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Revision 1.50 by root, Mon Jul 2 00:29:38 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.96 by root, Wed Mar 26 01:40:42 2008 UTC

1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3=encoding utf-8
4
3JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast 5JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast
6
7JSON::XS - 正しくて高速な JSON シリアライザ/デシリアライザ
8 (http://fleur.hio.jp/perldoc/mix/lib/JSON/XS.html)
4 9
5=head1 SYNOPSIS 10=head1 SYNOPSIS
6 11
7 use JSON::XS; 12 use JSON::XS;
8 13
9 # exported functions, they croak on error 14 # exported functions, they croak on error
10 # and expect/generate UTF-8 15 # and expect/generate UTF-8
11 16
12 $utf8_encoded_json_text = to_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref; 17 $utf8_encoded_json_text = encode_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref;
13 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = from_json $utf8_encoded_json_text; 18 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = decode_json $utf8_encoded_json_text;
14 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
42overriden) with no overhead due to emulation (by inheritign constructor
43and methods). If JSON::XS is not available, it will fall back to the
44compatible JSON::PP module as backend, so using JSON instead of JSON::XS
45gives you a portable JSON API that can be fast when you need and doesn't
46require a C compiler when that is a problem.
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
37 58
38=head2 FEATURES 59=head2 FEATURES
39 60
40=over 4 61=over 4
41 62
42=item * correct unicode handling 63=item * correct Unicode handling
43 64
44This module knows how to handle Unicode, and even documents how and when 65This module knows how to handle Unicode, documents how and when it does
45it does so. 66so, and even documents what "correct" means.
46 67
47=item * round-trip integrity 68=item * round-trip integrity
48 69
49When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported 70When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported
50by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level. 71by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level.
51(e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because it looks 72(e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because it looks
52like a number). 73like a number). There minor I<are> exceptions to this, read the MAPPING
74section below to learn about those.
53 75
54=item * strict checking of JSON correctness 76=item * strict checking of JSON correctness
55 77
56There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default, 78There 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 79and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security
58feature). 80feature).
59 81
60=item * fast 82=item * fast
61 83
62Compared to other JSON modules, this module compares favourably in terms 84Compared to other JSON modules and other serialisers such as Storable,
63of speed, too. 85this module usually compares favourably in terms of speed, too.
64 86
65=item * simple to use 87=item * simple to use
66 88
67This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an OO 89This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an objetc
68interface. 90oriented interface interface.
69 91
70=item * reasonably versatile output formats 92=item * reasonably versatile output formats
71 93
72You can choose between the most compact guarenteed single-line format 94You can choose between the most compact guaranteed-single-line format
73possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format 95possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format
74(for when your transport is not 8-bit clean, still supports the whole 96(for when your transport is not 8-bit clean, still supports the whole
75unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that 97Unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that
76stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like. 98stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like.
77 99
78=back 100=back
79 101
80=cut 102=cut
81 103
82package JSON::XS; 104package JSON::XS;
83 105
84use strict; 106use strict;
85 107
86our $VERSION = '1.4'; 108our $VERSION = '2.1';
87our @ISA = qw(Exporter); 109our @ISA = qw(Exporter);
88 110
89our @EXPORT = qw(to_json from_json); 111our @EXPORT = qw(encode_json decode_json to_json from_json);
112
113sub to_json($) {
114 require Carp;
115 Carp::croak ("JSON::XS::to_json has been renamed to encode_json, either downgrade to pre-2.0 versions of JSON::XS or rename the call");
116}
117
118sub from_json($) {
119 require Carp;
120 Carp::croak ("JSON::XS::from_json has been renamed to decode_json, either downgrade to pre-2.0 versions of JSON::XS or rename the call");
121}
90 122
91use Exporter; 123use Exporter;
92use XSLoader; 124use XSLoader;
93 125
94=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE 126=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE
95 127
96The following convinience methods are provided by this module. They are 128The following convenience methods are provided by this module. They are
97exported by default: 129exported by default:
98 130
99=over 4 131=over 4
100 132
101=item $json_text = to_json $perl_scalar 133=item $json_text = encode_json $perl_scalar
102 134
103Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference to 135Converts the given Perl data structure to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string
104a hash or array) to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string (that is, the string contains 136(that is, the string contains octets only). Croaks on error.
105octets only). Croaks on error.
106 137
107This function call is functionally identical to: 138This function call is functionally identical to:
108 139
109 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar) 140 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar)
110 141
111except being faster. 142except being faster.
