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Revision 1.19 by root, Sat Mar 24 22:57:12 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.143 by root, Fri Oct 25 20:02:54 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 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)
9
5=head1 SYNOPSIS 10=head1 SYNOPSIS
6 11
7 use JSON::XS; 12 use JSON::XS;
8 13
9 # exported functions, croak on error 14 # exported functions, they croak on error
15 # and expect/generate UTF-8
10 16
11 $utf8_encoded_json_text = to_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref; 17 $utf8_encoded_json_text = encode_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref;
12 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = from_json $utf8_encoded_json_text; 18 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = decode_json $utf8_encoded_json_text;
13 19
14 # oo-interface 20 # OO-interface
15 21
16 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref; 22 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref;
17 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar); 23 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar);
18 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text); 24 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text);
19 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
20=head1 DESCRIPTION 34=head1 DESCRIPTION
21 35
22This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its 36This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its
23primary 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
24I<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.
25 47
26As 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
27to 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
28modules, 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
29their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug 51their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug
30reports for other reasons. 52reports for other reasons.
31 53
32See COMPARISON, below, for a comparison to some other JSON modules.
33
34See 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
35vice versa. 55vice versa.
36 56
37=head2 FEATURES 57=head2 FEATURES
38 58
39=over 4 59=over 4
40 60
41=item * correct handling of unicode issues 61=item * correct Unicode handling
42 62
43This 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
44it does so. 64so, and even documents what "correct" means.
45 65
46=item * round-trip integrity 66=item * round-trip integrity
47 67
48When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported 68When you serialise a perl data structure using only data types supported
49by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level. 69by JSON and Perl, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl
50(e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2"). 70level. (e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because
71it looks like a number). There I<are> minor exceptions to this, read the
72MAPPING section below to learn about those.
51 73
52=item * strict checking of JSON correctness 74=item * strict checking of JSON correctness
53 75
54There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default, 76There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default,
55and 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
56feature). 78feature).
57 79
58=item * fast 80=item * fast
59 81
60Compared to other JSON modules, this module compares favourably in terms 82Compared to other JSON modules and other serialisers such as Storable,
61of speed, too. 83this module usually compares favourably in terms of speed, too.
62 84
63=item * simple to use 85=item * simple to use
64 86
65This 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
66interface. 88oriented interface.
67 89
68=item * reasonably versatile output formats 90=item * reasonably versatile output formats
69 91
70You can choose between the most compact guarenteed single-line format 92You can choose between the most compact guaranteed-single-line format
71possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format (for 93possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ASCII format
72when your transport is not 8-bit clean), or a pretty-printed format (for 94(for when your transport is not 8-bit clean, still supports the whole
73when you want to read that stuff). Or you can combine those features in 95Unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that
74whatever way you like. 96stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like.
75 97
76=back 98=back
77 99
78=cut 100=cut
79 101
80package JSON::XS; 102package JSON::XS;
81 103
82BEGIN { 104use common::sense;
83 $VERSION = '0.7'; 105
106our $VERSION = 2.34;
84 @ISA = qw(Exporter); 107our @ISA = qw(Exporter);
85 108
86 @EXPORT = qw(to_json from_json); 109our @EXPORT = qw(encode_json decode_json);
87 require Exporter;
88 110
89 require XSLoader; 111use Exporter;
90 XSLoader::load JSON::XS::, $VERSION; 112use XSLoader;
91}
92 113
93=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE 114=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE
94 115
95The following convinience methods are provided by this module. They are 116The following convenience methods are provided by this module. They are
96exported by default: 117exported by default:
97 118
98=over 4 119=over 4
99 120
100=item $json_text = to_json $perl_scalar 121=item $json_text = encode_json $perl_scalar
101 122
102Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference to 123Converts the given Perl data structure to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string
103a hash or array) to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string (that is, the string contains 124(that is, the string contains octets only). Croaks on error.
104octets only). Croaks on error.
105 125
106This function call is functionally identical to: 126This function call is functionally identical to:
107 127
108 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar) 128 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar)
109 129
110except being faster. 130Except being faster.
111 131
112=item $perl_scalar = from_json $json_text 132=item $perl_scalar = decode_json $json_text
113 133
114The opposite of C<to_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries to 134The opposite of C<encode_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries
115parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting simple 135to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting
116scalar or reference. Croaks on error. 136reference. Croaks on error.
117 137
118This function call is functionally identical to: 138This function call is functionally identical to:
119 139
120 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text) 140 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text)
121 141
122except being faster. 142Except being faster.
143
144=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar
145
146Returns true if the passed scalar represents either JSON::XS::true or
147JSON::XS::false, two constants that act like C<1> and C<0>, respectively
148and are used to represent JSON C<true> and C<false> values in Perl.
149
150See MAPPING, below, for more information on how JSON values are mapped to
151Perl.
123 152
124=back 153=back
154
155
156=head1 A FEW NOTES ON UNICODE AND PERL
157
158Since this often leads to confusion, here are a few very clear words on
159how Unicode works in Perl, modulo bugs.
160
161=over 4
162
163=item 1. Perl strings can store characters with ordinal values > 255.
164
165This enables you to store Unicode characters as single characters in a
166Perl string - very natural.
167
168=item 2. Perl does I<not> associate an encoding with your strings.
169
170... until you force it to, e.g. when matching it against a regex, or
171printing the scalar to a file, in which case Perl either interprets your
172string as locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode, depending
173on various settings. In no case is an encoding stored together with your
174data, it is I<use> that decides encoding, not any magical meta data.
175
176=item 3. The internal utf-8 flag has no meaning with regards to the
177encoding of your string.
178
179Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written in
180XS or want to dive into the internals of perl. Otherwise it will only
181confuse you, as, despite the name, it says nothing about how your string
182is encoded. You can have Unicode strings with that flag set, with that
183flag clear, and you can have binary data with that flag set and that flag
184clear. Other possibilities exist, too.
185
186If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it doesn't
187exist.
188
189=item 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be
190validly interpreted as a Unicode code point.
191
192If you have UTF-8 encoded data, it is no longer a Unicode string, but a
193Unicode string encoded in UTF-8, giving you a binary string.
194
195=item 5. A string containing "high" (> 255) character values is I<not> a UTF-8 string.
196
197It's a fact. Learn to live with it.
198
199=back
200
201I hope this helps :)
202
125 203
126=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE 204=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE
127 205
128The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or 206The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or
129decoding style, within the limits of supported formats. 207decoding style, within the limits of supported formats.
