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Revision 1.49 by root, Sun Jul 1 14:08:03 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.164 by root, Thu Aug 17 03:47:54 2017 UTC

1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast 3JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast
4
5=encoding utf-8
6
7JSON::XS - 正しくて高速な JSON シリアライザ/デシリアライザ
8 (http://fleur.hio.jp/perldoc/mix/lib/JSON/XS.html)
4 9
5=head1 SYNOPSIS 10=head1 SYNOPSIS
6 11
7 use JSON::XS; 12 use JSON::XS;
8 13
9 # exported functions, they croak on error 14 # exported functions, they croak on error
10 # and expect/generate UTF-8 15 # and expect/generate UTF-8
11 16
12 $utf8_encoded_json_text = to_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref; 17 $utf8_encoded_json_text = encode_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref;
13 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = from_json $utf8_encoded_json_text; 18 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = decode_json $utf8_encoded_json_text;
14 19
15 # OO-interface 20 # OO-interface
16 21
17 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref; 22 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref;
18 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar); 23 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar);
19 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text); 24 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text);
20 25
26 # Note that JSON version 2.0 and above will automatically use JSON::XS
27 # if available, at virtually no speed overhead either, so you should
28 # be able to just:
29
30 use JSON;
31
32 # and do the same things, except that you have a pure-perl fallback now.
33
21=head1 DESCRIPTION 34=head1 DESCRIPTION
22 35
23This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its 36This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its
24primary goal is to be I<correct> and its secondary goal is to be 37primary goal is to be I<correct> and its secondary goal is to be
25I<fast>. To reach the latter goal it was written in C. 38I<fast>. To reach the latter goal it was written in C.
39
40Beginning with version 2.0 of the JSON module, when both JSON and
41JSON::XS are installed, then JSON will fall back on JSON::XS (this can be
42overridden) with no overhead due to emulation (by inheriting constructor
43and methods). If JSON::XS is not available, it will fall back to the
44compatible JSON::PP module as backend, so using JSON instead of JSON::XS
45gives you a portable JSON API that can be fast when you need it and
46doesn't require a C compiler when that is a problem.
26 47
27As this is the n-th-something JSON module on CPAN, what was the reason 48As this is the n-th-something JSON module on CPAN, what was the reason
28to write yet another JSON module? While it seems there are many JSON 49to write yet another JSON module? While it seems there are many JSON
29modules, none of them correctly handle all corner cases, and in most cases 50modules, none of them correctly handle all corner cases, and in most cases
30their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug 51their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug
31reports for other reasons. 52reports for other reasons.
32 53
33See COMPARISON, below, for a comparison to some other JSON modules.
34
35See MAPPING, below, on how JSON::XS maps perl values to JSON values and 54See MAPPING, below, on how JSON::XS maps perl values to JSON values and
36vice versa. 55vice versa.
37 56
38=head2 FEATURES 57=head2 FEATURES
39 58
40=over 4 59=over 4
41 60
42=item * correct unicode handling 61=item * correct Unicode handling
43 62
44This module knows how to handle Unicode, and even documents how and when 63This module knows how to handle Unicode, documents how and when it does
45it does so. 64so, and even documents what "correct" means.
46 65
47=item * round-trip integrity 66=item * round-trip integrity
48 67
49When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported 68When you serialise a perl data structure using only data types supported
50by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level. 69by JSON and Perl, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl
51(e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because it looks 70level. (e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because
52like a number). 71it looks like a number). There I<are> minor exceptions to this, read the
72MAPPING section below to learn about those.
53 73
54=item * strict checking of JSON correctness 74=item * strict checking of JSON correctness
55 75
56There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default, 76There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default,
57and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security 77and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security
58feature). 78feature).
59 79
60=item * fast 80=item * fast
61 81
62Compared to other JSON modules, this module compares favourably in terms 82Compared to other JSON modules and other serialisers such as Storable,
63of speed, too. 83this module usually compares favourably in terms of speed, too.
64 84
65=item * simple to use 85=item * simple to use
66 86
67This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an OO 87This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an object
68interface. 88oriented interface.
69 89
70=item * reasonably versatile output formats 90=item * reasonably versatile output formats
71 91
72You can choose between the most compact guarenteed single-line format 92You can choose between the most compact guaranteed-single-line format
73possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format 93possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ASCII format
74(for when your transport is not 8-bit clean, still supports the whole 94(for when your transport is not 8-bit clean, still supports the whole
75unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that 95Unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that
76stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like. 96stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like.
77 97
78=back 98=back
79 99
80=cut 100=cut
81 101
82package JSON::XS; 102package JSON::XS;
83 103
84use strict; 104use common::sense;
85 105
86our $VERSION = '1.4'; 106our $VERSION = 3.04;
87our @ISA = qw(Exporter); 107our @ISA = qw(Exporter);
88 108
89our @EXPORT = qw(to_json from_json); 109our @EXPORT = qw(encode_json decode_json);
90 110
91use Exporter; 111use Exporter;
92use XSLoader; 112use XSLoader;
93 113
114use Types::Serialiser ();
115
94=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE 116=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE
95 117
96The following convinience methods are provided by this module. They are 118The following convenience methods are provided by this module. They are
97exported by default: 119exported by default:
98 120
99=over 4 121=over 4
100 122
101=item $json_text = to_json $perl_scalar 123=item $json_text = encode_json $perl_scalar
102 124
103Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference to 125Converts the given Perl data structure to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string
104a hash or array) to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string (that is, the string contains 126(that is, the string contains octets only). Croaks on error.
105octets only). Croaks on error.
106 127
107This function call is functionally identical to: 128This function call is functionally identical to:
108 129
109 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar) 130 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar)
110 131
111except being faster. 132Except being faster.
112 133
113=item $perl_scalar = from_json $json_text 134=item $perl_scalar = decode_json $json_text
114 135
115The opposite of C<to_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries to 136The opposite of C<encode_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries
116parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting simple 137to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting
117scalar or reference. Croaks on error. 138reference. Croaks on error.
118 139
119This function call is functionally identical to: 140This function call is functionally identical to:
120 141
121 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text) 142 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text)
122 143
123except being faster. 144Except being faster.
124
125=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar
126
127Returns true if the passed scalar represents either JSON::XS::true or
128JSON::XS::false, two constants that act like C<1> and C<0>, respectively
129and are used to represent JSON C<true> and C<false> values in Perl.
130
131See MAPPING, below, for more information on how JSON values are mapped to
132Perl.
133 145
134=back 146=back
147
148
149=head1 A FEW NOTES ON UNICODE AND PERL
150
151Since this often leads to confusion, here are a few very clear words on
152how Unicode works in Perl, modulo bugs.
153
154=over 4
155
156=item 1. Perl strings can store characters with ordinal values > 255.
157
158This enables you to store Unicode characters as single characters in a
159Perl string - very natural.
160
161=item 2. Perl does I<not> associate an encoding with your strings.
162
163... until you force it to, e.g. when matching it against a regex, or
164printing the scalar to a file, in which case Perl either interprets your
165string as locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode, depending
166on various settings. In no case is an encoding stored together with your
167data, it is I<use> that decides encoding, not any magical meta data.
168
169=item 3. The internal utf-8 flag has no meaning with regards to the
170encoding of your string.
171
172Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written in
173XS or want to dive into the internals of perl. Otherwise it will only
174confuse you, as, despite the name, it says nothing about how your string
175is encoded. You can have Unicode strings with that flag set, with that
176flag clear, and you can have binary data with that flag set and that flag
177clear. Other possibilities exist, too.
178
179If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it doesn't
180exist.
181
182=item 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be
183validly interpreted as a Unicode code point.
184
185If you have UTF-8 encoded data, it is no longer a Unicode string, but a
186Unicode string encoded in UTF-8, giving you a binary string.
187
188=item 5. A string containing "high" (> 255) character values is I<not> a UTF-8 string.
189
190It's a fact. Learn to live with it.
191
192=back
193
194I hope this helps :)
135 195
136 196
137=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE 197=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE
138 198
139The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or 199The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or
152 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]}) 212 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]})
153 => {"a": [1, 2]} 213 => {"a": [1, 2]}
154 214
155=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable]) 215=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable])
156 216
217=item $enabled = $json->get_ascii
218
157If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not 219If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
158generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any 220generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any
159unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a 221Unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a
160single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence, 222single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence,
161as per RFC4627. The resulting encoded JSON text can be treated as a native 223as per RFC4627. The resulting encoded JSON text can be treated as a native
162unicode string, an ascii-encoded, latin1-encoded or UTF-8 encoded string, 224Unicode string, an ascii-encoded, latin1-encoded or UTF-8 encoded string,
163or any other superset of ASCII. 225or any other superset of ASCII.
164 226
165If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 227If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
166characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results 228characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results
167in a faster and more compact format. 229in a faster and more compact format.
168 230
231See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
232document.
233
169The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be 234The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be
170transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not 235transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not
171contain any 8 bit characters. 236contain any 8 bit characters.
