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Revision 1.27 by root, Tue Apr 3 01:25:40 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.95 by root, Tue Mar 25 16:56:09 2008 UTC

1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3=encoding utf-8
4
3JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast 5JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast
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
15 # objToJson and jsonToObj aliases to to_json and from_json
16 # are exported for compatibility to the JSON module,
17 # but should not be used in new code.
18 19
19 # OO-interface 20 # OO-interface
20 21
21 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref; 22 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref;
22 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar); 23 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar);
23 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text); 24 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text);
24 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
25=head1 DESCRIPTION 34=head1 DESCRIPTION
26 35
27This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its 36This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its
28primary 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
29I<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
42overriden) with no overhead due to emulation (by inheritign 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.
30 47
31As 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
32to 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
33modules, 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
34their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug 51their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug
41 58
42=head2 FEATURES 59=head2 FEATURES
43 60
44=over 4 61=over 4
45 62
46=item * correct unicode handling 63=item * correct Unicode handling
47 64
48This module knows how to handle Unicode, and even documents how and when 65This module knows how to handle Unicode, documents how and when it does
49it does so. 66so, and even documents what "correct" means.
50 67
51=item * round-trip integrity 68=item * round-trip integrity
52 69
53When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported 70When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported
54by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level. 71by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level.
55(e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because it looks 72(e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because it looks
56like a number). 73like a number). There minor I<are> exceptions to this, read the MAPPING
74section below to learn about those.
57 75
58=item * strict checking of JSON correctness 76=item * strict checking of JSON correctness
59 77
60There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default, 78There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default,
61and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security 79and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security
62feature). 80feature).
63 81
64=item * fast 82=item * fast
65 83
66Compared to other JSON modules, this module compares favourably in terms 84Compared to other JSON modules and other serialisers such as Storable,
67of speed, too. 85this module usually compares favourably in terms of speed, too.
68 86
69=item * simple to use 87=item * simple to use
70 88
71This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an OO 89This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an objetc
72interface. 90oriented interface interface.
73 91
74=item * reasonably versatile output formats 92=item * reasonably versatile output formats
75 93
76You can choose between the most compact guarenteed single-line format 94You can choose between the most compact guaranteed-single-line format
77possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format 95possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format
78(for when your transport is not 8-bit clean, still supports the whole 96(for when your transport is not 8-bit clean, still supports the whole
79unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that 97Unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that
80stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like. 98stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like.
81 99
82=back 100=back
83 101
84=cut 102=cut
85 103
86package JSON::XS; 104package JSON::XS;
87 105
88use strict; 106use strict;
89 107
90BEGIN {
91 our $VERSION = '1.02'; 108our $VERSION = '2.1';
92 our @ISA = qw(Exporter); 109our @ISA = qw(Exporter);
93 110
94 our @EXPORT = qw(to_json from_json objToJson jsonToObj); 111our @EXPORT = qw(encode_json decode_json to_json from_json);
95 require Exporter;
96 112
113sub to_json($) {
97 require XSLoader; 114 require Carp;
98 XSLoader::load JSON::XS::, $VERSION; 115 Carp::croak ("JSON::XS::to_json has been renamed to encode_json, either downgrade to pre-2.0 versions of JSON::XS or rename the call");
99} 116}
100 117
118sub from_json($) {
119 require Carp;
120 Carp::croak ("JSON::XS::from_json has been renamed to decode_json, either downgrade to pre-2.0 versions of JSON::XS or rename the call");
121}
122
123use Exporter;
124use XSLoader;
125
101=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE 126=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE
102 127
103The following convinience methods are provided by this module. They are 128The following convenience methods are provided by this module. They are
104exported by default: 129exported by default:
105 130
106=over 4 131=over 4
107 132
108=item $json_text = to_json $perl_scalar 133=item $json_text = encode_json $perl_scalar
109 134
110Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference to 135Converts the given Perl data structure to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string
111a hash or array) to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string (that is, the string contains 136(that is, the string contains octets only). Croaks on error.
112octets only). Croaks on error.
113 137
114This function call is functionally identical to: 138This function call is functionally identical to:
115 139
116 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar) 140 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar)
117 141
118except being faster. 142except being faster.
119 143
120=item $perl_scalar = from_json $json_text 144=item $perl_scalar = decode_json $json_text
121 145
122The opposite of C<to_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries to 146The opposite of C<encode_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries
123parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting simple 147to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting
124scalar or reference. Croaks on error. 148reference. Croaks on error.
125 149
126This function call is functionally identical to: 150This function call is functionally identical to:
127 151
128 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text) 152 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text)
129 153
130except being faster. 154except being faster.
131 155
156=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar
157
158Returns true if the passed scalar represents either JSON::XS::true or
159JSON::XS::false, two constants that act like C<1> and C<0>, respectively
160and are used to represent JSON C<true> and C<false> values in Perl.
161
162See MAPPING, below, for more information on how JSON values are mapped to
163Perl.
164
132=back 165=back
166
167
168=head1 A FEW NOTES ON UNICODE AND PERL
169
170Since this often leads to confusion, here are a few very clear words on
171how Unicode works in Perl, modulo bugs.
172
173=over 4
174
175=item 1. Perl strings can store characters with ordinal values > 255.
176
177This enables you to store Unicode characters as single characters in a
178Perl string - very natural.
179
180=item 2. Perl does I<not> associate an encoding with your strings.
181
182... until you force it to, e.g. when matching it against a regex, or
183printing the scalar to a file, in which case Perl either interprets your
184string as locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode, depending
185on various settings. In no case is an encoding stored together with your
186data, it is I<use> that decides encoding, not any magical meta data.
187
188=item 3. The internal utf-8 flag has no meaning with regards to the
189encoding of your string.