141 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]}) 219 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]})
142 => {"a": [1, 2]} 220 => {"a": [1, 2]}
143 221
144=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable]) 222=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable])
145 223
224=item $enabled = $json->get_ascii
225
146If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not 226If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
147generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any 227generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any
148unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a 228Unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a
149single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence, 229single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence,
150as per RFC4627. 230as per RFC4627. The resulting encoded JSON text can be treated as a native
231Unicode string, an ascii-encoded, latin1-encoded or UTF-8 encoded string,
232or any other superset of ASCII.
151 233
152If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 234If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
153characters unless required by the JSON syntax. This results in a faster 235characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results
154and more compact format. 236in a faster and more compact format.
237
238See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
239document.
240
241The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be
242transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not
243contain any 8 bit characters.
155 244
156 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401]) 245 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401])
157 => ["\ud801\udc01"] 246 => ["\ud801\udc01"]
158 247
248=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable])
249
250=item $enabled = $json->get_latin1
251
252If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
253the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters
254outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a
255latin1-encoded JSON text or a native Unicode string. The C<decode> method
256will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default
257expects Unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1.
258
259If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
260characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags.
261
262See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
263document.
264
265The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON
266text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded
267size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded
268in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and
269transferring), a rare encoding for JSON. It is therefore most useful when
270you want to store data structures known to contain binary data efficiently
271in files or databases, not when talking to other JSON encoders/decoders.
272
273 JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"]
274 => ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not)
275
159=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable]) 276=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable])
277
278=item $enabled = $json->get_utf8
160 279
161If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode 280If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
162the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the 281the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the
163C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please 282C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please
164note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the 283note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the
165range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future 284range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future
166versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16 285versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16
167and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627. 286and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627.
168 287
169If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON 288If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON
170string as a (non-encoded) unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a 289string as a (non-encoded) Unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a
171unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs 290Unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs
172to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module. 291to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module.
292
293See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
294document.
173 295
174Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON: 296Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON:
175 297
176 use Encode; 298 use Encode;
177 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object); 299 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object);
198 ] 320 ]
199 } 321 }
200 322
201=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable]) 323=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable])
202 324
325=item $enabled = $json->get_indent
326
203If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline 327If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline
204format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair 328format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair
205into its own line, identing them properly. 329into its own line, indenting them properly.
206 330
207If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the 331If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the
208resulting JSON text is guarenteed not to contain any C<newlines>. 332resulting JSON text is guaranteed not to contain any C<newlines>.
209 333
210This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 334This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
211 335
212=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable]) 336=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable])
337
338=item $enabled = $json->get_space_before
213 339
214If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 340If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
215optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects. 341optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects.
216 342
217If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra 343If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra
223Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled: 349Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled:
224 350
225 {"key" :"value"} 351 {"key" :"value"}
226 352
227=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable]) 353=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable])
354
355=item $enabled = $json->get_space_after
228 356
229If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 357If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
230optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects 358optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects
231and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array 359and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array
232members. 360members.
238 366
239Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled: 367Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled:
240 368
241 {"key": "value"} 369 {"key": "value"}
242 370
371=item $json = $json->relaxed ([$enable])
372
373=item $enabled = $json->get_relaxed
374
375If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<decode> will accept some
376extensions to normal JSON syntax (see below). C<encode> will not be
377affected in anyway. I<Be aware that this option makes you accept invalid
378JSON texts as if they were valid!>. I suggest only to use this option to
379parse application-specific files written by humans (configuration files,
380resource files etc.)
381
382If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<decode> will only accept
383valid JSON texts.
384
385Currently accepted extensions are:
386
387=over 4
388
389=item * list items can have an end-comma
390
391JSON I<separates> array elements and key-value pairs with commas. This
392can be annoying if you write JSON texts manually and want to be able to
393quickly append elements, so this extension accepts comma at the end of
394such items not just between them:
395
396 [
397 1,
398 2, <- this comma not normally allowed
399 ]
400 {
401 "k1": "v1",
402 "k2": "v2", <- this comma not normally allowed
403 }
404
405=item * shell-style '#'-comments
406
407Whenever JSON allows whitespace, shell-style comments are additionally
408allowed. They are terminated by the first carriage-return or line-feed
409character, after which more white-space and comments are allowed.
410
411 [
412 1, # this comment not allowed in JSON
413 # neither this one...
414 ]
415
416=back
417
243=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable]) 418=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable])
419
420=item $enabled = $json->get_canonical
244 421
245If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects 422If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects
246by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead. 423by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead.
247 424
248If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value 425If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value
249pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs 426pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs
250of the same script). 427of the same script, and can change even within the same run from 5.18
428onwards).
251 429
252This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as 430This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as
253the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled, 431the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled,
254the same hash migh be encoded differently even if contains the same data, 432the same hash might be encoded differently even if contains the same data,
255as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl. 433as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl.
256 434
257This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 435This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
258 436
437This setting has currently no effect on tied hashes.
438
259=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable]) 439=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable])
440
441=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_nonref
260 442
261If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a 443If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a
262non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value, 444non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value,
263which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON 445which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON
264values instead of croaking. 446values instead of croaking.
272resulting in an invalid JSON text: 454resulting in an invalid JSON text:
273 455
274 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!") 456 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!")
275 => "Hello, World!" 457 => "Hello, World!"
276 458
459=item $json = $json->allow_unknown ([$enable])
460
461=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_unknown
462
463If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode> will I<not> throw an
464exception when it encounters values it cannot represent in JSON (for
465example, filehandles) but instead will encode a JSON C<null> value. Note
466that blessed objects are not included here and are handled separately by
467c<allow_nonref>.
468
469If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
470exception when it encounters anything it cannot encode as JSON.
471
472This option does not affect C<decode> in any way, and it is recommended to
473leave it off unless you know your communications partner.
474
475=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable])
476
477=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_blessed
478
479If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
480barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the
481B<convert_blessed> option will decide whether C<null> (C<convert_blessed>
482disabled or no C<TO_JSON> method found) or a representation of the
483object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<TO_JSON> method found) is being
484encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>.
485
486If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
487exception when it encounters a blessed object.