172 237
173 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401]) 238 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401])
174 => ["\ud801\udc01"] 239 => ["\ud801\udc01"]
175 240
176=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable]) 241=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable])
177 242
243=item $enabled = $json->get_latin1
244
178If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode 245If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
179the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters 246the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters
180outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a 247outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a
181latin1-encoded JSON text or a native unicode string. The C<decode> method 248latin1-encoded JSON text or a native Unicode string. The C<decode> method
182will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default 249will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default
183expects unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1. 250expects Unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1.
184 251
185If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 252If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
186characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. 253characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags.
254
255See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
256document.
187 257
188The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON 258The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON
189text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded 259text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded
190size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded 260size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded
191in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and 261in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and
192transfering), a rare encoding for JSON. It is therefore most useful when 262transferring), a rare encoding for JSON. It is therefore most useful when
193you want to store data structures known to contain binary data efficiently 263you want to store data structures known to contain binary data efficiently
194in files or databases, not when talking to other JSON encoders/decoders. 264in files or databases, not when talking to other JSON encoders/decoders.
195 265
196 JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"] 266 JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"]
197 => ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not) 267 => ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not)
198 268
199=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable]) 269=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable])
270
271=item $enabled = $json->get_utf8
200 272
201If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode 273If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
202the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the 274the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the
203C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please 275C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please
204note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the 276note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the
205range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future 277range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future
206versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16 278versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16
207and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627. 279and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627.
208 280
209If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON 281If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON
210string as a (non-encoded) unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a 282string as a (non-encoded) Unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a
211unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs 283Unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs
212to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module. 284to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module.
285
286See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
287document.
213 288
214Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON: 289Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON:
215 290
216 use Encode; 291 use Encode;
217 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object); 292 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object);
238 ] 313 ]
239 } 314 }
240 315
241=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable]) 316=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable])
242 317
318=item $enabled = $json->get_indent
319
243If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline 320If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline
244format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair 321format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair
245into its own line, identing them properly. 322into its own line, indenting them properly.
246 323
247If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the 324If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the
248resulting JSON text is guarenteed not to contain any C<newlines>. 325resulting JSON text is guaranteed not to contain any C<newlines>.
249 326
250This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 327This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
251 328
252=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable]) 329=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable])
330
331=item $enabled = $json->get_space_before
253 332
254If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 333If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
255optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects. 334optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects.
256 335
257If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra 336If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra
263Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled: 342Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled:
264 343
265 {"key" :"value"} 344 {"key" :"value"}
266 345
267=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable]) 346=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable])
347
348=item $enabled = $json->get_space_after
268 349
269If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 350If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
270optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects 351optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects
271and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array 352and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array
272members. 353members.
278 359
279Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled: 360Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled:
280 361
281 {"key": "value"} 362 {"key": "value"}
282 363
364=item $json = $json->relaxed ([$enable])
365
366=item $enabled = $json->get_relaxed
367
368If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<decode> will accept some
369extensions to normal JSON syntax (see below). C<encode> will not be
370affected in anyway. I<Be aware that this option makes you accept invalid
371JSON texts as if they were valid!>. I suggest only to use this option to
372parse application-specific files written by humans (configuration files,
373resource files etc.)
374
375If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<decode> will only accept
376valid JSON texts.
377
378Currently accepted extensions are:
379
380=over 4
381
382=item * list items can have an end-comma
383
384JSON I<separates> array elements and key-value pairs with commas. This
385can be annoying if you write JSON texts manually and want to be able to
386quickly append elements, so this extension accepts comma at the end of
387such items not just between them:
388
389 [
390 1,
391 2, <- this comma not normally allowed
392 ]
393 {
394 "k1": "v1",
395 "k2": "v2", <- this comma not normally allowed
396 }
397
398=item * shell-style '#'-comments
399
400Whenever JSON allows whitespace, shell-style comments are additionally
401allowed. They are terminated by the first carriage-return or line-feed
402character, after which more white-space and comments are allowed.
403
404 [
405 1, # this comment not allowed in JSON
406 # neither this one...
407 ]
408
409=item * literal ASCII TAB characters in strings
410
411Literal ASCII TAB characters are now allowed in strings (and treated as
412C<\t>).
413
414 [
415 "Hello\tWorld",
416 "Hello<TAB>World", # literal <TAB> would not normally be allowed
417 ]
418
419=back
420
283=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable]) 421=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable])
422
423=item $enabled = $json->get_canonical
284 424
285If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects 425If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects
286by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead. 426by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead.
287 427
288If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value 428If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value
289pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs 429pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs
290of the same script). 430of the same script, and can change even within the same run from 5.18
431onwards).
291 432
292This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as 433This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as
293the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled, 434the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled,
294the same hash migh be encoded differently even if contains the same data, 435the same hash might be encoded differently even if contains the same data,
295as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl. 436as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl.
296 437
297This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 438This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
298 439
440This setting has currently no effect on tied hashes.
441
299=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable]) 442=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable])
443
444=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_nonref
300 445
301If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a 446If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a
302non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value, 447non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value,
303which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON 448which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON
304values instead of croaking. 449values instead of croaking.
312resulting in an invalid JSON text: 457resulting in an invalid JSON text:
313 458
314 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!") 459 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!")
315 => "Hello, World!" 460 => "Hello, World!"
316 461
462=item $json = $json->allow_unknown ([$enable])
463
464=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_unknown
465
466If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode> will I<not> throw an
467exception when it encounters values it cannot represent in JSON (for
468example, filehandles) but instead will encode a JSON C<null> value. Note
469that blessed objects are not included here and are handled separately by
470c<allow_nonref>.
471
472If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
473exception when it encounters anything it cannot encode as JSON.
474
475This option does not affect C<decode> in any way, and it is recommended to
476leave it off unless you know your communications partner.
477
317=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable]) 478=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable])
318 479
480=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_blessed
481
482See L<OBJECT SERIALISATION> for details.
483
319If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not 484If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
320barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the 485barf when it encounters a blessed reference that it cannot convert
321B<convert_blessed> option will decide wether C<null> (C<convert_blessed> 486otherwise. Instead, a JSON C<null> value is encoded instead of the object.
322disabled or no C<to_json> method found) or a representation of the
323object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<to_json> method found) is being
324encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>.
325 487
326If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an 488If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
327exception when it encounters a blessed object. 489exception when it encounters a blessed object that it cannot convert
490otherwise.
491
492This setting has no effect on C<decode>.
328 493
329=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable]) 494=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable])
495
496=item $enabled = $json->get_convert_blessed
497
498See L<OBJECT SERIALISATION> for details.
330 499
331If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a 500If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a
332blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<TO_JSON> method 501blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<TO_JSON> method
333on the object's class. If found, it will be called in scalar context 502on the object's class. If found, it will be called in scalar context and
334and the resulting scalar will be encoded instead of the object. If no 503the resulting scalar will be encoded instead of the object.
335C<TO_JSON> method is found, the value of C<allow_blessed> will decide what
336to do.
337 504
338The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON> 505The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON>
339returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same 506returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same
340way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle 507way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle
341(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other 508(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other
342methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are 509methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are
343usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with the C<to_json> 510usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with any C<to_json>
344function. 511function or method.
345 512
346This setting does not yet influence C<decode> in any way, but in the 513If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will not consider
347future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are 514this type of conversion.
348enabled by this setting.
349 515
350If C<$enable> is false, then the C<allow_blessed> setting will decide what 516This setting has no effect on C<decode>.
351to do when a blessed object is found. 517
518=item $json = $json->allow_tags ([$enable])
519
520=item $enabled = $json->allow_tags
521
522See L<OBJECT SERIALISATION> for details.
523
524If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a
525blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<FREEZE> method on
526the object's class. If found, it will be used to serialise the object into
527a nonstandard tagged JSON value (that JSON decoders cannot decode).
528
529It also causes C<decode> to parse such tagged JSON values and deserialise
530them via a call to the C<THAW> method.
531
532If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will not consider
533this type of conversion, and tagged JSON values will cause a parse error
534in C<decode>, as if tags were not part of the grammar.
535
536=item $json = $json->filter_json_object ([$coderef->($hashref)])
537
538When C<$coderef> is specified, it will be called from C<decode> each
539time it decodes a JSON object. The only argument is a reference to the
540newly-created hash. If the code references returns a single scalar (which
541need not be a reference), this value (i.e. a copy of that scalar to avoid
542aliasing) is inserted into the deserialised data structure. If it returns
543an empty list (NOTE: I<not> C<undef>, which is a valid scalar), the
544original deserialised hash will be inserted. This setting can slow down
545decoding considerably.
546
547When C<$coderef> is omitted or undefined, any existing callback will
548be removed and C<decode> will not change the deserialised hash in any
549way.
550
551Example, convert all JSON objects into the integer 5:
552
553 my $js = JSON::XS->new->filter_json_object (sub { 5 });
554 # returns [5]
555 $js->decode ('[{}]')
556 # throw an exception because allow_nonref is not enabled
557 # so a lone 5 is not allowed.