190
191Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written in
192XS or want to dive into the internals of perl. Otherwise it will only
193confuse you, as, despite the name, it says nothing about how your string
194is encoded. You can have Unicode strings with that flag set, with that
195flag clear, and you can have binary data with that flag set and that flag
196clear. Other possibilities exist, too.
197
198If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it doesn't
199exist.
200
201=item 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be
202validly interpreted as a Unicode codepoint.
203
204If you have UTF-8 encoded data, it is no longer a Unicode string, but a
205Unicode string encoded in UTF-8, giving you a binary string.
206
207=item 5. A string containing "high" (> 255) character values is I<not> a UTF-8 string.
208
209It's a fact. Learn to live with it.
210
211=back
212
213I hope this helps :)
133 214
134 215
135=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE 216=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE
136 217
137The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or 218The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or
150 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]}) 231 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]})
151 => {"a": [1, 2]} 232 => {"a": [1, 2]}
152 233
153=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable]) 234=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable])
154 235
236=item $enabled = $json->get_ascii
237
155If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not 238If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
156generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any 239generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any
157unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a 240Unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a
158single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence, 241single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence,
159as per RFC4627. 242as per RFC4627. The resulting encoded JSON text can be treated as a native
243Unicode string, an ascii-encoded, latin1-encoded or UTF-8 encoded string,
244or any other superset of ASCII.
160 245
161If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 246If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
162characters unless required by the JSON syntax. This results in a faster 247characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results
163and more compact format. 248in a faster and more compact format.
249
250See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
251document.
252
253The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be
254transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not
255contain any 8 bit characters.
164 256
165 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401]) 257 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401])
166 => ["\ud801\udc01"] 258 => ["\ud801\udc01"]
167 259
260=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable])
261
262=item $enabled = $json->get_latin1
263
264If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
265the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters
266outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a
267latin1-encoded JSON text or a native Unicode string. The C<decode> method
268will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default
269expects Unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1.
270
271If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
272characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags.
273
274See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
275document.
276
277The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON
278text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded
279size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded
280in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and
281transferring), a rare encoding for JSON. It is therefore most useful when
282you want to store data structures known to contain binary data efficiently
283in files or databases, not when talking to other JSON encoders/decoders.
284
285 JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"]
286 => ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not)
287
168=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable]) 288=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable])
289
290=item $enabled = $json->get_utf8
169 291
170If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode 292If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
171the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the 293the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the
172C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please 294C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please
173note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the 295note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the
174range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future 296range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future
175versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16 297versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16
176and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627. 298and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627.
177 299
178If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON 300If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON
179string as a (non-encoded) unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a 301string as a (non-encoded) Unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a
180unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs 302Unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs
181to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module. 303to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module.
304
305See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
306document.
182 307
183Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON: 308Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON:
184 309
185 use Encode; 310 use Encode;
186 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object); 311 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object);
207 ] 332 ]
208 } 333 }
209 334
210=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable]) 335=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable])
211 336
337=item $enabled = $json->get_indent
338
212If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline 339If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline
213format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair 340format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair
214into its own line, identing them properly. 341into its own line, indenting them properly.
215 342
216If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the 343If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the
217resulting JSON text is guarenteed not to contain any C<newlines>. 344resulting JSON text is guaranteed not to contain any C<newlines>.
218 345
219This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 346This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
220 347
221=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable]) 348=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable])
349
350=item $enabled = $json->get_space_before
222 351
223If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 352If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
224optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects. 353optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects.
225 354
226If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra 355If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra
232Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled: 361Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled:
233 362
234 {"key" :"value"} 363 {"key" :"value"}
235 364
236=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable]) 365=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable])
366
367=item $enabled = $json->get_space_after
237 368
238If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 369If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
239optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects 370optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects
240and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array 371and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array
241members. 372members.
247 378
248Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled: 379Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled:
249 380
250 {"key": "value"} 381 {"key": "value"}
251 382
383=item $json = $json->relaxed ([$enable])
384
385=item $enabled = $json->get_relaxed
386
387If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<decode> will accept some
388extensions to normal JSON syntax (see below). C<encode> will not be
389affected in anyway. I<Be aware that this option makes you accept invalid
390JSON texts as if they were valid!>. I suggest only to use this option to
391parse application-specific files written by humans (configuration files,
392resource files etc.)
393
394If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<decode> will only accept
395valid JSON texts.
396
397Currently accepted extensions are:
398
399=over 4
400
401=item * list items can have an end-comma
402
403JSON I<separates> array elements and key-value pairs with commas. This
404can be annoying if you write JSON texts manually and want to be able to
405quickly append elements, so this extension accepts comma at the end of
406such items not just between them:
407
408 [
409 1,
410 2, <- this comma not normally allowed
411 ]
412 {
413 "k1": "v1",
414 "k2": "v2", <- this comma not normally allowed
415 }
416
417=item * shell-style '#'-comments
418
419Whenever JSON allows whitespace, shell-style comments are additionally
420allowed. They are terminated by the first carriage-return or line-feed
421character, after which more white-space and comments are allowed.
422
423 [
424 1, # this comment not allowed in JSON
425 # neither this one...
426 ]
427
428=back
429
252=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable]) 430=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable])
431
432=item $enabled = $json->get_canonical
253 433
254If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects 434If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects
255by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead. 435by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead.
256 436
257If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value 437If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value
258pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs 438pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs
259of the same script). 439of the same script).
260 440
261This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as 441This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as
262the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled, 442the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled,
263the same hash migh be encoded differently even if contains the same data, 443the same hash might be encoded differently even if contains the same data,
264as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl. 444as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl.
265 445
266This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 446This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
267 447
268=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable]) 448=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable])
449
450=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_nonref
269 451
270If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a 452If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a
271non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value, 453non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value,
272which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON 454which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON
273values instead of croaking. 455values instead of croaking.