488
489=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable])
490
491=item $enabled = $json->get_convert_blessed
492
493If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a
494blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<TO_JSON> method
495on the object's class. If found, it will be called in scalar context
496and the resulting scalar will be encoded instead of the object. If no
497C<TO_JSON> method is found, the value of C<allow_blessed> will decide what
498to do.
499
500The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON>
501returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same
502way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle
503(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other
504methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are
505usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with any C<to_json>
506function or method.
507
508This setting does not yet influence C<decode> in any way, but in the
509future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are
510enabled by this setting.
511
512If C<$enable> is false, then the C<allow_blessed> setting will decide what
513to do when a blessed object is found.
514
515=item $json = $json->filter_json_object ([$coderef->($hashref)])
516
517When C<$coderef> is specified, it will be called from C<decode> each
518time it decodes a JSON object. The only argument is a reference to the
519newly-created hash. If the code references returns a single scalar (which
520need not be a reference), this value (i.e. a copy of that scalar to avoid
521aliasing) is inserted into the deserialised data structure. If it returns
522an empty list (NOTE: I<not> C<undef>, which is a valid scalar), the
523original deserialised hash will be inserted. This setting can slow down
524decoding considerably.
525
526When C<$coderef> is omitted or undefined, any existing callback will
527be removed and C<decode> will not change the deserialised hash in any
528way.
529
530Example, convert all JSON objects into the integer 5:
531
532 my $js = JSON::XS->new->filter_json_object (sub { 5 });
533 # returns [5]
534 $js->decode ('[{}]')
535 # throw an exception because allow_nonref is not enabled
536 # so a lone 5 is not allowed.
537 $js->decode ('{"a":1, "b":2}');
538
539=item $json = $json->filter_json_single_key_object ($key [=> $coderef->($value)])
540
541Works remotely similar to C<filter_json_object>, but is only called for
542JSON objects having a single key named C<$key>.
543
544This C<$coderef> is called before the one specified via
545C<filter_json_object>, if any. It gets passed the single value in the JSON
546object. If it returns a single value, it will be inserted into the data
547structure. If it returns nothing (not even C<undef> but the empty list),
548the callback from C<filter_json_object> will be called next, as if no
549single-key callback were specified.
550
551If C<$coderef> is omitted or undefined, the corresponding callback will be
552disabled. There can only ever be one callback for a given key.
553
554As this callback gets called less often then the C<filter_json_object>
555one, decoding speed will not usually suffer as much. Therefore, single-key
556objects make excellent targets to serialise Perl objects into, especially
557as single-key JSON objects are as close to the type-tagged value concept
558as JSON gets (it's basically an ID/VALUE tuple). Of course, JSON does not
559support this in any way, so you need to make sure your data never looks
560like a serialised Perl hash.
561
562Typical names for the single object key are C<__class_whatever__>, or
563C<$__dollars_are_rarely_used__$> or C<}ugly_brace_placement>, or even
564things like C<__class_md5sum(classname)__>, to reduce the risk of clashing
565with real hashes.
566
567Example, decode JSON objects of the form C<< { "__widget__" => <id> } >>
568into the corresponding C<< $WIDGET{<id>} >> object:
569
570 # return whatever is in $WIDGET{5}:
571 JSON::XS
572 ->new
573 ->filter_json_single_key_object (__widget__ => sub {
574 $WIDGET{ $_[0] }
575 })
576 ->decode ('{"__widget__": 5')
577
578 # this can be used with a TO_JSON method in some "widget" class
579 # for serialisation to json:
580 sub WidgetBase::TO_JSON {
581 my ($self) = @_;
582
583 unless ($self->{id}) {
584 $self->{id} = ..get..some..id..;
585 $WIDGET{$self->{id}} = $self;
586 }
587
588 { __widget__ => $self->{id} }
589 }
590
277=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable]) 591=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable])
278 592
593=item $enabled = $json->get_shrink
594
279Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for 595Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for
280strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either 596strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either
281C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save 597C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save
282memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many 598memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many
283short strings. It will also try to downgrade any strings to octet-form 599short strings. It will also try to downgrade any strings to octet-form
284if possible: perl stores strings internally either in an encoding called 600if possible: perl stores strings internally either in an encoding called
285UTF-X or in octet-form. The latter cannot store everything but uses less 601UTF-X or in octet-form. The latter cannot store everything but uses less
286space in general. 602space in general (and some buggy Perl or C code might even rely on that
603internal representation being used).
287 604
605The actual definition of what shrink does might change in future versions,
606but it will always try to save space at the expense of time.
607
288If C<$enable> is true (or missing), the string returned by C<encode> will be shrunk-to-fit, 608If C<$enable> is true (or missing), the string returned by C<encode> will
289while all strings generated by C<decode> will also be shrunk-to-fit. 609be shrunk-to-fit, while all strings generated by C<decode> will also be
610shrunk-to-fit.
290 611
291If C<$enable> is false, then the normal perl allocation algorithms are used. 612If C<$enable> is false, then the normal perl allocation algorithms are used.
292If you work with your data, then this is likely to be faster. 613If you work with your data, then this is likely to be faster.
293 614
294In the future, this setting might control other things, such as converting 615In the future, this setting might control other things, such as converting
295strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats 616strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats
296internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space. 617internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space.
297 618
619=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])
620
621=item $max_depth = $json->get_max_depth
622
623Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding
624or decoding. If a higher nesting level is detected in JSON text or a Perl
625data structure, then the encoder and decoder will stop and croak at that
626point.
627
628Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder
629needs to traverse to reach a given point or the number of C<{> or C<[>
630characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a
631given character in a string.
632
633Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures
634that the object is only a single hash/object or array.
635
636If no argument is given, the highest possible setting will be used, which
637is rarely useful.
638
639Note that nesting is implemented by recursion in C. The default value has
640been chosen to be as large as typical operating systems allow without
641crashing.
642
643See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
644
645=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size])
646
647=item $max_size = $json->get_max_size
648
649Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where decoding is
650being attempted. The default is C<0>, meaning no limit. When C<decode>
651is called on a string that is longer then this many bytes, it will not
652attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no
653effect on C<encode> (yet).
654
655If no argument is given, the limit check will be deactivated (same as when
656C<0> is specified).
657
658See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
659
298=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar) 660=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar)
299 661
300Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference 662Converts the given Perl value or data structure to its JSON
301to a hash or array) to its JSON representation. Simple scalars will be 663representation. Croaks on error.