558 $js->decode ('{"a":1, "b":2}');
559
560=item $json = $json->filter_json_single_key_object ($key [=> $coderef->($value)])
561
562Works remotely similar to C<filter_json_object>, but is only called for
563JSON objects having a single key named C<$key>.
564
565This C<$coderef> is called before the one specified via
566C<filter_json_object>, if any. It gets passed the single value in the JSON
567object. If it returns a single value, it will be inserted into the data
568structure. If it returns nothing (not even C<undef> but the empty list),
569the callback from C<filter_json_object> will be called next, as if no
570single-key callback were specified.
571
572If C<$coderef> is omitted or undefined, the corresponding callback will be
573disabled. There can only ever be one callback for a given key.
574
575As this callback gets called less often then the C<filter_json_object>
576one, decoding speed will not usually suffer as much. Therefore, single-key
577objects make excellent targets to serialise Perl objects into, especially
578as single-key JSON objects are as close to the type-tagged value concept
579as JSON gets (it's basically an ID/VALUE tuple). Of course, JSON does not
580support this in any way, so you need to make sure your data never looks
581like a serialised Perl hash.
582
583Typical names for the single object key are C<__class_whatever__>, or
584C<$__dollars_are_rarely_used__$> or C<}ugly_brace_placement>, or even
585things like C<__class_md5sum(classname)__>, to reduce the risk of clashing
586with real hashes.
587
588Example, decode JSON objects of the form C<< { "__widget__" => <id> } >>
589into the corresponding C<< $WIDGET{<id>} >> object:
590
591 # return whatever is in $WIDGET{5}:
592 JSON::XS
593 ->new
594 ->filter_json_single_key_object (__widget__ => sub {
595 $WIDGET{ $_[0] }
596 })
597 ->decode ('{"__widget__": 5')
598
599 # this can be used with a TO_JSON method in some "widget" class
600 # for serialisation to json:
601 sub WidgetBase::TO_JSON {
602 my ($self) = @_;
603
604 unless ($self->{id}) {
605 $self->{id} = ..get..some..id..;
606 $WIDGET{$self->{id}} = $self;
607 }
608
609 { __widget__ => $self->{id} }
610 }
352 611
353=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable]) 612=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable])
613
614=item $enabled = $json->get_shrink
354 615
355Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for 616Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for
356strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either 617strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either
357C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save 618C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save
358memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many 619memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many
376strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats 637strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats
377internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space. 638internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space.
378 639
379=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth]) 640=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])
380 641
642=item $max_depth = $json->get_max_depth
643
381Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding 644Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding
382or decoding. If the JSON text or Perl data structure has an equal or 645or decoding. If a higher nesting level is detected in JSON text or a Perl
383higher nesting level then this limit, then the encoder and decoder will 646data structure, then the encoder and decoder will stop and croak at that
384stop and croak at that point. 647point.
385 648
386Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder 649Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder
387needs to traverse to reach a given point or the number of C<{> or C<[> 650needs to traverse to reach a given point or the number of C<{> or C<[>
388characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a 651characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a
389given character in a string. 652given character in a string.
390 653
391Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures 654Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures
392that the object is only a single hash/object or array. 655that the object is only a single hash/object or array.
393 656
394The argument to C<max_depth> will be rounded up to the next highest power
395of two. If no argument is given, the highest possible setting will be 657If no argument is given, the highest possible setting will be used, which
396used, which is rarely useful. 658is rarely useful.
659
660Note that nesting is implemented by recursion in C. The default value has
661been chosen to be as large as typical operating systems allow without
662crashing.
397 663
398See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful. 664See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
399 665
400=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size]) 666=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size])
667
668=item $max_size = $json->get_max_size
401 669
402Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where decoding is 670Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where decoding is
403being attempted. The default is C<0>, meaning no limit. When C<decode> 671being attempted. The default is C<0>, meaning no limit. When C<decode>
404is called on a string longer then this number of characters it will not 672is called on a string that is longer then this many bytes, it will not
405attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no 673attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no
406effect on C<encode> (yet). 674effect on C<encode> (yet).
407 675
408The argument to C<max_size> will be rounded up to the next B<highest> 676If no argument is given, the limit check will be deactivated (same as when
409power of two (so may be more than requested). If no argument is given, the 677C<0> is specified).
410limit check will be deactivated (same as when C<0> is specified).
411 678
412See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful. 679See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
413 680
414=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar) 681=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar)
415 682
416Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference 683Converts the given Perl value or data structure to its JSON
417to a hash or array) to its JSON representation. Simple scalars will be 684representation. Croaks on error.
418converted into JSON string or number sequences, while references to arrays
419become JSON arrays and references to hashes become JSON objects. Undefined
420Perl values (e.g. C<undef>) become JSON C<null> values. Neither C<true>
421nor C<false> values will be generated.
422 685
423=item $perl_scalar = $json->decode ($json_text) 686=item $perl_scalar = $json->decode ($json_text)
424 687
425The opposite of C<encode>: expects a JSON text and tries to parse it, 688The opposite of C<encode>: expects a JSON text and tries to parse it,
426returning the resulting simple scalar or reference. Croaks on error. 689returning the resulting simple scalar or reference. Croaks on error.
427
428JSON numbers and strings become simple Perl scalars. JSON arrays become
429Perl arrayrefs and JSON objects become Perl hashrefs. C<true> becomes
430C<1>, C<false> becomes C<0> and C<null> becomes C<undef>.
431 690
432=item ($perl_scalar, $characters) = $json->decode_prefix ($json_text) 691=item ($perl_scalar, $characters) = $json->decode_prefix ($json_text)
433 692
434This works like the C<decode> method, but instead of raising an exception 693This works like the C<decode> method, but instead of raising an exception
435when there is trailing garbage after the first JSON object, it will 694when there is trailing garbage after the first JSON object, it will
436silently stop parsing there and return the number of characters consumed 695silently stop parsing there and return the number of characters consumed
437so far. 696so far.
438 697
439This is useful if your JSON texts are not delimited by an outer protocol 698This is useful if your JSON texts are not delimited by an outer protocol
440(which is not the brightest thing to do in the first place) and you need
441to know where the JSON text ends. 699and you need to know where the JSON text ends.
442 700
443 JSON::XS->new->decode_prefix ("[1] the tail") 701 JSON::XS->new->decode_prefix ("[1] the tail")
444 => ([], 3) 702 => ([1], 3)
445 703
446=back 704=back
705
706
707=head1 INCREMENTAL PARSING
708
709In some cases, there is the need for incremental parsing of JSON
710texts. While this module always has to keep both JSON text and resulting
711Perl data structure in memory at one time, it does allow you to parse a
712JSON stream incrementally. It does so by accumulating text until it has
713a full JSON object, which it then can decode. This process is similar to
714using C<decode_prefix> to see if a full JSON object is available, but
715is much more efficient (and can be implemented with a minimum of method
716calls).
717
718JSON::XS will only attempt to parse the JSON text once it is sure it
719has enough text to get a decisive result, using a very simple but
720truly incremental parser. This means that it sometimes won't stop as
721early as the full parser, for example, it doesn't detect mismatched
722parentheses. The only thing it guarantees is that it starts decoding as
723soon as a syntactically valid JSON text has been seen. This means you need
724to set resource limits (e.g. C<max_size>) to ensure the parser will stop
725parsing in the presence if syntax errors.
726
727The following methods implement this incremental parser.
728
729=over 4
730
731=item [void, scalar or list context] = $json->incr_parse ([$string])
732
733This is the central parsing function. It can both append new text and
734extract objects from the stream accumulated so far (both of these
735functions are optional).
736
737If C<$string> is given, then this string is appended to the already
738existing JSON fragment stored in the C<$json> object.
739
740After that, if the function is called in void context, it will simply
741return without doing anything further. This can be used to add more text
742in as many chunks as you want.
743
744If the method is called in scalar context, then it will try to extract
745exactly I<one> JSON object. If that is successful, it will return this
746object, otherwise it will return C<undef>. If there is a parse error,
747this method will croak just as C<decode> would do (one can then use
748C<incr_skip> to skip the erroneous part). This is the most common way of
749using the method.
750
751And finally, in list context, it will try to extract as many objects
752from the stream as it can find and return them, or the empty list
753otherwise. For this to work, there must be no separators (other than
754whitespace) between the JSON objects or arrays, instead they must be
755concatenated back-to-back. If an error occurs, an exception will be
756raised as in the scalar context case. Note that in this case, any
757previously-parsed JSON texts will be lost.
758
759Example: Parse some JSON arrays/objects in a given string and return
760them.
761
762 my @objs = JSON::XS->new->incr_parse ("[5][7][1,2]");
763
764=item $lvalue_string = $json->incr_text
765
766This method returns the currently stored JSON fragment as an lvalue, that
767is, you can manipulate it. This I<only> works when a preceding call to
768C<incr_parse> in I<scalar context> successfully returned an object. Under
769all other circumstances you must not call this function (I mean it.
770although in simple tests it might actually work, it I<will> fail under
771real world conditions). As a special exception, you can also call this
772method before having parsed anything.
773
774That means you can only use this function to look at or manipulate text
775before or after complete JSON objects, not while the parser is in the
776middle of parsing a JSON object.