281resulting in an invalid JSON text: 463resulting in an invalid JSON text:
282 464
283 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!") 465 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!")
284 => "Hello, World!" 466 => "Hello, World!"
285 467
468=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable])
469
470=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_blessed
471
472If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
473barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the
474B<convert_blessed> option will decide whether C<null> (C<convert_blessed>
475disabled or no C<TO_JSON> method found) or a representation of the
476object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<TO_JSON> method found) is being
477encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>.
478
479If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
480exception when it encounters a blessed object.
481
482=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable])
483
484=item $enabled = $json->get_convert_blessed
485
486If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a
487blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<TO_JSON> method
488on the object's class. If found, it will be called in scalar context
489and the resulting scalar will be encoded instead of the object. If no
490C<TO_JSON> method is found, the value of C<allow_blessed> will decide what
491to do.
492
493The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON>
494returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same
495way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle
496(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other
497methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are
498usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with any C<to_json>
499function or method.
500
501This setting does not yet influence C<decode> in any way, but in the
502future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are
503enabled by this setting.
504
505If C<$enable> is false, then the C<allow_blessed> setting will decide what
506to do when a blessed object is found.
507
508=item $json = $json->filter_json_object ([$coderef->($hashref)])
509
510When C<$coderef> is specified, it will be called from C<decode> each
511time it decodes a JSON object. The only argument is a reference to the
512newly-created hash. If the code references returns a single scalar (which
513need not be a reference), this value (i.e. a copy of that scalar to avoid
514aliasing) is inserted into the deserialised data structure. If it returns
515an empty list (NOTE: I<not> C<undef>, which is a valid scalar), the
516original deserialised hash will be inserted. This setting can slow down
517decoding considerably.
518
519When C<$coderef> is omitted or undefined, any existing callback will
520be removed and C<decode> will not change the deserialised hash in any
521way.
522
523Example, convert all JSON objects into the integer 5:
524
525 my $js = JSON::XS->new->filter_json_object (sub { 5 });
526 # returns [5]
527 $js->decode ('[{}]')
528 # throw an exception because allow_nonref is not enabled
529 # so a lone 5 is not allowed.
530 $js->decode ('{"a":1, "b":2}');
531
532=item $json = $json->filter_json_single_key_object ($key [=> $coderef->($value)])
533
534Works remotely similar to C<filter_json_object>, but is only called for
535JSON objects having a single key named C<$key>.
536
537This C<$coderef> is called before the one specified via
538C<filter_json_object>, if any. It gets passed the single value in the JSON
539object. If it returns a single value, it will be inserted into the data
540structure. If it returns nothing (not even C<undef> but the empty list),
541the callback from C<filter_json_object> will be called next, as if no
542single-key callback were specified.
543
544If C<$coderef> is omitted or undefined, the corresponding callback will be
545disabled. There can only ever be one callback for a given key.
546
547As this callback gets called less often then the C<filter_json_object>
548one, decoding speed will not usually suffer as much. Therefore, single-key
549objects make excellent targets to serialise Perl objects into, especially
550as single-key JSON objects are as close to the type-tagged value concept
551as JSON gets (it's basically an ID/VALUE tuple). Of course, JSON does not
552support this in any way, so you need to make sure your data never looks
553like a serialised Perl hash.
554
555Typical names for the single object key are C<__class_whatever__>, or
556C<$__dollars_are_rarely_used__$> or C<}ugly_brace_placement>, or even
557things like C<__class_md5sum(classname)__>, to reduce the risk of clashing
558with real hashes.
559
560Example, decode JSON objects of the form C<< { "__widget__" => <id> } >>
561into the corresponding C<< $WIDGET{<id>} >> object:
562
563 # return whatever is in $WIDGET{5}:
564 JSON::XS
565 ->new
566 ->filter_json_single_key_object (__widget__ => sub {
567 $WIDGET{ $_[0] }
568 })
569 ->decode ('{"__widget__": 5')
570
571 # this can be used with a TO_JSON method in some "widget" class
572 # for serialisation to json:
573 sub WidgetBase::TO_JSON {
574 my ($self) = @_;
575
576 unless ($self->{id}) {
577 $self->{id} = ..get..some..id..;
578 $WIDGET{$self->{id}} = $self;
579 }
580
581 { __widget__ => $self->{id} }
582 }
583
286=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable]) 584=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable])
585
586=item $enabled = $json->get_shrink
287 587
288Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for 588Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for
289strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either 589strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either
290C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save 590C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save
291memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many 591memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many
309strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats 609strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats
310internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space. 610internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space.
311 611
312=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth]) 612=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])
313 613
614=item $max_depth = $json->get_max_depth
615
314Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<4096>) accepted while encoding 616Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding
315or decoding. If the JSON text or Perl data structure has an equal or 617or decoding. If the JSON text or Perl data structure has an equal or
316higher nesting level then this limit, then the encoder and decoder will 618higher nesting level then this limit, then the encoder and decoder will
317stop and croak at that point. 619stop and croak at that point.
318 620
319Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder 621Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder
322given character in a string. 624given character in a string.
323 625
324Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures 626Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures
325that the object is only a single hash/object or array. 627that the object is only a single hash/object or array.
326 628
327The argument to C<max_depth> will be rounded up to the next nearest power 629The argument to C<max_depth> will be rounded up to the next highest power
328of two. 630of two. If no argument is given, the highest possible setting will be
631used, which is rarely useful.
632
633See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
634
635=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size])
636
637=item $max_size = $json->get_max_size
638
639Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where decoding is
640being attempted. The default is C<0>, meaning no limit. When C<decode>
641is called on a string longer then this number of characters it will not
642attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no
643effect on C<encode> (yet).
644
645The argument to C<max_size> will be rounded up to the next B<highest>
646power of two (so may be more than requested). If no argument is given, the
647limit check will be deactivated (same as when C<0> is specified).