302converted into JSON string or number sequences, while references to arrays
303become JSON arrays and references to hashes become JSON objects. Undefined
304Perl values (e.g. C<undef>) become JSON C<null> values. Neither C<true>
305nor C<false> values will be generated.
306 664
307=item $perl_scalar = $json->decode ($json_text) 665=item $perl_scalar = $json->decode ($json_text)
308 666
309The opposite of C<encode>: expects a JSON text and tries to parse it, 667The opposite of C<encode>: expects a JSON text and tries to parse it,
310returning the resulting simple scalar or reference. Croaks on error. 668returning the resulting simple scalar or reference. Croaks on error.
311 669
312JSON numbers and strings become simple Perl scalars. JSON arrays become 670=item ($perl_scalar, $characters) = $json->decode_prefix ($json_text)
313Perl arrayrefs and JSON objects become Perl hashrefs. C<true> becomes 671
314C<1>, C<false> becomes C<0> and C<null> becomes C<undef>. 672This works like the C<decode> method, but instead of raising an exception
673when there is trailing garbage after the first JSON object, it will
674silently stop parsing there and return the number of characters consumed
675so far.
676
677This is useful if your JSON texts are not delimited by an outer protocol
678and you need to know where the JSON text ends.
679
680 JSON::XS->new->decode_prefix ("[1] the tail")
681 => ([], 3)
315 682
316=back 683=back
684
685
686=head1 INCREMENTAL PARSING
687
688In some cases, there is the need for incremental parsing of JSON
689texts. While this module always has to keep both JSON text and resulting
690Perl data structure in memory at one time, it does allow you to parse a
691JSON stream incrementally. It does so by accumulating text until it has
692a full JSON object, which it then can decode. This process is similar to
693using C<decode_prefix> to see if a full JSON object is available, but
694is much more efficient (and can be implemented with a minimum of method
695calls).
696
697JSON::XS will only attempt to parse the JSON text once it is sure it
698has enough text to get a decisive result, using a very simple but
699truly incremental parser. This means that it sometimes won't stop as
700early as the full parser, for example, it doesn't detect mismatched
701parentheses. The only thing it guarantees is that it starts decoding as
702soon as a syntactically valid JSON text has been seen. This means you need
703to set resource limits (e.g. C<max_size>) to ensure the parser will stop
704parsing in the presence if syntax errors.
705
706The following methods implement this incremental parser.
707
708=over 4
709
710=item [void, scalar or list context] = $json->incr_parse ([$string])
711
712This is the central parsing function. It can both append new text and
713extract objects from the stream accumulated so far (both of these
714functions are optional).
715
716If C<$string> is given, then this string is appended to the already
717existing JSON fragment stored in the C<$json> object.
718
719After that, if the function is called in void context, it will simply
720return without doing anything further. This can be used to add more text
721in as many chunks as you want.
722
723If the method is called in scalar context, then it will try to extract
724exactly I<one> JSON object. If that is successful, it will return this
725object, otherwise it will return C<undef>. If there is a parse error,
726this method will croak just as C<decode> would do (one can then use
727C<incr_skip> to skip the erroneous part). This is the most common way of
728using the method.
729
730And finally, in list context, it will try to extract as many objects
731from the stream as it can find and return them, or the empty list
732otherwise. For this to work, there must be no separators between the JSON
733objects or arrays, instead they must be concatenated back-to-back. If
734an error occurs, an exception will be raised as in the scalar context
735case. Note that in this case, any previously-parsed JSON texts will be
736lost.
737
738Example: Parse some JSON arrays/objects in a given string and return
739them.
740
741 my @objs = JSON::XS->new->incr_parse ("[5][7][1,2]");
742
743=item $lvalue_string = $json->incr_text
744
745This method returns the currently stored JSON fragment as an lvalue, that
746is, you can manipulate it. This I<only> works when a preceding call to
747C<incr_parse> in I<scalar context> successfully returned an object. Under
748all other circumstances you must not call this function (I mean it.
749although in simple tests it might actually work, it I<will> fail under
750real world conditions). As a special exception, you can also call this
751method before having parsed anything.
752
753This function is useful in two cases: a) finding the trailing text after a
754JSON object or b) parsing multiple JSON objects separated by non-JSON text
755(such as commas).
756
757=item $json->incr_skip
758
759This will reset the state of the incremental parser and will remove
760the parsed text from the input buffer so far. This is useful after
761C<incr_parse> died, in which case the input buffer and incremental parser
762state is left unchanged, to skip the text parsed so far and to reset the
763parse state.
764
765The difference to C<incr_reset> is that only text until the parse error
766occurred is removed.
767
768=item $json->incr_reset
769
770This completely resets the incremental parser, that is, after this call,
771it will be as if the parser had never parsed anything.
772
773This is useful if you want to repeatedly parse JSON objects and want to
774ignore any trailing data, which means you have to reset the parser after
775each successful decode.
776
777=back
778
779=head2 LIMITATIONS
780
781All options that affect decoding are supported, except
782C<allow_nonref>. The reason for this is that it cannot be made to work
783sensibly: JSON objects and arrays are self-delimited, i.e. you can
784concatenate them back to back and still decode them perfectly. This does
785not hold true for JSON numbers, however.
786
787For example, is the string C<1> a single JSON number, or is it simply the
788start of C<12>? Or is C<12> a single JSON number, or the concatenation
789of C<1> and C<2>? In neither case you can tell, and this is why JSON::XS
790takes the conservative route and disallows this case.
791
792=head2 EXAMPLES
793
794Some examples will make all this clearer. First, a simple example that
795works similarly to C<decode_prefix>: We want to decode the JSON object at
796the start of a string and identify the portion after the JSON object:
797
798 my $text = "[1,2,3] hello";
799
800 my $json = new JSON::XS;
801
802 my $obj = $json->incr_parse ($text)
803 or die "expected JSON object or array at beginning of string";
804
805 my $tail = $json->incr_text;
806 # $tail now contains " hello"
807
808Easy, isn't it?
809
810Now for a more complicated example: Imagine a hypothetical protocol where
811you read some requests from a TCP stream, and each request is a JSON
812array, without any separation between them (in fact, it is often useful to
813use newlines as "separators", as these get interpreted as whitespace at
814the start of the JSON text, which makes it possible to test said protocol
815with C<telnet>...).