777
778This function is useful in two cases: a) finding the trailing text after a
779JSON object or b) parsing multiple JSON objects separated by non-JSON text
780(such as commas).
781
782=item $json->incr_skip
783
784This will reset the state of the incremental parser and will remove
785the parsed text from the input buffer so far. This is useful after
786C<incr_parse> died, in which case the input buffer and incremental parser
787state is left unchanged, to skip the text parsed so far and to reset the
788parse state.
789
790The difference to C<incr_reset> is that only text until the parse error
791occurred is removed.
792
793=item $json->incr_reset
794
795This completely resets the incremental parser, that is, after this call,
796it will be as if the parser had never parsed anything.
797
798This is useful if you want to repeatedly parse JSON objects and want to
799ignore any trailing data, which means you have to reset the parser after
800each successful decode.
801
802=back
803
804=head2 LIMITATIONS
805
806All options that affect decoding are supported, except
807C<allow_nonref>. The reason for this is that it cannot be made to work
808sensibly: JSON objects and arrays are self-delimited, i.e. you can
809concatenate them back to back and still decode them perfectly. This does
810not hold true for JSON numbers, however.
811
812For example, is the string C<1> a single JSON number, or is it simply the
813start of C<12>? Or is C<12> a single JSON number, or the concatenation
814of C<1> and C<2>? In neither case you can tell, and this is why JSON::XS
815takes the conservative route and disallows this case.
816
817=head2 EXAMPLES
818
819Some examples will make all this clearer. First, a simple example that
820works similarly to C<decode_prefix>: We want to decode the JSON object at
821the start of a string and identify the portion after the JSON object:
822
823 my $text = "[1,2,3] hello";
824
825 my $json = new JSON::XS;
826
827 my $obj = $json->incr_parse ($text)
828 or die "expected JSON object or array at beginning of string";
829
830 my $tail = $json->incr_text;
831 # $tail now contains " hello"
832
833Easy, isn't it?
834
835Now for a more complicated example: Imagine a hypothetical protocol where
836you read some requests from a TCP stream, and each request is a JSON
837array, without any separation between them (in fact, it is often useful to
838use newlines as "separators", as these get interpreted as whitespace at
839the start of the JSON text, which makes it possible to test said protocol
840with C<telnet>...).
841
842Here is how you'd do it (it is trivial to write this in an event-based
843manner):
844
845 my $json = new JSON::XS;
846
847 # read some data from the socket
848 while (sysread $socket, my $buf, 4096) {
849
850 # split and decode as many requests as possible
851 for my $request ($json->incr_parse ($buf)) {
852 # act on the $request
853 }
854 }
855
856Another complicated example: Assume you have a string with JSON objects
857or arrays, all separated by (optional) comma characters (e.g. C<[1],[2],
858[3]>). To parse them, we have to skip the commas between the JSON texts,
859and here is where the lvalue-ness of C<incr_text> comes in useful:
860
861 my $text = "[1],[2], [3]";
862 my $json = new JSON::XS;
863
864 # void context, so no parsing done
865 $json->incr_parse ($text);
866
867 # now extract as many objects as possible. note the
868 # use of scalar context so incr_text can be called.
869 while (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
870 # do something with $obj
871
872 # now skip the optional comma
873 $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* , //x;
874 }
875
876Now lets go for a very complex example: Assume that you have a gigantic
877JSON array-of-objects, many gigabytes in size, and you want to parse it,
878but you cannot load it into memory fully (this has actually happened in
879the real world :).
880
881Well, you lost, you have to implement your own JSON parser. But JSON::XS
882can still help you: You implement a (very simple) array parser and let
883JSON decode the array elements, which are all full JSON objects on their
884own (this wouldn't work if the array elements could be JSON numbers, for
885example):
886
887 my $json = new JSON::XS;
888
889 # open the monster
890 open my $fh, "<bigfile.json"
891 or die "bigfile: $!";
892
893 # first parse the initial "["
894 for (;;) {
895 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
896 or die "read error: $!";
897 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
898
899 # Exit the loop once we found and removed(!) the initial "[".
900 # In essence, we are (ab-)using the $json object as a simple scalar
901 # we append data to.
902 last if $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* \[ //x;
903 }
904
905 # now we have the skipped the initial "[", so continue
906 # parsing all the elements.
907 for (;;) {
908 # in this loop we read data until we got a single JSON object
909 for (;;) {
910 if (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
911 # do something with $obj
912 last;
913 }
914
915 # add more data
916 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
917 or die "read error: $!";
918 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
919 }
920
921 # in this loop we read data until we either found and parsed the
922 # separating "," between elements, or the final "]"
923 for (;;) {
924 # first skip whitespace
925 $json->incr_text =~ s/^\s*//;
926
927 # if we find "]", we are done
928 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^\]//) {
929 print "finished.\n";
930 exit;
931 }
932
933 # if we find ",", we can continue with the next element
934 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^,//) {
935 last;
936 }
937
938 # if we find anything else, we have a parse error!
939 if (length $json->incr_text) {
940 die "parse error near ", $json->incr_text;
941 }
942
943 # else add more data
944 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
945 or die "read error: $!";
946 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
947 }
948
949This is a complex example, but most of the complexity comes from the fact
950that we are trying to be correct (bear with me if I am wrong, I never ran
951the above example :).
952
447 953
448 954
449=head1 MAPPING 955=head1 MAPPING
450 956
451This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and 957This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and
452vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most 958vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most
453circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics 959circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics
454(what you put in comes out as something equivalent). 960(what you put in comes out as something equivalent).
455 961
456For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions, 962For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions,
457lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppcercase I<Perl> 963lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppercase I<Perl>
458refers to the abstract Perl language itself. 964refers to the abstract Perl language itself.
459 965
460 966
461=head2 JSON -> PERL 967=head2 JSON -> PERL
462 968
463=over 4 969=over 4
464 970
465=item object 971=item object
466 972
467A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object 973A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object
468keys is preserved (JSON does not preserver object key ordering itself). 974keys is preserved (JSON does not preserve object key ordering itself).
469 975
470=item array 976=item array
471 977
472A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl. 978A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl.
473 979
477are represented by the same codepoints in the Perl string, so no manual 983are represented by the same codepoints in the Perl string, so no manual
478decoding is necessary. 984decoding is necessary.
479 985
480=item number 986=item number
481 987
482A JSON number becomes either an integer or numeric (floating point) 988A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or
483scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On the 989string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On
484Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all the 990the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all
485conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and might 991the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and
486represent more values exactly than (floating point) numbers. 992might represent more values exactly than floating point numbers.
993
994If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent
995it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as
996a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of
997precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value (in
998which case you lose roundtripping ability, as the JSON number will be
999re-encoded to a JSON string).
1000
1001Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be
1002represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of
1003precision (in which case you might lose perfect roundtripping ability, but
1004the JSON number will still be re-encoded as a JSON number).
1005
1006Note that precision is not accuracy - binary floating point values cannot
1007represent most decimal fractions exactly, and when converting from and to
1008floating point, JSON::XS only guarantees precision up to but not including
1009the least significant bit.
487 1010
488=item true, false 1011=item true, false
489 1012
490These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>, 1013These JSON atoms become C<Types::Serialiser::true> and
491respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers 1014C<Types::Serialiser::false>, respectively. They are overloaded to act
492C<1> and C<0>. You can check wether a scalar is a JSON boolean by using 1015almost exactly like the numbers C<1> and C<0>. You can check whether
493the C<JSON::XS::is_bool> function. 1016a scalar is a JSON boolean by using the C<Types::Serialiser::is_bool>
1017function (after C<use Types::Serialier>, of course).
494 1018
495=item null 1019=item null
496 1020
497A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl. 1021A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl.
1022
1023=item shell-style comments (C<< # I<text> >>)
1024
1025As a nonstandard extension to the JSON syntax that is enabled by the
1026C<relaxed> setting, shell-style comments are allowed. They can start
1027anywhere outside strings and go till the end of the line.
1028
1029=item tagged values (C<< (I<tag>)I<value> >>).
1030
1031Another nonstandard extension to the JSON syntax, enabled with the
1032C<allow_tags> setting, are tagged values. In this implementation, the
1033I<tag> must be a perl package/class name encoded as a JSON string, and the
1034I<value> must be a JSON array encoding optional constructor arguments.
1035
1036See L<OBJECT SERIALISATION>, below, for details.
498 1037
499=back 1038=back
500 1039
501 1040
502=head2 PERL -> JSON 1041=head2 PERL -> JSON
507 1046
508=over 4 1047=over 4
509 1048
510=item hash references 1049=item hash references
511 1050
512Perl hash references become JSON objects. As there is no inherent ordering 1051Perl hash references become JSON objects. As there is no inherent
513in hash keys (or JSON objects), they will usually be encoded in a 1052ordering in hash keys (or JSON objects), they will usually be encoded
514pseudo-random order that can change between runs of the same program but 1053in a pseudo-random order. JSON::XS can optionally sort the hash keys
515stays generally the same within a single run of a program. JSON::XS can 1054(determined by the I<canonical> flag), so the same datastructure will
516optionally sort the hash keys (determined by the I<canonical> flag), so 1055serialise to the same JSON text (given same settings and version of
517the same datastructure will serialise to the same JSON text (given same 1056JSON::XS), but this incurs a runtime overhead and is only rarely useful,
518settings and version of JSON::XS), but this incurs a runtime overhead 1057e.g. when you want to compare some JSON text against another for equality.