329 648
330See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful. 649See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
331 650
332=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar) 651=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar)
333 652
345 664
346JSON numbers and strings become simple Perl scalars. JSON arrays become 665JSON numbers and strings become simple Perl scalars. JSON arrays become
347Perl arrayrefs and JSON objects become Perl hashrefs. C<true> becomes 666Perl arrayrefs and JSON objects become Perl hashrefs. C<true> becomes
348C<1>, C<false> becomes C<0> and C<null> becomes C<undef>. 667C<1>, C<false> becomes C<0> and C<null> becomes C<undef>.
349 668
669=item ($perl_scalar, $characters) = $json->decode_prefix ($json_text)
670
671This works like the C<decode> method, but instead of raising an exception
672when there is trailing garbage after the first JSON object, it will
673silently stop parsing there and return the number of characters consumed
674so far.
675
676This is useful if your JSON texts are not delimited by an outer protocol
677(which is not the brightest thing to do in the first place) and you need
678to know where the JSON text ends.
679
680 JSON::XS->new->decode_prefix ("[1] the tail")
681 => ([], 3)
682
350=back 683=back
684
685
686=head1 INCREMENTAL PARSING
687
688[This section is still EXPERIMENTAL]
689
690In some cases, there is the need for incremental parsing of JSON
691texts. While this module always has to keep both JSON text and resulting
692Perl data structure in memory at one time, it does allow you to parse a
693JSON stream incrementally. It does so by accumulating text until it has
694a full JSON object, which it then can decode. This process is similar to
695using C<decode_prefix> to see if a full JSON object is available, but is
696much more efficient (JSON::XS will only attempt to parse the JSON text
697once it is sure it has enough text to get a decisive result, using a very
698simple but truly incremental parser).
699
700The following two methods deal with this.
701
702=over 4
703
704=item [void, scalar or list context] = $json->incr_parse ([$string])
705
706This is the central parsing function. It can both append new text and
707extract objects from the stream accumulated so far (both of these
708functions are optional).
709
710If C<$string> is given, then this string is appended to the already
711existing JSON fragment stored in the C<$json> object.
712
713After that, if the function is called in void context, it will simply
714return without doing anything further. This can be used to add more text
715in as many chunks as you want.
716
717If the method is called in scalar context, then it will try to extract
718exactly I<one> JSON object. If that is successful, it will return this
719object, otherwise it will return C<undef>. This is the most common way of
720using the method.
721
722And finally, in list context, it will try to extract as many objects
723from the stream as it can find and return them, or the empty list
724otherwise. For this to work, there must be no separators between the JSON
725objects or arrays, instead they must be concatenated back-to-back.
726
727=item $lvalue_string = $json->incr_text
728
729This method returns the currently stored JSON fragment as an lvalue, that
730is, you can manipulate it. This I<only> works when a preceding call to
731C<incr_parse> in I<scalar context> successfully returned an object. Under
732all other circumstances you must not call this function (I mean it.
733although in simple tests it might actually work, it I<will> fail under
734real world conditions). As a special exception, you can also call this
735method before having parsed anything.
736
737This function is useful in two cases: a) finding the trailing text after a
738JSON object or b) parsing multiple JSON objects separated by non-JSON text
739(such as commas).
740
741=back
742
743=head2 LIMITATIONS
744
745All options that affect decoding are supported, except
746C<allow_nonref>. The reason for this is that it cannot be made to
747work sensibly: JSON objects and arrays are self-delimited, i.e. you can concatenate
748them back to back and still decode them perfectly. This does not hold true
749for JSON numbers, however.
750
751For example, is the string C<1> a single JSON number, or is it simply the
752start of C<12>? Or is C<12> a single JSON number, or the concatenation
753of C<1> and C<2>? In neither case you can tell, and this is why JSON::XS
754takes the conservative route and disallows this case.
755
756=head2 EXAMPLES
757
758Some examples will make all this clearer. First, a simple example that
759works similarly to C<decode_prefix>: We want to decode the JSON object at
760the start of a string and identify the portion after the JSON object:
761
762 my $text = "[1,2,3] hello";
763
764 my $json = new JSON::XS;
765
766 my $obj = $json->incr_parse ($text)
767 or die "expected JSON object or array at beginning of string";
768
769 my $tail = $json->incr_text;
770 # $tail now contains " hello"
771
772Easy, isn't it?
773
774Now for a more complicated example: Imagine a hypothetical protocol where
775you read some requests from a TCP stream, and each request is a JSON
776array, without any separation between them (in fact, it is often useful to
777use newlines as "separators", as these get interpreted as whitespace at
778the start of the JSON text, which makes it possible to test said protocol
779with C<telnet>...).
780
781Here is how you'd do it (it is trivial to write this in an event-based
782manner):
783
784 my $json = new JSON::XS;
785
786 # read some data from the socket
787 while (sysread $socket, my $buf, 4096) {
788
789 # split and decode as many requests as possible
790 for my $request ($json->incr_parse ($buf)) {
791 # act on the $request
792 }
793 }
794
795Another complicated example: Assume you have a string with JSON objects
796or arrays, all separated by (optional) comma characters (e.g. C<[1],[2],
797[3]>). To parse them, we have to skip the commas between the JSON texts,
798and here is where the lvalue-ness of C<incr_text> comes in useful:
799
800 my $text = "[1],[2], [3]";
801 my $json = new JSON::XS;
802
803 # void context, so no parsing done
804 $json->incr_parse ($text);
805
806 # now extract as many objects as possible. note the
807 # use of scalar context so incr_text can be called.
808 while (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
809 # do something with $obj
810
811 # now skip the optional comma
812 $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* , //x;
813 }
814
815Now lets go for a very complex example: Assume that you have a gigantic
816JSON array-of-objects, many gigabytes in size, and you want to parse it,
817but you cannot load it into memory fully (this has actually happened in
818the real world :).