816
817Here is how you'd do it (it is trivial to write this in an event-based
818manner):
819
820 my $json = new JSON::XS;
821
822 # read some data from the socket
823 while (sysread $socket, my $buf, 4096) {
824
825 # split and decode as many requests as possible
826 for my $request ($json->incr_parse ($buf)) {
827 # act on the $request
828 }
829 }
830
831Another complicated example: Assume you have a string with JSON objects
832or arrays, all separated by (optional) comma characters (e.g. C<[1],[2],
833[3]>). To parse them, we have to skip the commas between the JSON texts,
834and here is where the lvalue-ness of C<incr_text> comes in useful:
835
836 my $text = "[1],[2], [3]";
837 my $json = new JSON::XS;
838
839 # void context, so no parsing done
840 $json->incr_parse ($text);
841
842 # now extract as many objects as possible. note the
843 # use of scalar context so incr_text can be called.
844 while (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
845 # do something with $obj
846
847 # now skip the optional comma
848 $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* , //x;
849 }
850
851Now lets go for a very complex example: Assume that you have a gigantic
852JSON array-of-objects, many gigabytes in size, and you want to parse it,
853but you cannot load it into memory fully (this has actually happened in
854the real world :).
855
856Well, you lost, you have to implement your own JSON parser. But JSON::XS
857can still help you: You implement a (very simple) array parser and let
858JSON decode the array elements, which are all full JSON objects on their
859own (this wouldn't work if the array elements could be JSON numbers, for
860example):
861
862 my $json = new JSON::XS;
863
864 # open the monster
865 open my $fh, "<bigfile.json"
866 or die "bigfile: $!";
867
868 # first parse the initial "["
869 for (;;) {
870 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
871 or die "read error: $!";
872 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
873
874 # Exit the loop once we found and removed(!) the initial "[".
875 # In essence, we are (ab-)using the $json object as a simple scalar
876 # we append data to.
877 last if $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* \[ //x;
878 }
879
880 # now we have the skipped the initial "[", so continue
881 # parsing all the elements.
882 for (;;) {
883 # in this loop we read data until we got a single JSON object
884 for (;;) {
885 if (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
886 # do something with $obj
887 last;
888 }
889
890 # add more data
891 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
892 or die "read error: $!";
893 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
894 }
895
896 # in this loop we read data until we either found and parsed the
897 # separating "," between elements, or the final "]"
898 for (;;) {
899 # first skip whitespace
900 $json->incr_text =~ s/^\s*//;
901
902 # if we find "]", we are done
903 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^\]//) {
904 print "finished.\n";
905 exit;
906 }
907
908 # if we find ",", we can continue with the next element
909 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^,//) {
910 last;
911 }
912
913 # if we find anything else, we have a parse error!
914 if (length $json->incr_text) {
915 die "parse error near ", $json->incr_text;
916 }
917
918 # else add more data
919 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
920 or die "read error: $!";
921 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
922 }
923
924This is a complex example, but most of the complexity comes from the fact
925that we are trying to be correct (bear with me if I am wrong, I never ran
926the above example :).
927
928
317 929
318=head1 MAPPING 930=head1 MAPPING
319 931
320This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and 932This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and
321vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most 933vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most
322circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics 934circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics
323(what you put in comes out as something equivalent). 935(what you put in comes out as something equivalent).
324 936
325For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions, 937For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions,
326lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppcercase I<Perl> 938lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppercase I<Perl>
327refers to the abstract Perl language itself. 939refers to the abstract Perl language itself.
328 940
941
329=head2 JSON -> PERL 942=head2 JSON -> PERL
330 943
331=over 4 944=over 4
332 945
333=item object 946=item object
334 947
335A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object 948A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object
336keys is preserved (JSON does not preserver object key ordering itself). 949keys is preserved (JSON does not preserve object key ordering itself).
337 950
338=item array 951=item array
339 952
340A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl. 953A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl.
341 954
345are represented by the same codepoints in the Perl string, so no manual 958are represented by the same codepoints in the Perl string, so no manual
346decoding is necessary. 959decoding is necessary.
347 960
348=item number 961=item number
349 962
350A JSON number becomes either an integer or numeric (floating point) 963A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or
351scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On the 964string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On
352Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all the 965the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all
353conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and might 966the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and
354represent more values exactly than (floating point) numbers. 967might represent more values exactly than floating point numbers.
968
969If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent
970it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as
971a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of
972precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value (in
973which case you lose roundtripping ability, as the JSON number will be
974re-encoded to a JSON string).
975
976Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be
977represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of
978precision (in which case you might lose perfect roundtripping ability, but
979the JSON number will still be re-encoded as a JSON number).
980
981Note that precision is not accuracy - binary floating point values cannot
982represent most decimal fractions exactly, and when converting from and to
983floating point, JSON::XS only guarantees precision up to but not including
984the least significant bit.
355 985
356=item true, false 986=item true, false
357 987
358These JSON atoms become C<0>, C<1>, respectively. Information is lost in 988These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>,
359this process. Future versions might represent those values differently, 989respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers
360but they will be guarenteed to act like these integers would normally in 990C<1> and C<0>. You can check whether a scalar is a JSON boolean by using
361Perl. 991the C<JSON::XS::is_bool> function.
362 992
363=item null 993=item null
364 994
365A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl. 995A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl.
366 996
367=back 997=back
998
368 999
369=head2 PERL -> JSON 1000=head2 PERL -> JSON
370 1001
371The mapping from Perl to JSON is slightly more difficult, as Perl is a 1002The mapping from Perl to JSON is slightly more difficult, as Perl is a
372truly typeless language, so we can only guess which JSON type is meant by 1003truly typeless language, so we can only guess which JSON type is meant by
374 1005
375=over 4 1006=over 4
376 1007
377=item hash references 1008=item hash references
378 1009
379Perl hash references become JSON objects. As there is no inherent ordering 1010Perl hash references become JSON objects. As there is no inherent
380in hash keys, they will usually be encoded in a pseudo-random order that 1011ordering in hash keys (or JSON objects), they will usually be encoded
381can change between runs of the same program but stays generally the same 1012in a pseudo-random order. JSON::XS can optionally sort the hash keys
382within a single run of a program. JSON::XS can optionally sort the hash
383keys (determined by the I<canonical> flag), so the same datastructure 1013(determined by the I<canonical> flag), so the same datastructure will
384will serialise to the same JSON text (given same settings and version of 1014serialise to the same JSON text (given same settings and version of
385JSON::XS), but this incurs a runtime overhead. 1015JSON::XS), but this incurs a runtime overhead and is only rarely useful,
1016e.g. when you want to compare some JSON text against another for equality.