519and is only rarely useful, e.g. when you want to compare some JSON text
520against another for equality.
521 1058
522=item array references 1059=item array references
523 1060
524Perl array references become JSON arrays. 1061Perl array references become JSON arrays.
525 1062
526=item other references 1063=item other references
527 1064
528Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an 1065Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an
529exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and 1066exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and
530C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can 1067C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON.
531also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability.
532 1068
1069Since C<JSON::XS> uses the boolean model from L<Types::Serialiser>, you
1070can also C<use Types::Serialiser> and then use C<Types::Serialiser::false>
1071and C<Types::Serialiser::true> to improve readability.
1072
1073 use Types::Serialiser;
533 to_json [\0,JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true] 1074 encode_json [\0, Types::Serialiser::true] # yields [false,true]
534 1075
535=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false 1076=item Types::Serialiser::true, Types::Serialiser::false
536 1077
537These special values become JSON true and JSON false values, 1078These special values from the L<Types::Serialiser> module become JSON true
538respectively. You cna alos use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want. 1079and JSON false values, respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0>
1080directly if you want.
539 1081
540=item blessed objects 1082=item blessed objects
541 1083
542Blessed objects are not allowed. JSON::XS currently tries to encode their 1084Blessed objects are not directly representable in JSON, but C<JSON::XS>
543underlying representation (hash- or arrayref), but this behaviour might 1085allows various ways of handling objects. See L<OBJECT SERIALISATION>,
544change in future versions. 1086below, for details.
545 1087
546=item simple scalars 1088=item simple scalars
547 1089
548Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most 1090Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most
549difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as 1091difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as
550JSON null value, scalars that have last been used in a string context 1092JSON C<null> values, scalars that have last been used in a string context
551before encoding as JSON strings and anything else as number value: 1093before encoding as JSON strings, and anything else as number value:
552 1094
553 # dump as number 1095 # dump as number
554 to_json [2] # yields [2] 1096 encode_json [2] # yields [2]
555 to_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17] 1097 encode_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17]
556 my $value = 5; to_json [$value] # yields [5] 1098 my $value = 5; encode_json [$value] # yields [5]
557 1099
558 # used as string, so dump as string 1100 # used as string, so dump as string
559 print $value; 1101 print $value;
560 to_json [$value] # yields ["5"] 1102 encode_json [$value] # yields ["5"]
561 1103
562 # undef becomes null 1104 # undef becomes null
563 to_json [undef] # yields [null] 1105 encode_json [undef] # yields [null]
564 1106
565You can force the type to be a string by stringifying it: 1107You can force the type to be a JSON string by stringifying it:
566 1108
567 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number 1109 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number
568 "$x"; # stringified 1110 "$x"; # stringified
569 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify 1111 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify
570 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often 1112 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often
571 1113
572You can force the type to be a number by numifying it: 1114You can force the type to be a JSON number by numifying it:
573 1115
574 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string 1116 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string
575 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number 1117 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number
576 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choise is yours. 1118 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours.
577 1119
578You can not currently output JSON booleans or force the type in other, 1120You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me
579less obscure, ways. Tell me if you need this capability. 1121if you need this capability (but don't forget to explain why it's needed
1122:).
1123
1124Note that numerical precision has the same meaning as under Perl (so
1125binary to decimal conversion follows the same rules as in Perl, which
1126can differ to other languages). Also, your perl interpreter might expose
1127extensions to the floating point numbers of your platform, such as
1128infinities or NaN's - these cannot be represented in JSON, and it is an
1129error to pass those in.
580 1130
581=back 1131=back
582 1132
1133=head2 OBJECT SERIALISATION
583 1134
584=head1 COMPARISON 1135As JSON cannot directly represent Perl objects, you have to choose between
1136a pure JSON representation (without the ability to deserialise the object
1137automatically again), and a nonstandard extension to the JSON syntax,
1138tagged values.
585 1139
586As already mentioned, this module was created because none of the existing 1140=head3 SERIALISATION
587JSON modules could be made to work correctly. First I will describe the 1141
588problems (or pleasures) I encountered with various existing JSON modules, 1142What happens when C<JSON::XS> encounters a Perl object depends on the
589followed by some benchmark values. JSON::XS was designed not to suffer 1143C<allow_blessed>, C<convert_blessed> and C<allow_tags> settings, which are
590from any of these problems or limitations. 1144used in this order:
591 1145
592=over 4 1146=over 4
593 1147
594=item JSON 1.07 1148=item 1. C<allow_tags> is enabled and the object has a C<FREEZE> method.
595 1149
596Slow (but very portable, as it is written in pure Perl). 1150In this case, C<JSON::XS> uses the L<Types::Serialiser> object
1151serialisation protocol to create a tagged JSON value, using a nonstandard
1152extension to the JSON syntax.
597 1153
598Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling (how JSON handles unicode values is 1154This works by invoking the C<FREEZE> method on the object, with the first
599undocumented. One can get far by feeding it unicode strings and doing 1155argument being the object to serialise, and the second argument being the
600en-/decoding oneself, but unicode escapes are not working properly). 1156constant string C<JSON> to distinguish it from other serialisers.
601 1157
602No roundtripping (strings get clobbered if they look like numbers, e.g. 1158The C<FREEZE> method can return any number of values (i.e. zero or
603the string C<2.0> will encode to C<2.0> instead of C<"2.0">, and that will 1159more). These values and the paclkage/classname of the object will then be
604decode into the number 2. 1160encoded as a tagged JSON value in the following format:
605 1161
606=item JSON::PC 0.01 1162 ("classname")[FREEZE return values...]
607 1163
608Very fast. 1164e.g.:
609 1165
610Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling. 1166 ("URI")["http://www.google.com/"]
1167 ("MyDate")[2013,10,29]
1168 ("ImageData::JPEG")["Z3...VlCg=="]
611 1169
612No roundtripping. 1170For example, the hypothetical C<My::Object> C<FREEZE> method might use the
1171objects C<type> and C<id> members to encode the object:
613 1172
614Has problems handling many Perl values (e.g. regex results and other magic 1173 sub My::Object::FREEZE {
615values will make it croak). 1174 my ($self, $serialiser) = @_;
616 1175
617Does not even generate valid JSON (C<{1,2}> gets converted to C<{1:2}> 1176 ($self->{type}, $self->{id})
618which is not a valid JSON text. 1177 }
619 1178
620Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not 1179=item 2. C<convert_blessed> is enabled and the object has a C<TO_JSON> method.
621getting fixed).
622 1180
623=item JSON::Syck 0.21 1181In this case, the C<TO_JSON> method of the object is invoked in scalar
1182context. It must return a single scalar that can be directly encoded into
1183JSON. This scalar replaces the object in the JSON text.
624 1184
625Very buggy (often crashes). 1185For example, the following C<TO_JSON> method will convert all L<URI>
1186objects to JSON strings when serialised. The fatc that these values
1187originally were L<URI> objects is lost.
626 1188
627Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty much 1189 sub URI::TO_JSON {
628undocumented. I need at least a format for easy reading by humans and a 1190 my ($uri) = @_;
629single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and preferably a way to 1191 $uri->as_string
630generate ASCII-only JSON texts). 1192 }
631 1193
632Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling (unicode 1194=item 3. C<allow_blessed> is enabled.
633escapes are not working properly, you need to set ImplicitUnicode to
634I<different> values on en- and decoding to get symmetric behaviour).
635 1195
636No roundtripping (simple cases work, but this depends on wether the scalar 1196The object will be serialised as a JSON null value.
637value was used in a numeric context or not).
638 1197
639Dumping hashes may skip hash values depending on iterator state. 1198=item 4. none of the above
640 1199
641Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not 1200If none of the settings are enabled or the respective methods are missing,
642getting fixed). 1201C<JSON::XS> throws an exception.
643
644Does not check input for validity (i.e. will accept non-JSON input and
645return "something" instead of raising an exception. This is a security
646issue: imagine two banks transfering money between each other using
647JSON. One bank might parse a given non-JSON request and deduct money,
648while the other might reject the transaction with a syntax error. While a
649good protocol will at least recover, that is extra unnecessary work and
650the transaction will still not succeed).
651
652=item JSON::DWIW 0.04
653
654Very fast. Very natural. Very nice.
655
656Undocumented unicode handling (but the best of the pack. Unicode escapes
657still don't get parsed properly).
658
659Very inflexible.
660
661No roundtripping.
662
663Does not generate valid JSON texts (key strings are often unquoted, empty keys
664result in nothing being output)
665
666Does not check input for validity.