819
820Well, you lost, you have to implement your own JSON parser. But JSON::XS
821can still help you: You implement a (very simple) array parser and let
822JSON decode the array elements, which are all full JSON objects on their
823own (this wouldn't work if the array elements could be JSON numbers, for
824example):
825
826 my $json = new JSON::XS;
827
828 # open the monster
829 open my $fh, "<bigfile.json"
830 or die "bigfile: $!";
831
832 # first parse the initial "["
833 for (;;) {
834 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
835 or die "read error: $!";
836 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
837
838 # Exit the loop once we found and removed(!) the initial "[".
839 # In essence, we are (ab-)using the $json object as a simple scalar
840 # we append data to.
841 last if $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* \[ //x;
842 }
843
844 # now we have the skipped the initial "[", so continue
845 # parsing all the elements.
846 for (;;) {
847 # in this loop we read data until we got a single JSON object
848 for (;;) {
849 if (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
850 # do something with $obj
851 last;
852 }
853
854 # add more data
855 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
856 or die "read error: $!";
857 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
858 }
859
860 # in this loop we read data until we either found and parsed the
861 # separating "," between elements, or the final "]"
862 for (;;) {
863 # first skip whitespace
864 $json->incr_text =~ s/^\s*//;
865
866 # if we find "]", we are done
867 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^\]//) {
868 print "finished.\n";
869 exit;
870 }
871
872 # if we find ",", we can continue with the next element
873 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^,//) {
874 last;
875 }
876
877 # if we find anything else, we have a parse error!
878 if (length $json->incr_text) {
879 die "parse error near ", $json->incr_text;
880 }
881
882 # else add more data
883 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
884 or die "read error: $!";
885 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
886 }
887
888This is a complex example, but most of the complexity comes from the fact
889that we are trying to be correct (bear with me if I am wrong, I never ran
890the above example :).
891
351 892
352 893
353=head1 MAPPING 894=head1 MAPPING
354 895
355This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and 896This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and
356vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most 897vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most
357circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics 898circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics
358(what you put in comes out as something equivalent). 899(what you put in comes out as something equivalent).
359 900
360For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions, 901For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions,
361lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppcercase I<Perl> 902lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppercase I<Perl>
362refers to the abstract Perl language itself. 903refers to the abstract Perl language itself.
363 904
905
364=head2 JSON -> PERL 906=head2 JSON -> PERL
365 907
366=over 4 908=over 4
367 909
368=item object 910=item object
369 911
370A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object 912A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object
371keys is preserved (JSON does not preserver object key ordering itself). 913keys is preserved (JSON does not preserve object key ordering itself).
372 914
373=item array 915=item array
374 916
375A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl. 917A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl.
376 918
380are represented by the same codepoints in the Perl string, so no manual 922are represented by the same codepoints in the Perl string, so no manual
381decoding is necessary. 923decoding is necessary.
382 924
383=item number 925=item number
384 926
385A JSON number becomes either an integer or numeric (floating point) 927A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or
386scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On the 928string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On
387Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all the 929the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all
388conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and might 930the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and
389represent more values exactly than (floating point) numbers. 931might represent more values exactly than floating point numbers.
932
933If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent
934it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as
935a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of
936precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value (in
937which case you lose roundtripping ability, as the JSON number will be
938re-encoded toa JSON string).
939
940Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be
941represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of
942precision (in which case you might lose perfect roundtripping ability, but
943the JSON number will still be re-encoded as a JSON number).
390 944
391=item true, false 945=item true, false
392 946
393These JSON atoms become C<0>, C<1>, respectively. Information is lost in 947These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>,
394this process. Future versions might represent those values differently, 948respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers
395but they will be guarenteed to act like these integers would normally in 949C<1> and C<0>. You can check whether a scalar is a JSON boolean by using
396Perl. 950the C<JSON::XS::is_bool> function.
397 951
398=item null 952=item null
399 953
400A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl. 954A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl.
401 955
402=back 956=back
957
403 958
404=head2 PERL -> JSON 959=head2 PERL -> JSON
405 960
406The mapping from Perl to JSON is slightly more difficult, as Perl is a 961The mapping from Perl to JSON is slightly more difficult, as Perl is a
407truly typeless language, so we can only guess which JSON type is meant by 962truly typeless language, so we can only guess which JSON type is meant by
430Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an 985Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an
431exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and 986exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and
432C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can 987C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can
433also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability. 988also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability.
434 989
435 to_json [\0,JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true] 990 encode_json [\0,JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true]
991
992=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false
993
994These special values become JSON true and JSON false values,
995respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want.
436 996
437=item blessed objects 997=item blessed objects
438 998
439Blessed objects are not allowed. JSON::XS currently tries to encode their 999Blessed objects are not directly representable in JSON. See the
440underlying representation (hash- or arrayref), but this behaviour might 1000C<allow_blessed> and C<convert_blessed> methods on various options on
441change in future versions. 1001how to deal with this: basically, you can choose between throwing an
1002exception, encoding the reference as if it weren't blessed, or provide
1003your own serialiser method.
442 1004
443=item simple scalars 1005=item simple scalars
444 1006
445Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most 1007Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most
446difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as 1008difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as
447JSON null value, scalars that have last been used in a string context 1009JSON C<null> values, scalars that have last been used in a string context
448before encoding as JSON strings and anything else as number value: 1010before encoding as JSON strings, and anything else as number value:
449 1011
450 # dump as number 1012 # dump as number
451 to_json [2] # yields [2] 1013 encode_json [2] # yields [2]
452 to_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17] 1014 encode_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17]
453 my $value = 5; to_json [$value] # yields [5] 1015 my $value = 5; encode_json [$value] # yields [5]
454 1016
455 # used as string, so dump as string 1017 # used as string, so dump as string
456 print $value; 1018 print $value;
457 to_json [$value] # yields ["5"] 1019 encode_json [$value] # yields ["5"]
458 1020
459 # undef becomes null 1021 # undef becomes null
460 to_json [undef] # yields [null] 1022 encode_json [undef] # yields [null]
461 1023
462You can force the type to be a string by stringifying it: 1024You can force the type to be a JSON string by stringifying it:
463 1025
464 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number 1026 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number
465 "$x"; # stringified 1027 "$x"; # stringified
466 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify 1028 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify
467 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often 1029 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often
468 1030
469You can force the type to be a number by numifying it: 1031You can force the type to be a JSON number by numifying it:
470 1032
471 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string 1033 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string
472 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number 1034 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number
473 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choise is yours. 1035 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours.