386 1017
387=item array references 1018=item array references
388 1019
389Perl array references become JSON arrays. 1020Perl array references become JSON arrays.
390 1021
1022=item other references
1023
1024Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an
1025exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and
1026C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can
1027also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability.
1028
1029 encode_json [\0, JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true]
1030
1031=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false
1032
1033These special values become JSON true and JSON false values,
1034respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want.
1035
391=item blessed objects 1036=item blessed objects
392 1037
393Blessed objects are not allowed. JSON::XS currently tries to encode their 1038Blessed objects are not directly representable in JSON. See the
394underlying representation (hash- or arrayref), but this behaviour might 1039C<allow_blessed> and C<convert_blessed> methods on various options on
395change in future versions. 1040how to deal with this: basically, you can choose between throwing an
1041exception, encoding the reference as if it weren't blessed, or provide
1042your own serialiser method.
396 1043
397=item simple scalars 1044=item simple scalars
398 1045
399Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most 1046Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most
400difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as 1047difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as
401JSON null value, scalars that have last been used in a string context 1048JSON C<null> values, scalars that have last been used in a string context
402before encoding as JSON strings and anything else as number value: 1049before encoding as JSON strings, and anything else as number value:
403 1050
404 # dump as number 1051 # dump as number
405 to_json [2] # yields [2] 1052 encode_json [2] # yields [2]
406 to_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17] 1053 encode_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17]
407 my $value = 5; to_json [$value] # yields [5] 1054 my $value = 5; encode_json [$value] # yields [5]
408 1055
409 # used as string, so dump as string 1056 # used as string, so dump as string
410 print $value; 1057 print $value;
411 to_json [$value] # yields ["5"] 1058 encode_json [$value] # yields ["5"]
412 1059
413 # undef becomes null 1060 # undef becomes null
414 to_json [undef] # yields [null] 1061 encode_json [undef] # yields [null]
415 1062
416You can force the type to be a string by stringifying it: 1063You can force the type to be a JSON string by stringifying it:
417 1064
418 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number 1065 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number
419 "$x"; # stringified 1066 "$x"; # stringified
420 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify 1067 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify
421 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often 1068 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often
422 1069
423You can force the type to be a number by numifying it: 1070You can force the type to be a JSON number by numifying it:
424 1071
425 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string 1072 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string
426 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number 1073 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number
427 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choise is yours. 1074 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours.
428 1075
429You can not currently output JSON booleans or force the type in other, 1076You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me
430less obscure, ways. Tell me if you need this capability. 1077if you need this capability (but don't forget to explain why it's needed
1078:).
431 1079
432=item circular data structures 1080Note that numerical precision has the same meaning as under Perl (so
433 1081binary to decimal conversion follows the same rules as in Perl, which
434Those will be encoded until memory or stackspace runs out. 1082can differ to other languages). Also, your perl interpreter might expose
1083extensions to the floating point numbers of your platform, such as
1084infinities or NaN's - these cannot be represented in JSON, and it is an
1085error to pass those in.
435 1086
436=back 1087=back
437 1088
438=head1 COMPARISON
439 1089
440As already mentioned, this module was created because none of the existing 1090=head1 ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES
441JSON modules could be made to work correctly. First I will describe the 1091
442problems (or pleasures) I encountered with various existing JSON modules, 1092The interested reader might have seen a number of flags that signify
443followed by some benchmark values. JSON::XS was designed not to suffer 1093encodings or codesets - C<utf8>, C<latin1> and C<ascii>. There seems to be
444from any of these problems or limitations. 1094some confusion on what these do, so here is a short comparison:
1095
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.
445 1114
446=over 4 1115=over 4
447 1116
448=item JSON 1.07 1117=item C<utf8> flag disabled
449 1118
450Slow (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 changes 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).
451 1126
452Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling (how JSON handles unicode values is 1127This is useful when you want to do the encoding yourself (e.g. when you
453undocumented. 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
454en-/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).
455 1132
456No roundtripping (strings get clobbered if they look like numbers, e.g. 1133=item C<utf8> flag enabled
457the string C<2.0> will encode to C<2.0> instead of C<"2.0">, and that will
458decode into the number 2.
459 1134
460=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.
461 1140
462Very 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.
463 1144
464Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling. 1145=item C<latin1> or C<ascii> flags enabled
465 1146
466No 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.
467 1150
468Has 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
469values 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).
470 1156
471Does 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,
472which is not a valid JSON text. 1158regardless of these flags, just some more characters will be escaped using
1159C<\uXXXX> then before.
473 1160
474Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not 1161Note that ISO-8859-1-I<encoded> strings are not compatible with UTF-8
475getting 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.
476 1165
477=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.
478 1170
479Very 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.
480 1173
481Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty much 1174The main use for C<latin1> is to relatively efficiently store binary data
482undocumented. 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.
483single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and preferably a way to
484generate ASCII-only JSON texts).
485 1176
486Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling (unicode 1177The main use for C<ascii> is to force the output to not contain characters
487escapes are not working properly, you need to set ImplicitUnicode to 1178with values > 127, which means you can interpret the resulting string
488I<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
489 11808-bit-encoding, and still get the same data structure back. This is useful
490No 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
491value was used in a numeric context or not). 1182might be mangled in between (e.g. in mail), and works because ASCII is a
492 1183proper subset of most 8-bit and multibyte encodings in use in the world.
493Dumping hashes may skip hash values depending on iterator state.
494
495Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not
496getting fixed).
497
498Does not check input for validity (i.e. will accept non-JSON input and
499return "something" instead of raising an exception. This is a security
500issue: imagine two banks transfering money between each other using
501JSON. One bank might parse a given non-JSON request and deduct money,
502while the other might reject the transaction with a syntax error. While a
503good protocol will at least recover, that is extra unnecessary work and
504the transaction will still not succeed).
505
506=item JSON::DWIW 0.04
507
508Very fast. Very natural. Very nice.
509
510Undocumented unicode handling (but the best of the pack. Unicode escapes
511still don't get parsed properly).
512
513Very inflexible.
514
515No roundtripping.
516
517Does not generate valid JSON texts (key strings are often unquoted, empty keys
518result in nothing being output)
519
520Does not check input for validity.
521 1184
522=back 1185=back
1186
1187
1188=head2 JSON and ECMAscript
1189
1190JSON syntax is based on how literals are represented in javascript (the
1191not-standardised predecessor of ECMAscript) which is presumably why it is
1192called "JavaScript Object Notation".
