes a bit faster).
883 1389
884On large strings containing lots of high unicode characters, some modules 1390On large strings containing lots of high Unicode characters, some modules
885(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result 1391(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result
886will be broken due to missing (or wrong) unicode handling. Others refuse 1392will be broken due to missing (or wrong) Unicode handling. Others refuse
887to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair 1393to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair
888comparison table for that case. 1394comparison table for that case.
889 1395
890 1396
891=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS 1397=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
897any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am 1403any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am
898trying hard on making that true, but you never know. 1404trying hard on making that true, but you never know.
899 1405
900Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you should 1406Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you should
901limit the size of JSON texts you accept, or make sure then when your 1407limit the size of JSON texts you accept, or make sure then when your
902resources run out, thats just fine (e.g. by using a separate process that 1408resources run out, that's just fine (e.g. by using a separate process that
903can crash safely). The size of a JSON text in octets or characters is 1409can crash safely). The size of a JSON text in octets or characters is
904usually a good indication of the size of the resources required to decode 1410usually a good indication of the size of the resources required to decode
905it into a Perl structure. While JSON::XS can check the size of the JSON 1411it into a Perl structure. While JSON::XS can check the size of the JSON
906text, it might be too late when you already have it in memory, so you 1412text, it might be too late when you already have it in memory, so you
907might want to check the size before you accept the string. 1413might want to check the size before you accept the string.
908 1414
909Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and 1415Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and
910arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64 1416arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64
911machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but 1417machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but
912only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak 1418only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak
913to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. to be 1419to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. To be
914conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process 1420conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process
915has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the 1421has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the
916C<max_depth> method. 1422C<max_depth> method.
917 1423
918And last but least, something else could bomb you that I forgot to think 1424Something else could bomb you, too, that I forgot to think of. In that
919of. In that case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, 1425case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, though...
920though... 1426
1427Also keep in mind that JSON::XS might leak contents of your Perl data
1428structures in its error messages, so when you serialise sensitive
1429information you might want to make sure that exceptions thrown by JSON::XS
1430will not end up in front of untrusted eyes.
921 1431
922If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption 1432If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption
923by javascript scripts in a browser you should have a look at 1433by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at
924L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see wether 1434L<http://blog.archive.jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security/> to
925you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser 1435see whether you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really
926design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it, as major 1436are browser design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with
927browser developers care only for features, not about doing security 1437it, as major browser developers care only for features, not about getting
928right). 1438security right).
1439
1440
1441=head1 THREADS
1442
1443This module is I<not> guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no
1444plans to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the
1445horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated
1446process simulations - use fork, it's I<much> faster, cheaper, better).
1447
1448(It might actually work, but you have been warned).
1449
1450
1451=head1 THE PERILS OF SETLOCALE
1452
1453Sometimes people avoid the Perl locale support and directly call the
1454system's setlocale function with C<LC_ALL>.
1455
1456This breaks both perl and modules such as JSON::XS, as stringification of
1457numbers no longer works correcly (e.g. C<$x = 0.1; print "$x"+1> might
1458print C<1>, and JSON::XS might output illegal JSON as JSON::XS relies on
1459perl to stringify numbers).
1460
1461The solution is simple: don't call C<setlocale>, or use it for only those
1462categories you need, such as C<LC_MESSAGES> or C<LC_CTYPE>.
1463
1464If you need C<LC_NUMERIC>, you should enable it only around the code that
1465actually needs it (avoiding stringification of numbers), and restore it
1466afterwards.
929 1467
930 1468
931=head1 BUGS 1469=head1 BUGS
932 1470
933While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does 1471While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does
934not mean its bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is 1472not mean it's bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. If you
935still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they 1473keep reporting bugs they will be fixed swiftly, though.
936will be fixed swiftly, though. 1474
1475Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting
1476service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason.
937 1477
938=cut 1478=cut
939 1479
940our $true = do { bless \(my $dummy = 1), "JSON::XS::Boolean" }; 1480our $true = do { bless \(my $dummy = 1), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
941our $false = do { bless \(my $dummy = 0), "JSON::XS::Boolean" }; 1481our $false = do { bless \(my $dummy = 0), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
958 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 }, 1498 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 },
959 fallback => 1; 1499 fallback => 1;
960 1500
9611; 15011;
962 1502
1503=head1 SEE ALSO
1504
1505The F<json_xs> command line utility for quick experiments.
1506
963=head1 AUTHOR 1507=head1 AUTHOR
964 1508
965 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 1509 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
966 http://home.schmorp.de/ 1510 http://home.schmorp.de/
967 1511

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