474 1036
475You can not currently output JSON booleans or force the type in other, 1037You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me
476less obscure, ways. Tell me if you need this capability. 1038if you need this capability (but don't forget to explain why it's needed
1039:).
477 1040
478=back 1041=back
479 1042
480 1043
481=head1 COMPARISON 1044=head1 ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES
482 1045
483As already mentioned, this module was created because none of the existing 1046The interested reader might have seen a number of flags that signify
484JSON modules could be made to work correctly. First I will describe the 1047encodings or codesets - C<utf8>, C<latin1> and C<ascii>. There seems to be
485problems (or pleasures) I encountered with various existing JSON modules, 1048some confusion on what these do, so here is a short comparison:
486followed by some benchmark values. JSON::XS was designed not to suffer 1049
487from any of these problems or limitations. 1050C<utf8> controls whether the JSON text created by C<encode> (and expected
1051by C<decode>) is UTF-8 encoded or not, while C<latin1> and C<ascii> only
1052control whether C<encode> escapes character values outside their respective
1053codeset range. Neither of these flags conflict with each other, although
1054some combinations make less sense than others.
1055
1056Care has been taken to make all flags symmetrical with respect to
1057C<encode> and C<decode>, that is, texts encoded with any combination of
1058these flag values will be correctly decoded when the same flags are used
1059- in general, if you use different flag settings while encoding vs. when
1060decoding you likely have a bug somewhere.
1061
1062Below comes a verbose discussion of these flags. Note that a "codeset" is
1063simply an abstract set of character-codepoint pairs, while an encoding
1064takes those codepoint numbers and I<encodes> them, in our case into
1065octets. Unicode is (among other things) a codeset, UTF-8 is an encoding,
1066and ISO-8859-1 (= latin 1) and ASCII are both codesets I<and> encodings at
1067the same time, which can be confusing.
488 1068
489=over 4 1069=over 4
490 1070
491=item JSON 1.07 1071=item C<utf8> flag disabled
492 1072
493Slow (but very portable, as it is written in pure Perl). 1073When C<utf8> is disabled (the default), then C<encode>/C<decode> generate
1074and expect Unicode strings, that is, characters with high ordinal Unicode
1075values (> 255) will be encoded as such characters, and likewise such
1076characters are decoded as-is, no canges to them will be done, except
1077"(re-)interpreting" them as Unicode codepoints or Unicode characters,
1078respectively (to Perl, these are the same thing in strings unless you do
1079funny/weird/dumb stuff).
494 1080
495Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling (how JSON handles unicode values is 1081This is useful when you want to do the encoding yourself (e.g. when you
496undocumented. One can get far by feeding it unicode strings and doing 1082want to have UTF-16 encoded JSON texts) or when some other layer does
497en-/decoding oneself, but unicode escapes are not working properly). 1083the encoding for you (for example, when printing to a terminal using a
1084filehandle that transparently encodes to UTF-8 you certainly do NOT want
1085to UTF-8 encode your data first and have Perl encode it another time).
498 1086
499No roundtripping (strings get clobbered if they look like numbers, e.g. 1087=item C<utf8> flag enabled
500the string C<2.0> will encode to C<2.0> instead of C<"2.0">, and that will
501decode into the number 2.
502 1088
503=item JSON::PC 0.01 1089If the C<utf8>-flag is enabled, C<encode>/C<decode> will encode all
1090characters using the corresponding UTF-8 multi-byte sequence, and will
1091expect your input strings to be encoded as UTF-8, that is, no "character"
1092of the input string must have any value > 255, as UTF-8 does not allow
1093that.
504 1094
505Very fast. 1095The C<utf8> flag therefore switches between two modes: disabled means you
1096will get a Unicode string in Perl, enabled means you get an UTF-8 encoded
1097octet/binary string in Perl.
506 1098
507Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling. 1099=item C<latin1> or C<ascii> flags enabled
508 1100
509No roundtripping. 1101With C<latin1> (or C<ascii>) enabled, C<encode> will escape characters
1102with ordinal values > 255 (> 127 with C<ascii>) and encode the remaining
1103characters as specified by the C<utf8> flag.
510 1104
511Has problems handling many Perl values (e.g. regex results and other magic 1105If C<utf8> is disabled, then the result is also correctly encoded in those
512values will make it croak). 1106character sets (as both are proper subsets of Unicode, meaning that a
1107Unicode string with all character values < 256 is the same thing as a
1108ISO-8859-1 string, and a Unicode string with all character values < 128 is
1109the same thing as an ASCII string in Perl).
513 1110
514Does not even generate valid JSON (C<{1,2}> gets converted to C<{1:2}> 1111If C<utf8> is enabled, you still get a correct UTF-8-encoded string,
515which is not a valid JSON text. 1112regardless of these flags, just some more characters will be escaped using
1113C<\uXXXX> then before.
516 1114
517Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not 1115Note that ISO-8859-1-I<encoded> strings are not compatible with UTF-8
518getting fixed). 1116encoding, while ASCII-encoded strings are. That is because the ISO-8859-1
1117encoding is NOT a subset of UTF-8 (despite the ISO-8859-1 I<codeset> being
1118a subset of Unicode), while ASCII is.