667 1202
668=back 1203=back
669 1204
1205=head3 DESERIALISATION
1206
1207For deserialisation there are only two cases to consider: either
1208nonstandard tagging was used, in which case C<allow_tags> decides,
1209or objects cannot be automatically be deserialised, in which
1210case you can use postprocessing or the C<filter_json_object> or
1211C<filter_json_single_key_object> callbacks to get some real objects our of
1212your JSON.
1213
1214This section only considers the tagged value case: I a tagged JSON object
1215is encountered during decoding and C<allow_tags> is disabled, a parse
1216error will result (as if tagged values were not part of the grammar).
1217
1218If C<allow_tags> is enabled, C<JSON::XS> will look up the C<THAW> method
1219of the package/classname used during serialisation (it will not attempt
1220to load the package as a Perl module). If there is no such method, the
1221decoding will fail with an error.
1222
1223Otherwise, the C<THAW> method is invoked with the classname as first
1224argument, the constant string C<JSON> as second argument, and all the
1225values from the JSON array (the values originally returned by the
1226C<FREEZE> method) as remaining arguments.
1227
1228The method must then return the object. While technically you can return
1229any Perl scalar, you might have to enable the C<enable_nonref> setting to
1230make that work in all cases, so better return an actual blessed reference.
1231
1232As an example, let's implement a C<THAW> function that regenerates the
1233C<My::Object> from the C<FREEZE> example earlier:
1234
1235 sub My::Object::THAW {
1236 my ($class, $serialiser, $type, $id) = @_;
1237
1238 $class->new (type => $type, id => $id)
1239 }
1240
1241
1242=head1 ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES
1243
1244The interested reader might have seen a number of flags that signify
1245encodings or codesets - C<utf8>, C<latin1> and C<ascii>. There seems to be
1246some confusion on what these do, so here is a short comparison:
1247
1248C<utf8> controls whether the JSON text created by C<encode> (and expected
1249by C<decode>) is UTF-8 encoded or not, while C<latin1> and C<ascii> only
1250control whether C<encode> escapes character values outside their respective
1251codeset range. Neither of these flags conflict with each other, although
1252some combinations make less sense than others.
1253
1254Care has been taken to make all flags symmetrical with respect to
1255C<encode> and C<decode>, that is, texts encoded with any combination of
1256these flag values will be correctly decoded when the same flags are used
1257- in general, if you use different flag settings while encoding vs. when
1258decoding you likely have a bug somewhere.
1259
1260Below comes a verbose discussion of these flags. Note that a "codeset" is
1261simply an abstract set of character-codepoint pairs, while an encoding
1262takes those codepoint numbers and I<encodes> them, in our case into
1263octets. Unicode is (among other things) a codeset, UTF-8 is an encoding,
1264and ISO-8859-1 (= latin 1) and ASCII are both codesets I<and> encodings at
1265the same time, which can be confusing.
1266
1267=over 4
1268
1269=item C<utf8> flag disabled
1270
1271When C<utf8> is disabled (the default), then C<encode>/C<decode> generate
1272and expect Unicode strings, that is, characters with high ordinal Unicode
1273values (> 255) will be encoded as such characters, and likewise such
1274characters are decoded as-is, no changes to them will be done, except
1275"(re-)interpreting" them as Unicode codepoints or Unicode characters,
1276respectively (to Perl, these are the same thing in strings unless you do
1277funny/weird/dumb stuff).
1278
1279This is useful when you want to do the encoding yourself (e.g. when you
1280want to have UTF-16 encoded JSON texts) or when some other layer does
1281the encoding for you (for example, when printing to a terminal using a
1282filehandle that transparently encodes to UTF-8 you certainly do NOT want
1283to UTF-8 encode your data first and have Perl encode it another time).
1284
1285=item C<utf8> flag enabled
1286
1287If the C<utf8>-flag is enabled, C<encode>/C<decode> will encode all
1288characters using the corresponding UTF-8 multi-byte sequence, and will
1289expect your input strings to be encoded as UTF-8, that is, no "character"
1290of the input string must have any value > 255, as UTF-8 does not allow
1291that.
1292
1293The C<utf8> flag therefore switches between two modes: disabled means you
1294will get a Unicode string in Perl, enabled means you get an UTF-8 encoded
1295octet/binary string in Perl.
1296
1297=item C<latin1> or C<ascii> flags enabled
1298
1299With C<latin1> (or C<ascii>) enabled, C<encode> will escape characters
1300with ordinal values > 255 (> 127 with C<ascii>) and encode the remaining
1301characters as specified by the C<utf8> flag.
1302
1303If C<utf8> is disabled, then the result is also correctly encoded in those
1304character sets (as both are proper subsets of Unicode, meaning that a
1305Unicode string with all character values < 256 is the same thing as a
1306ISO-8859-1 string, and a Unicode string with all character values < 128 is
1307the same thing as an ASCII string in Perl).
1308
1309If C<utf8> is enabled, you still get a correct UTF-8-encoded string,
1310regardless of these flags, just some more characters will be escaped using
1311C<\uXXXX> then before.
1312
1313Note that ISO-8859-1-I<encoded> strings are not compatible with UTF-8
1314encoding, while ASCII-encoded strings are. That is because the ISO-8859-1
1315encoding is NOT a subset of UTF-8 (despite the ISO-8859-1 I<codeset> being
1316a subset of Unicode), while ASCII is.
1317
1318Surprisingly, C<decode> will ignore these flags and so treat all input
1319values as governed by the C<utf8> flag. If it is disabled, this allows you
1320to decode ISO-8859-1- and ASCII-encoded strings, as both strict subsets of
1321Unicode. If it is enabled, you can correctly decode UTF-8 encoded strings.
1322
1323So neither C<latin1> nor C<ascii> are incompatible with the C<utf8> flag -
1324they only govern when the JSON output engine escapes a character or not.
1325
1326The main use for C<latin1> is to relatively efficiently store binary data
1327as JSON, at the expense of breaking compatibility with most JSON decoders.
1328
1329The main use for C<ascii> is to force the output to not contain characters
1330with values > 127, which means you can interpret the resulting string
1331as UTF-8, ISO-8859-1, ASCII, KOI8-R or most about any character set and
13328-bit-encoding, and still get the same data structure back. This is useful
1333when your channel for JSON transfer is not 8-bit clean or the encoding
1334might be mangled in between (e.g. in mail), and works because ASCII is a
1335proper subset of most 8-bit and multibyte encodings in use in the world.
1336
1337=back
1338
1339
1340=head2 JSON and ECMAscript
1341
1342JSON syntax is based on how literals are represented in javascript (the
1343not-standardised predecessor of ECMAscript) which is presumably why it is
1344called "JavaScript Object Notation".
1345
1346However, JSON is not a subset (and also not a superset of course) of
1347ECMAscript (the standard) or javascript (whatever browsers actually
1348implement).
1349
1350If you want to use javascript's C<eval> function to "parse" JSON, you
1351might run into parse errors for valid JSON texts, or the resulting data
1352structure might not be queryable:
1353
1354One of the problems is that U+2028 and U+2029 are valid characters inside
1355JSON strings, but are not allowed in ECMAscript string literals, so the
1356following Perl fragment will not output something that can be guaranteed
1357to be parsable by javascript's C<eval>:
1358
1359 use JSON::XS;
1360
1361 print encode_json [chr 0x2028];
1362
1363The right fix for this is to use a proper JSON parser in your javascript
1364programs, and not rely on C<eval> (see for example Douglas Crockford's
1365F<json2.js> parser).
1366
1367If this is not an option, you can, as a stop-gap measure, simply encode to
1368ASCII-only JSON:
1369
1370 use JSON::XS;
1371
1372 print JSON::XS->new->ascii->encode ([chr 0x2028]);
1373
1374Note that this will enlarge the resulting JSON text quite a bit if you
1375have many non-ASCII characters. You might be tempted to run some regexes
1376to only escape U+2028 and U+2029, e.g.:
1377
1378 # DO NOT USE THIS!
1379 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ([chr 0x2028]);
1380 $json =~ s/\xe2\x80\xa8/\\u2028/g; # escape U+2028
1381 $json =~ s/\xe2\x80\xa9/\\u2029/g; # escape U+2029
1382 print $json;
1383
1384Note that I<this is a bad idea>: the above only works for U+2028 and
1385U+2029 and thus only for fully ECMAscript-compliant parsers. Many existing
1386javascript implementations, however, have issues with other characters as
1387well - using C<eval> naively simply I<will> cause problems.
1388
1389Another problem is that some javascript implementations reserve
1390some property names for their own purposes (which probably makes
1391them non-ECMAscript-compliant). For example, Iceweasel reserves the
1392C<__proto__> property name for its own purposes.
1393
1394If that is a problem, you could parse try to filter the resulting JSON
1395output for these property strings, e.g.:
1396
1397 $json =~ s/"__proto__"\s*:/"__proto__renamed":/g;
1398
1399This works because C<__proto__> is not valid outside of strings, so every
1400occurrence of C<"__proto__"\s*:> must be a string used as property name.
1401
1402If you know of other incompatibilities, please let me know.