1193
1194However, JSON is not a subset (and also not a superset of course) of
1195ECMAscript (the standard) or javascript (whatever browsers actually
1196implement).
1197
1198If you want to use javascript's C<eval> function to "parse" JSON, you
1199might run into parse errors for valid JSON texts, or the resulting data
1200structure might not be queryable:
1201
1202One of the problems is that U+2028 and U+2029 are valid characters inside
1203JSON strings, but are not allowed in ECMAscript string literals, so the
1204following Perl fragment will not output something that can be guaranteed
1205to be parsable by javascript's C<eval>:
1206
1207 use JSON::XS;
1208
1209 print encode_json [chr 0x2028];
1210
1211The right fix for this is to use a proper JSON parser in your javascript
1212programs, and not rely on C<eval> (see for example Douglas Crockford's
1213F<json2.js> parser).
1214
1215If this is not an option, you can, as a stop-gap measure, simply encode to
1216ASCII-only JSON:
1217
1218 use JSON::XS;
1219
1220 print JSON::XS->new->ascii->encode ([chr 0x2028]);
1221
1222Note that this will enlarge the resulting JSON text quite a bit if you
1223have many non-ASCII characters. You might be tempted to run some regexes
1224to only escape U+2028 and U+2029, e.g.:
1225
1226 # DO NOT USE THIS!
1227 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ([chr 0x2028]);
1228 $json =~ s/\xe2\x80\xa8/\\u2028/g; # escape U+2028
1229 $json =~ s/\xe2\x80\xa9/\\u2029/g; # escape U+2029
1230 print $json;
1231
1232Note that I<this is a bad idea>: the above only works for U+2028 and
1233U+2029 and thus only for fully ECMAscript-compliant parsers. Many existing
1234javascript implementations, however, have issues with other characters as
1235well - using C<eval> naively simply I<will> cause problems.
1236
1237Another problem is that some javascript implementations reserve
1238some property names for their own purposes (which probably makes
1239them non-ECMAscript-compliant). For example, Iceweasel reserves the
1240C<__proto__> property name for its own purposes.
1241
1242If that is a problem, you could parse try to filter the resulting JSON
1243output for these property strings, e.g.:
1244
1245 $json =~ s/"__proto__"\s*:/"__proto__renamed":/g;
1246
1247This works because C<__proto__> is not valid outside of strings, so every
1248occurrence of C<"__proto__"\s*:> must be a string used as property name.
1249
1250If you know of other incompatibilities, please let me know.
1251
1252
1253=head2 JSON and YAML
1254
1255You often hear that JSON is a subset of YAML. This is, however, a mass
1256hysteria(*) and very far from the truth (as of the time of this writing),
1257so let me state it clearly: I<in general, there is no way to configure
1258JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML> that works in all
1259cases.
1260
1261If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this
1262algorithm (subject to change in future versions):
1263
1264 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1);
1265 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n";
1266
1267This will I<usually> generate JSON texts that also parse as valid
1268YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key
1269lengths that JSON doesn't have and also has different and incompatible
1270unicode character escape syntax, so you should make sure that your hash
1271keys are noticeably shorter than the 1024 "stream characters" YAML allows
1272and that you do not have characters with codepoint values outside the
1273Unicode BMP (basic multilingual page). YAML also does not allow C<\/>
1274sequences in strings (which JSON::XS does not I<currently> generate, but
1275other JSON generators might).
1276
1277There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of (or the YAML
1278specification has been changed yet again - it does so quite often). In
1279general you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice
1280versa, or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are
1281high that you will run into severe interoperability problems when you
1282least expect it.
1283
1284=over 4
1285
1286=item (*)
1287
1288I have been pressured multiple times by Brian Ingerson (one of the
1289authors of the YAML specification) to remove this paragraph, despite him
1290acknowledging that the actual incompatibilities exist. As I was personally
1291bitten by this "JSON is YAML" lie, I refused and said I will continue to
1292educate people about these issues, so others do not run into the same
1293problem again and again. After this, Brian called me a (quote)I<complete
1294and worthless idiot>(unquote).
1295
1296In my opinion, instead of pressuring and insulting people who actually
1297clarify issues with YAML and the wrong statements of some of its
1298proponents, I would kindly suggest reading the JSON spec (which is not
1299that difficult or long) and finally make YAML compatible to it, and
1300educating users about the changes, instead of spreading lies about the
1301real compatibility for many I<years> and trying to silence people who
1302point out that it isn't true.
1303
1304Addendum/2009: the YAML 1.2 spec is still incompatible with JSON, even
1305though the incompatibilities have been documented (and are known to Brian)
1306for many years and the spec makes explicit claims that YAML is a superset
1307of JSON. It would be so easy to fix, but apparently, bullying people and
1308corrupting userdata is so much easier.
1309
1310=back
1311
523 1312
524=head2 SPEED 1313=head2 SPEED
525 1314
526It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following 1315It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following
527tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program 1316tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program
528in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own 1317in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own
529system. 1318system.
530 1319
531First comes a comparison between various modules using a very short JSON 1320First comes a comparison between various modules using
532string: 1321a very short single-line JSON string (also available at
1322L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/short.json>).
533 1323
534 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], "id": null} 1324 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1",
1325 "we were just talking"], "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7,
1326 1, 0]}
535 1327
536It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses the 1328It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses
537functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface with 1329the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface
538pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled). Higher is better: 1330with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables
1331shrink. JSON::DWIW/DS uses the deserialise function, while JSON::DWIW::FJ
1332uses the from_json method). Higher is better:
539 1333
540 module | encode | decode | 1334 module | encode | decode |
541 -----------|------------|------------| 1335 --------------|------------|------------|
542 JSON | 11488.516 | 7823.035 | 1336 JSON::DWIW/DS | 86302.551 | 102300.098 |
543 JSON::DWIW | 94708.054 | 129094.260 | 1337 JSON::DWIW/FJ | 86302.551 | 75983.768 |
544 JSON::PC | 63884.157 | 128528.212 | 1338 JSON::PP | 15827.562 | 6638.658 |
545 JSON::Syck | 34898.677 | 42096.911 | 1339 JSON::Syck | 63358.066 | 47662.545 |
546 JSON::XS | 654027.064 | 396423.669 | 1340 JSON::XS | 511500.488 | 511500.488 |
547 JSON::XS/2 | 371564.190 | 371725.613 | 1341 JSON::XS/2 | 291271.111 | 388361.481 |
1342 JSON::XS/3 | 361577.931 | 361577.931 |
1343 Storable | 66788.280 | 265462.278 |
548 -----------+------------+------------+ 1344 --------------+------------+------------+
549 1345
550That is, JSON::XS is more than six times faster than JSON::DWIW on 1346That is, JSON::XS is almost six times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding,
551encoding, more than three times faster on decoding, and about thirty times 1347about five times faster on decoding, and over thirty to seventy times
552faster than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. 1348faster than JSON's pure perl implementation. It also compares favourably
1349to Storable for small amounts of data.