519 1119
520=item JSON::Syck 0.21 1120Surprisingly, C<decode> will ignore these flags and so treat all input
1121values as governed by the C<utf8> flag. If it is disabled, this allows you
1122to decode ISO-8859-1- and ASCII-encoded strings, as both strict subsets of
1123Unicode. If it is enabled, you can correctly decode UTF-8 encoded strings.
521 1124
522Very buggy (often crashes). 1125So neither C<latin1> nor C<ascii> are incompatible with the C<utf8> flag -
1126they only govern when the JSON output engine escapes a character or not.
523 1127
524Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty much 1128The main use for C<latin1> is to relatively efficiently store binary data
525undocumented. I need at least a format for easy reading by humans and a 1129as JSON, at the expense of breaking compatibility with most JSON decoders.
526single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and preferably a way to
527generate ASCII-only JSON texts).
528 1130
529Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling (unicode 1131The main use for C<ascii> is to force the output to not contain characters
530escapes are not working properly, you need to set ImplicitUnicode to 1132with values > 127, which means you can interpret the resulting string
531I<different> values on en- and decoding to get symmetric behaviour). 1133as UTF-8, ISO-8859-1, ASCII, KOI8-R or most about any character set and
532 11348-bit-encoding, and still get the same data structure back. This is useful
533No roundtripping (simple cases work, but this depends on wether the scalar 1135when your channel for JSON transfer is not 8-bit clean or the encoding
534value was used in a numeric context or not). 1136might be mangled in between (e.g. in mail), and works because ASCII is a
535 1137proper subset of most 8-bit and multibyte encodings in use in the world.
536Dumping hashes may skip hash values depending on iterator state.
537
538Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not
539getting fixed).
540
541Does not check input for validity (i.e. will accept non-JSON input and
542return "something" instead of raising an exception. This is a security
543issue: imagine two banks transfering money between each other using
544JSON. One bank might parse a given non-JSON request and deduct money,
545while the other might reject the transaction with a syntax error. While a
546good protocol will at least recover, that is extra unnecessary work and
547the transaction will still not succeed).
548
549=item JSON::DWIW 0.04
550
551Very fast. Very natural. Very nice.
552
553Undocumented unicode handling (but the best of the pack. Unicode escapes
554still don't get parsed properly).
555
556Very inflexible.
557
558No roundtripping.
559
560Does not generate valid JSON texts (key strings are often unquoted, empty keys
561result in nothing being output)
562
563Does not check input for validity.
564 1138
565=back 1139=back
1140
1141
1142=head2 JSON and YAML
1143
1144You often hear that JSON is a subset of YAML. This is, however, a mass
1145hysteria(*) and very far from the truth (as of the time of this writing),
1146so let me state it clearly: I<in general, there is no way to configure
1147JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML> that works in all
1148cases.
1149
1150If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this
1151algorithm (subject to change in future versions):
1152
1153 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1);
1154 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n";
1155
1156This will I<usually> generate JSON texts that also parse as valid
1157YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key
1158lengths that JSON doesn't have and also has different and incompatible
1159unicode handling, so you should make sure that your hash keys are
1160noticeably shorter than the 1024 "stream characters" YAML allows and that
1161you do not have characters with codepoint values outside the Unicode BMP
1162(basic multilingual page). YAML also does not allow C<\/> sequences in
1163strings (which JSON::XS does not I<currently> generate, but other JSON
1164generators might).
1165
1166There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of (or the YAML
1167specification has been changed yet again - it does so quite often). In
1168general you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice
1169versa, or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are
1170high that you will run into severe interoperability problems when you
1171least expect it.
1172
1173=over 4
1174
1175=item (*)
1176
1177I have been pressured multiple times by Brian Ingerson (one of the
1178authors of the YAML specification) to remove this paragraph, despite him
1179acknowledging that the actual incompatibilities exist. As I was personally
1180bitten by this "JSON is YAML" lie, I refused and said I will continue to
1181educate people about these issues, so others do not run into the same
1182problem again and again. After this, Brian called me a (quote)I<complete
1183and worthless idiot>(unquote).
1184
1185In my opinion, instead of pressuring and insulting people who actually
1186clarify issues with YAML and the wrong statements of some of its
1187proponents, I would kindly suggest reading the JSON spec (which is not
1188that difficult or long) and finally make YAML compatible to it, and
1189educating users about the changes, instead of spreading lies about the
1190real compatibility for many I<years> and trying to silence people who
1191point out that it isn't true.
1192
1193=back
1194
566 1195
567=head2 SPEED 1196=head2 SPEED
568 1197
569It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following 1198It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following
570tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program 1199tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program
571in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own 1200in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own
572system. 1201system.
573 1202
574First comes a comparison between various modules using a very short JSON 1203First comes a comparison between various modules using
575string: 1204a very short single-line JSON string (also available at
1205L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/short.json>).
576 1206
577 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], "id": null} 1207 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], \
1208 "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7, true, false]}
578 1209
579It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses the 1210It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses
580functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface with 1211the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface
581pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled). Higher is better: 1212with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables
1213shrink). Higher is better:
582 1214
583 module | encode | decode | 1215 module | encode | decode |
584 -----------|------------|------------| 1216 -----------|------------|------------|
585 JSON | 11488.516 | 7823.035 | 1217 JSON 1.x | 4990.842 | 4088.813 |
586 JSON::DWIW | 94708.054 | 129094.260 | 1218 JSON::DWIW | 51653.990 | 71575.154 |
587 JSON::PC | 63884.157 | 128528.212 | 1219 JSON::PC | 65948.176 | 74631.744 |
588 JSON::Syck | 34898.677 | 42096.911 | 1220 JSON::PP | 8931.652 | 3817.168 |
589 JSON::XS | 654027.064 | 396423.669 | 1221 JSON::Syck | 24877.248 | 27776.848 |
590 JSON::XS/2 | 371564.190 | 371725.613 | 1222 JSON::XS | 388361.481 | 227951.304 |
1223 JSON::XS/2 | 227951.304 | 218453.333 |
1224 JSON::XS/3 | 338250.323 | 218453.333 |
1225 Storable | 16500.016 | 135300.129 |
591 -----------+------------+------------+ 1226 -----------+------------+------------+
592 1227
593That is, JSON::XS is more than six times faster than JSON::DWIW on 1228That is, JSON::XS is about five times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding,
594encoding, more than three times faster on decoding, and about thirty times 1229about three times faster on decoding, and over forty times faster
595faster than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. 1230than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares
1231favourably to Storable for small amounts of data.