1403
670 1404
671=head2 JSON and YAML 1405=head2 JSON and YAML
672 1406
673You often hear that JSON is a subset (or a close subset) of YAML. This is, 1407You often hear that JSON is a subset of YAML. This is, however, a mass
674however, a mass hysteria and very far from the truth. In general, there is 1408hysteria(*) and very far from the truth (as of the time of this writing),
675no way to configure JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML. 1409so let me state it clearly: I<in general, there is no way to configure
1410JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML> that works in all
1411cases.
676 1412
677If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this 1413If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this
678algorithm (subject to change in future versions): 1414algorithm (subject to change in future versions):
679 1415
680 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1); 1416 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1);
681 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n"; 1417 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n";
682 1418
683This will usually generate JSON texts that also parse as valid 1419This will I<usually> generate JSON texts that also parse as valid
684YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key 1420YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key
685lengths that JSON doesn't have, so you should make sure that your hash 1421lengths that JSON doesn't have and also has different and incompatible
1422unicode character escape syntax, so you should make sure that your hash
686keys are noticably shorter than the 1024 characters YAML allows. 1423keys are noticeably shorter than the 1024 "stream characters" YAML allows
1424and that you do not have characters with codepoint values outside the
1425Unicode BMP (basic multilingual page). YAML also does not allow C<\/>
1426sequences in strings (which JSON::XS does not I<currently> generate, but
1427other JSON generators might).
687 1428
688There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of. In general 1429There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of (or the YAML
1430specification has been changed yet again - it does so quite often). In
689you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice versa, 1431general you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice
690or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are high 1432versa, or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are
691that you will run into severe interoperability problems. 1433high that you will run into severe interoperability problems when you
1434least expect it.
1435
1436=over 4
1437
1438=item (*)
1439
1440I have been pressured multiple times by Brian Ingerson (one of the
1441authors of the YAML specification) to remove this paragraph, despite him
1442acknowledging that the actual incompatibilities exist. As I was personally
1443bitten by this "JSON is YAML" lie, I refused and said I will continue to
1444educate people about these issues, so others do not run into the same
1445problem again and again. After this, Brian called me a (quote)I<complete
1446and worthless idiot>(unquote).
1447
1448In my opinion, instead of pressuring and insulting people who actually
1449clarify issues with YAML and the wrong statements of some of its
1450proponents, I would kindly suggest reading the JSON spec (which is not
1451that difficult or long) and finally make YAML compatible to it, and
1452educating users about the changes, instead of spreading lies about the
1453real compatibility for many I<years> and trying to silence people who
1454point out that it isn't true.
1455
1456Addendum/2009: the YAML 1.2 spec is still incompatible with JSON, even
1457though the incompatibilities have been documented (and are known to Brian)
1458for many years and the spec makes explicit claims that YAML is a superset
1459of JSON. It would be so easy to fix, but apparently, bullying people and
1460corrupting userdata is so much easier.
1461
1462=back
692 1463
693 1464
694=head2 SPEED 1465=head2 SPEED
695 1466
696It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following 1467It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following
697tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program 1468tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program
698in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own 1469in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own
699system. 1470system.
700 1471
701First comes a comparison between various modules using a very short 1472First comes a comparison between various modules using
702single-line JSON string: 1473a very short single-line JSON string (also available at
1474L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/short.json>).
703 1475
704 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], \ 1476 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1",
705 "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7, true, false]} 1477 "we were just talking"], "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7,
1478 1, 0]}
706 1479
707It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses 1480It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses
708the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface 1481the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface
709with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables 1482with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables
710shrink). Higher is better: 1483shrink. JSON::DWIW/DS uses the deserialise function, while JSON::DWIW::FJ
1484uses the from_json method). Higher is better:
711 1485
712 Storable | 15779.925 | 14169.946 |
713 -----------+------------+------------+
714 module | encode | decode | 1486 module | encode | decode |
715 -----------|------------|------------| 1487 --------------|------------|------------|
716 JSON | 4990.842 | 4088.813 | 1488 JSON::DWIW/DS | 86302.551 | 102300.098 |
717 JSON::DWIW | 51653.990 | 71575.154 | 1489 JSON::DWIW/FJ | 86302.551 | 75983.768 |
718 JSON::PC | 65948.176 | 74631.744 | 1490 JSON::PP | 15827.562 | 6638.658 |
719 JSON::PP | 8931.652 | 3817.168 | 1491 JSON::Syck | 63358.066 | 47662.545 |
720 JSON::Syck | 24877.248 | 27776.848 | 1492 JSON::XS | 511500.488 | 511500.488 |
721 JSON::XS | 388361.481 | 227951.304 | 1493 JSON::XS/2 | 291271.111 | 388361.481 |
722 JSON::XS/2 | 227951.304 | 218453.333 | 1494 JSON::XS/3 | 361577.931 | 361577.931 |
723 JSON::XS/3 | 338250.323 | 218453.333 | 1495 Storable | 66788.280 | 265462.278 |
724 Storable | 16500.016 | 135300.129 |
725 -----------+------------+------------+ 1496 --------------+------------+------------+
726 1497
727That is, JSON::XS is about five times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding, 1498That is, JSON::XS is almost six times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding,
728about three times faster on decoding, and over fourty times faster 1499about five times faster on decoding, and over thirty to seventy times
729than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares 1500faster than JSON's pure perl implementation. It also compares favourably
730favourably to Storable for small amounts of data. 1501to Storable for small amounts of data.
731 1502
732Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals 1503Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals
733search API (http://nanoref.com/yahooapis/mgPdGg): 1504search API (L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/long.json>).
734 1505
735 module | encode | decode | 1506 module | encode | decode |
736 -----------|------------|------------| 1507 --------------|------------|------------|
737 JSON | 55.260 | 34.971 | 1508 JSON::DWIW/DS | 1647.927 | 2673.916 |
738 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 | 1509 JSON::DWIW/FJ | 1630.249 | 2596.128 |
739 JSON::PC | 3571.444 | 2394.829 |
740 JSON::PP | 210.987 | 32.574 | 1510 JSON::PP | 400.640 | 62.311 |
741 JSON::Syck | 552.551 | 787.544 | 1511 JSON::Syck | 1481.040 | 1524.869 |
742 JSON::XS | 5780.463 | 4854.519 | 1512 JSON::XS | 20661.596 | 9541.183 |
743 JSON::XS/2 | 3869.998 | 4798.975 | 1513 JSON::XS/2 | 10683.403 | 9416.938 |
744 JSON::XS/3 | 5862.880 | 4798.975 | 1514 JSON::XS/3 | 20661.596 | 9400.054 |
745 Storable | 4445.002 | 5235.027 | 1515 Storable | 19765.806 | 10000.725 |
746 -----------+------------+------------+ 1516 --------------+------------+------------+
747 1517
748Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly 1518Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly
749decodes faster). 1519decodes a bit faster).
750 1520
751On large strings containing lots of high unicode characters, some modules 1521On large strings containing lots of high Unicode characters, some modules
752(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result 1522(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result
753will be broken due to missing (or wrong) unicode handling. Others refuse 1523will be broken due to missing (or wrong) Unicode handling. Others refuse
754to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair 1524to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair
755comparison table for that case. 1525comparison table for that case.
756 1526
757 1527
758=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS 1528=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
764any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am 1534any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am
765trying hard on making that true, but you never know. 1535trying hard on making that true, but you never know.
766 1536
767Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you should 1537Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you should
768limit the size of JSON texts you accept, or make sure then when your 1538limit the size of JSON texts you accept, or make sure then when your
769resources run out, thats just fine (e.g. by using a separate process that 1539resources run out, that's just fine (e.g. by using a separate process that
770can crash safely). The size of a JSON text in octets or characters is 1540can crash safely). The size of a JSON text in octets or characters is
771usually a good indication of the size of the resources required to decode 1541usually a good indication of the size of the resources required to decode
772it into a Perl structure. While JSON::XS can check the size of the JSON 1542it into a Perl structure. While JSON::XS can check the size of the JSON
773text, it might be too late when you already have it in memory, so you 1543text, it might be too late when you already have it in memory, so you
774might want to check the size before you accept the string. 1544might want to check the size before you accept the string.
775 1545
776Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and 1546Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and
777arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64 1547arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64
778machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but 1548machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but
779only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak 1549only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak
780to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. to be 1550to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. To be
781conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process 1551conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process
782has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the 1552has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the
783C<max_depth> method. 1553C<max_depth> method.
784 1554
785And last but least, something else could bomb you that I forgot to think 1555Something else could bomb you, too, that I forgot to think of. In that
786of. In that case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, 1556case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, though...
787though... 1557
1558Also keep in mind that JSON::XS might leak contents of your Perl data
1559structures in its error messages, so when you serialise sensitive
1560information you might want to make sure that exceptions thrown by JSON::XS
1561will not end up in front of untrusted eyes.
788 1562
789If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption 1563If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption
790by javascript scripts in a browser you should have a look at 1564by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at
791L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see wether 1565L<http://blog.archive.jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security/> to
792you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser 1566see whether you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really
793design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it, as major 1567are browser design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with
794browser developers care only for features, not about doing security 1568it, as major browser developers care only for features, not about getting
795right). 1569security right).