553 1350
554Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals 1351Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals
555search API (http://nanoref.com/yahooapis/mgPdGg): 1352search API (L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/long.json>).
556 1353
557 module | encode | decode | 1354 module | encode | decode |
558 -----------|------------|------------| 1355 --------------|------------|------------|
559 JSON | 273.023 | 44.674 | 1356 JSON::DWIW/DS | 1647.927 | 2673.916 |
560 JSON::DWIW | 1089.383 | 1145.704 | 1357 JSON::DWIW/FJ | 1630.249 | 2596.128 |
561 JSON::PC | 3097.419 | 2393.921 | 1358 JSON::PP | 400.640 | 62.311 |
562 JSON::Syck | 514.060 | 843.053 | 1359 JSON::Syck | 1481.040 | 1524.869 |
563 JSON::XS | 6479.668 | 3636.364 | 1360 JSON::XS | 20661.596 | 9541.183 |
564 JSON::XS/2 | 3774.221 | 3599.124 | 1361 JSON::XS/2 | 10683.403 | 9416.938 |
1362 JSON::XS/3 | 20661.596 | 9400.054 |
1363 Storable | 19765.806 | 10000.725 |
565 -----------+------------+------------+ 1364 --------------+------------+------------+
566 1365
567Again, JSON::XS leads by far. 1366Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly
1367decodes a bit faster).
568 1368
569On large strings containing lots of high unicode characters, some modules 1369On large strings containing lots of high Unicode characters, some modules
570(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result 1370(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result
571will be broken due to missing (or wrong) unicode handling. Others refuse 1371will be broken due to missing (or wrong) Unicode handling. Others refuse
572to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair 1372to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair
573comparison table for that case. 1373comparison table for that case.
574 1374
575=head1 RESOURCE LIMITS
576 1375
577JSON::XS does not impose any limits on the size of JSON texts or Perl 1376=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
578values they represent - if your machine can handle it, JSON::XS will 1377
579encode or decode it. Future versions might optionally impose structure 1378When you are using JSON in a protocol, talking to untrusted potentially
580depth and memory use resource limits. 1379hostile creatures requires relatively few measures.
1380
1381First of all, your JSON decoder should be secure, that is, should not have
1382any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am
1383trying hard on making that true, but you never know.
1384
1385Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you should
1386limit the size of JSON texts you accept, or make sure then when your
1387resources run out, that's just fine (e.g. by using a separate process that
1388can crash safely). The size of a JSON text in octets or characters is
1389usually a good indication of the size of the resources required to decode
1390it into a Perl structure. While JSON::XS can check the size of the JSON
1391text, it might be too late when you already have it in memory, so you
1392might want to check the size before you accept the string.
1393
1394Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and
1395arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64
1396machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but
1397only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak
1398to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. To be
1399conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process
1400has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the
1401C<max_depth> method.
1402
1403Something else could bomb you, too, that I forgot to think of. In that
1404case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, though...
1405
1406Also keep in mind that JSON::XS might leak contents of your Perl data
1407structures in its error messages, so when you serialise sensitive
1408information you might want to make sure that exceptions thrown by JSON::XS
1409will not end up in front of untrusted eyes.
1410
1411If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption
1412by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at
1413L<http://blog.archive.jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security/> to
1414see whether you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really
1415are browser design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with
1416it, as major browser developers care only for features, not about getting
1417security right).
1418
1419
1420=head1 THREADS
1421
1422This module is I<not> guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no
1423plans to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the
1424horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated
1425process simulations - use fork, it's I<much> faster, cheaper, better).
1426
1427(It might actually work, but you have been warned).
1428
1429
1430=head1 THE PERILS OF SETLOCALE
1431
1432Sometimes people avoid the Perl locale support and directly call the
1433system's setlocale function with C<LC_ALL>.
1434
1435This breaks both perl and modules such as JSON::XS, as stringification of
1436numbers no longer works correctly (e.g. C<$x = 0.1; print "$x"+1> might
1437print C<1>, and JSON::XS might output illegal JSON as JSON::XS relies on
1438perl to stringify numbers).
1439
1440The solution is simple: don't call C<setlocale>, or use it for only those
1441categories you need, such as C<LC_MESSAGES> or C<LC_CTYPE>.
1442
1443If you need C<LC_NUMERIC>, you should enable it only around the code that
1444actually needs it (avoiding stringification of numbers), and restore it
1445afterwards.
1446
581 1447
582=head1 BUGS 1448=head1 BUGS
583 1449
584While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does 1450While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does
585not mean its bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is 1451not mean it's bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. If you
586still very young and not well-tested. If you keep reporting bugs they will 1452keep reporting bugs they will be fixed swiftly, though.
587be fixed swiftly, though. 1453
1454Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting
1455service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason.
588 1456
589=cut 1457=cut
590 1458
1459our $true = do { bless \(my $dummy = 1), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
1460our $false = do { bless \(my $dummy = 0), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
1461
1462sub true() { $true }
1463sub false() { $false }
1464
1465sub is_bool($) {
1466 UNIVERSAL::isa $_[0], "JSON::XS::Boolean"
1467# or UNIVERSAL::isa $_[0], "JSON::Literal"
1468}
1469
1470XSLoader::load "JSON::XS", $VERSION;
1471
1472package JSON::XS::Boolean;
1473
1474use overload
1475 "0+" => sub { ${$_[0]} },
1476 "++" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} + 1 },
1477 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 },
1478 fallback => 1;
1479
5911; 14801;
1481
1482=head1 SEE ALSO
1483
1484The F<json_xs> command line utility for quick experiments.
592 1485
593=head1 AUTHOR 1486=head1 AUTHOR
594 1487
595 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 1488 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
596 http://home.schmorp.de/ 1489 http://home.schmorp.de/

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