596 1232
597Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals 1233Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals
598search API (http://nanoref.com/yahooapis/mgPdGg): 1234search API (L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/long.json>).
599 1235
600 module | encode | decode | 1236 module | encode | decode |
601 -----------|------------|------------| 1237 -----------|------------|------------|
602 JSON | 273.023 | 44.674 | 1238 JSON 1.x | 55.260 | 34.971 |
603 JSON::DWIW | 1089.383 | 1145.704 | 1239 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 |
604 JSON::PC | 3097.419 | 2393.921 | 1240 JSON::PC | 3571.444 | 2394.829 |
605 JSON::Syck | 514.060 | 843.053 | 1241 JSON::PP | 210.987 | 32.574 |
606 JSON::XS | 6479.668 | 3636.364 | 1242 JSON::Syck | 552.551 | 787.544 |
607 JSON::XS/2 | 3774.221 | 3599.124 | 1243 JSON::XS | 5780.463 | 4854.519 |
1244 JSON::XS/2 | 3869.998 | 4798.975 |
1245 JSON::XS/3 | 5862.880 | 4798.975 |
1246 Storable | 4445.002 | 5235.027 |
608 -----------+------------+------------+ 1247 -----------+------------+------------+
609 1248
610Again, JSON::XS leads by far. 1249Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly
1250decodes faster).
611 1251
612On large strings containing lots of high unicode characters, some modules 1252On large strings containing lots of high Unicode characters, some modules
613(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result 1253(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result
614will be broken due to missing (or wrong) unicode handling. Others refuse 1254will be broken due to missing (or wrong) Unicode handling. Others refuse
615to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair 1255to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair
616comparison table for that case. 1256comparison table for that case.
617 1257
618 1258
619=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS 1259=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
625any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am 1265any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am
626trying hard on making that true, but you never know. 1266trying hard on making that true, but you never know.
627 1267
628Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you should 1268Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you should
629limit the size of JSON texts you accept, or make sure then when your 1269limit the size of JSON texts you accept, or make sure then when your
630resources run out, thats just fine (e.g. by using a separate process that 1270resources run out, that's just fine (e.g. by using a separate process that
631can crash safely). The size of a JSON text in octets or characters is 1271can crash safely). The size of a JSON text in octets or characters is
632usually a good indication of the size of the resources required to decode 1272usually a good indication of the size of the resources required to decode
633it into a Perl structure. 1273it into a Perl structure. While JSON::XS can check the size of the JSON
1274text, it might be too late when you already have it in memory, so you
1275might want to check the size before you accept the string.
634 1276
635Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and 1277Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and
636arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64 1278arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64
637machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays 1279machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but
638but only 14k nested JSON objects. If that is exceeded, the program 1280only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak
639crashes. Thats why the default nesting limit is set to 4096. If your 1281to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. To be
1282conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process
640process has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly 1283has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the
641with the C<max_depth> method. 1284C<max_depth> method.
642 1285
643And last but least, something else could bomb you that I forgot to think 1286Something else could bomb you, too, that I forgot to think of. In that
644of. In that case, you get to keep the pieces. I am alway sopen for hints, 1287case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, though...
645though... 1288
1289Also keep in mind that JSON::XS might leak contents of your Perl data
1290structures in its error messages, so when you serialise sensitive
1291information you might want to make sure that exceptions thrown by JSON::XS
1292will not end up in front of untrusted eyes.
1293
1294If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption
1295by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at
1296L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see whether
1297you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser
1298design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it, as major
1299browser developers care only for features, not about getting security
1300right).
1301
1302
1303=head1 THREADS
1304
1305This module is I<not> guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no
1306plans to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the
1307horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated
1308process simulations - use fork, it's I<much> faster, cheaper, better).
1309
1310(It might actually work, but you have been warned).
646 1311
647 1312
648=head1 BUGS 1313=head1 BUGS
649 1314
650While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does 1315While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does
651not mean its bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is 1316not mean it's bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is
652still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they 1317still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they
653will be fixed swiftly, though. 1318will be fixed swiftly, though.
654 1319
1320Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting
1321service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason.
1322
655=cut 1323=cut
656 1324
1325our $true = do { bless \(my $dummy = 1), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
1326our $false = do { bless \(my $dummy = 0), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
1327
657sub true() { \1 } 1328sub true() { $true }
658sub false() { \0 } 1329sub false() { $false }
1330
1331sub is_bool($) {
1332 UNIVERSAL::isa $_[0], "JSON::XS::Boolean"
1333# or UNIVERSAL::isa $_[0], "JSON::Literal"
1334}
1335
1336XSLoader::load "JSON::XS", $VERSION;
1337
1338package JSON::XS::Boolean;
1339
1340use overload
1341 "0+" => sub { ${$_[0]} },
1342 "++" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} + 1 },
1343 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 },
1344 fallback => 1;
659 1345
6601; 13461;
1347
1348=head1 SEE ALSO
1349
1350The F<json_xs> command line utility for quick experiments.
661 1351
662=head1 AUTHOR 1352=head1 AUTHOR
663 1353
664 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 1354 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
665 http://home.schmorp.de/ 1355 http://home.schmorp.de/

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