1570
1571
1572=head1 "OLD" VS. "NEW" JSON (RFC 4627 VS. RFC 7159)
1573
1574TL;DR: Due to security concerns, JSON::XS will not allow scalar data in
1575JSON texts by default - you need to create your own JSON::XS object and
1576enable C<allow_nonref>:
1577
1578
1579 my $json = JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref;
1580
1581 $text = $json->encode ($data);
1582 $data = $json->decode ($text);
1583
1584The long version: JSON being an important and supposedly stable format,
1585the IETF standardised it as RFC 4627 in 2006. Unfortunately, the inventor
1586of JSON, Dougles Crockford, unilaterally changed the definition of JSON in
1587javascript. Rather than create a fork, the IETF decided to standardise the
1588new syntax (apparently, so Iw as told, without finding it very amusing).
1589
1590The biggest difference between thed original JSON and the new JSON is that
1591the new JSON supports scalars (anything other than arrays and objects) at
1592the toplevel of a JSON text. While this is strictly backwards compatible
1593to older versions, it breaks a number of protocols that relied on sending
1594JSON back-to-back, and is a minor security concern.
1595
1596For example, imagine you have two banks communicating, and on one side,
1597trhe JSON coder gets upgraded. Two messages, such as C<10> and C<1000>
1598might then be confused to mean C<101000>, something that couldn't happen
1599in the original JSON, because niether of these messages would be valid
1600JSON.
1601
1602If one side accepts these messages, then an upgrade in the coder on either
1603side could result in this becoming exploitable.
1604
1605This module has always allowed these messages as an optional extension, by
1606default disabled. The security concerns are the reason why the default is
1607still disabled, but future versions might/will likely upgrade to the newer
1608RFC as default format, so you are advised to check your implementation
1609and/or override the default with C<< ->allow_nonref (0) >> to ensure that
1610future versions are safe.
1611
1612
1613=head1 INTEROPERABILITY WITH OTHER MODULES
1614
1615C<JSON::XS> uses the L<Types::Serialiser> module to provide boolean
1616constants. That means that the JSON true and false values will be
1617comaptible to true and false values of other modules that do the same,
1618such as L<JSON::PP> and L<CBOR::XS>.
1619
1620
1621=head1 INTEROPERABILITY WITH OTHER JSON DECODERS
1622
1623As long as you only serialise data that can be directly expressed in JSON,
1624C<JSON::XS> is incapable of generating invalid JSON output (modulo bugs,
1625but C<JSON::XS> has found more bugs in the official JSON testsuite (1)
1626than the official JSON testsuite has found in C<JSON::XS> (0)).
1627
1628When you have trouble decoding JSON generated by this module using other
1629decoders, then it is very likely that you have an encoding mismatch or the
1630other decoder is broken.
1631
1632When decoding, C<JSON::XS> is strict by default and will likely catch all
1633errors. There are currently two settings that change this: C<relaxed>
1634makes C<JSON::XS> accept (but not generate) some non-standard extensions,
1635and C<allow_tags> will allow you to encode and decode Perl objects, at the
1636cost of not outputting valid JSON anymore.
1637
1638=head2 TAGGED VALUE SYNTAX AND STANDARD JSON EN/DECODERS
1639
1640When you use C<allow_tags> to use the extended (and also nonstandard and
1641invalid) JSON syntax for serialised objects, and you still want to decode
1642the generated When you want to serialise objects, you can run a regex
1643to replace the tagged syntax by standard JSON arrays (it only works for
1644"normal" package names without comma, newlines or single colons). First,
1645the readable Perl version:
1646
1647 # if your FREEZE methods return no values, you need this replace first:
1648 $json =~ s/\( \s* (" (?: [^\\":,]+|\\.|::)* ") \s* \) \s* \[\s*\]/[$1]/gx;
1649
1650 # this works for non-empty constructor arg lists:
1651 $json =~ s/\( \s* (" (?: [^\\":,]+|\\.|::)* ") \s* \) \s* \[/[$1,/gx;
1652
1653And here is a less readable version that is easy to adapt to other
1654languages:
1655
1656 $json =~ s/\(\s*("([^\\":,]+|\\.|::)*")\s*\)\s*\[/[$1,/g;
1657
1658Here is an ECMAScript version (same regex):
1659
1660 json = json.replace (/\(\s*("([^\\":,]+|\\.|::)*")\s*\)\s*\[/g, "[$1,");
1661
1662Since this syntax converts to standard JSON arrays, it might be hard to
1663distinguish serialised objects from normal arrays. You can prepend a
1664"magic number" as first array element to reduce chances of a collision:
1665
1666 $json =~ s/\(\s*("([^\\":,]+|\\.|::)*")\s*\)\s*\[/["XU1peReLzT4ggEllLanBYq4G9VzliwKF",$1,/g;
1667
1668And after decoding the JSON text, you could walk the data
1669structure looking for arrays with a first element of
1670C<XU1peReLzT4ggEllLanBYq4G9VzliwKF>.
1671
1672The same approach can be used to create the tagged format with another
1673encoder. First, you create an array with the magic string as first member,
1674the classname as second, and constructor arguments last, encode it as part
1675of your JSON structure, and then:
1676
1677 $json =~ s/\[\s*"XU1peReLzT4ggEllLanBYq4G9VzliwKF"\s*,\s*("([^\\":,]+|\\.|::)*")\s*,/($1)[/g;
1678
1679Again, this has some limitations - the magic string must not be encoded
1680with character escapes, and the constructor arguments must be non-empty.
1681
1682
1683=head1 RFC7159
1684
1685Since this module was written, Google has written a new JSON RFC, RFC 7159
1686(and RFC7158). Unfortunately, this RFC breaks compatibility with both the
1687original JSON specification on www.json.org and RFC4627.
1688
1689As far as I can see, you can get partial compatibility when parsing by
1690using C<< ->allow_nonref >>. However, consider the security implications
1691of doing so.
1692
1693I haven't decided yet when to break compatibility with RFC4627 by default
1694(and potentially leave applications insecure) and change the default to
1695follow RFC7159, but application authors are well advised to call C<<
1696->allow_nonref(0) >> even if this is the current default, if they cannot
1697handle non-reference values, in preparation for the day when the default
1698will change.
1699
1700
1701=head1 (I-)THREADS
1702
1703This module is I<not> guaranteed to be ithread (or MULTIPLICITY-) safe
1704and there are no plans to change this. Note that perl's builtin so-called
1705theeads/ithreads are officially deprecated and should not be used.
1706
1707
1708=head1 THE PERILS OF SETLOCALE
1709
1710Sometimes people avoid the Perl locale support and directly call the
1711system's setlocale function with C<LC_ALL>.
1712
1713This breaks both perl and modules such as JSON::XS, as stringification of
1714numbers no longer works correctly (e.g. C<$x = 0.1; print "$x"+1> might
1715print C<1>, and JSON::XS might output illegal JSON as JSON::XS relies on
1716perl to stringify numbers).
1717
1718The solution is simple: don't call C<setlocale>, or use it for only those
1719categories you need, such as C<LC_MESSAGES> or C<LC_CTYPE>.
1720
1721If you need C<LC_NUMERIC>, you should enable it only around the code that
1722actually needs it (avoiding stringification of numbers), and restore it
1723afterwards.
796 1724
797 1725
798=head1 BUGS 1726=head1 BUGS
799 1727
800While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does 1728While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does
801not mean its bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is 1729not mean it's bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. If you
802still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they 1730keep reporting bugs they will be fixed swiftly, though.
803will be fixed swiftly, though. 1731
1732Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting
1733service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason.
804 1734
805=cut 1735=cut
806 1736
807our $true = do { bless \(my $dummy = 1), "JSON::XS::Boolean" }; 1737BEGIN {
808our $false = do { bless \(my $dummy = 0), "JSON::XS::Boolean" }; 1738 *true = \$Types::Serialiser::true;
1739 *true = \&Types::Serialiser::true;
1740 *false = \$Types::Serialiser::false;
1741 *false = \&Types::Serialiser::false;
1742 *is_bool = \&Types::Serialiser::is_bool;
809 1743
810sub true() { $true } 1744 *JSON::XS::Boolean:: = *Types::Serialiser::Boolean::;
811sub false() { $false }
812
813sub is_bool($) {
814 UNIVERSAL::isa $_[0], "JSON::XS::Boolean"
815# or UNIVERSAL::isa $_[0], "JSON::Literal"
816} 1745}
817 1746
818XSLoader::load "JSON::XS", $VERSION; 1747XSLoader::load "JSON::XS", $VERSION;
819 1748
820package JSON::XS::Boolean; 1749=head1 SEE ALSO
821 1750
822use overload 1751The F<json_xs> command line utility for quick experiments.
823 "0+" => sub { ${$_[0]} },
824 "++" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} + 1 },
825 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 },
826 fallback => 1;
827
8281;
829 1752
830=head1 AUTHOR 1753=head1 AUTHOR
831 1754
832 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 1755 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
833 http://home.schmorp.de/ 1756 http://home.schmorp.de/
834 1757
835=cut 1758=cut
836 1759
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