112 143
113=item $perl_scalar = from_json $json_text 144=item $perl_scalar = decode_json $json_text
114 145
115The opposite of C<to_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries to 146The opposite of C<encode_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries
116parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting simple 147to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting
117scalar or reference. Croaks on error. 148reference. Croaks on error.
118 149
119This function call is functionally identical to: 150This function call is functionally identical to:
120 151
121 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text) 152 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text)
122 153
132Perl. 163Perl.
133 164
134=back 165=back
135 166
136 167
168=head1 A FEW NOTES ON UNICODE AND PERL
169
170Since this often leads to confusion, here are a few very clear words on
171how Unicode works in Perl, modulo bugs.
172
173=over 4
174
175=item 1. Perl strings can store characters with ordinal values > 255.
176
177This enables you to store Unicode characters as single characters in a
178Perl string - very natural.
179
180=item 2. Perl does I<not> associate an encoding with your strings.
181
182... until you force it to, e.g. when matching it against a regex, or
183printing the scalar to a file, in which case Perl either interprets your
184string as locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode, depending
185on various settings. In no case is an encoding stored together with your
186data, it is I<use> that decides encoding, not any magical meta data.
187
188=item 3. The internal utf-8 flag has no meaning with regards to the
189encoding of your string.
190
191Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written in
192XS or want to dive into the internals of perl. Otherwise it will only
193confuse you, as, despite the name, it says nothing about how your string
194is encoded. You can have Unicode strings with that flag set, with that
195flag clear, and you can have binary data with that flag set and that flag
196clear. Other possibilities exist, too.
197
198If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it doesn't
199exist.
200
201=item 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be
202validly interpreted as a Unicode codepoint.
203
204If you have UTF-8 encoded data, it is no longer a Unicode string, but a
205Unicode string encoded in UTF-8, giving you a binary string.
206
207=item 5. A string containing "high" (> 255) character values is I<not> a UTF-8 string.
208
209It's a fact. Learn to live with it.
210
211=back
212
213I hope this helps :)
214
215
137=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE 216=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE
138 217
139The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or 218The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or
140decoding style, within the limits of supported formats. 219decoding style, within the limits of supported formats.
141 220
152 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]}) 231 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]})
153 => {"a": [1, 2]} 232 => {"a": [1, 2]}
154 233
155=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable]) 234=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable])
156 235
236=item $enabled = $json->get_ascii
237
157If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not 238If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
158generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any 239generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any
159unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a 240Unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a
160single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence, 241single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence,
161as per RFC4627. The resulting encoded JSON text can be treated as a native 242as per RFC4627. The resulting encoded JSON text can be treated as a native
162unicode string, an ascii-encoded, latin1-encoded or UTF-8 encoded string, 243Unicode string, an ascii-encoded, latin1-encoded or UTF-8 encoded string,
163or any other superset of ASCII. 244or any other superset of ASCII.
164 245
165If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 246If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
166characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results 247characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results
167in a faster and more compact format. 248in a faster and more compact format.
168 249
250See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
251document.
252
169The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be 253The 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 254transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not
171contain any 8 bit characters. 255contain any 8 bit characters.
172 256
173 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401]) 257 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401])
174 => ["\ud801\udc01"] 258 => ["\ud801\udc01"]
175 259
176=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable]) 260=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable])
177 261
262=item $enabled = $json->get_latin1
263
178If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode 264If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
179the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters 265the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters
180outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a 266outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a
181latin1-encoded JSON text or a native unicode string. The C<decode> method 267latin1-encoded JSON text or a native Unicode string. The C<decode> method
182will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default 268will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default
183expects unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1. 269expects Unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1.
184 270
185If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 271If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
186characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. 272characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags.
273
274See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
275document.
187 276
188The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON 277The 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 278text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded
190size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded 279size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded
191in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and 280in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and
192transfering), a rare encoding for JSON. It is therefore most useful when 281transferring), a rare encoding for JSON. It is therefore most useful when
193you want to store data structures known to contain binary data efficiently 282you want to store data structures known to contain binary data efficiently
194in files or databases, not when talking to other JSON encoders/decoders. 283in files or databases, not when talking to other JSON encoders/decoders.
195 284
196 JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"] 285 JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"]
197 => ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not) 286 => ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not)
198 287
199=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable]) 288=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable])
289
290=item $enabled = $json->get_utf8
200 291
201If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode 292If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
202the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the 293the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the
203C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please 294C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please
204note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the 295note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the
205range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future 296range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future
206versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16 297versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16
207and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627. 298and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627.
208 299
209If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON 300If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON
210string as a (non-encoded) unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a 301string as a (non-encoded) Unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a
211unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs 302Unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs
212to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module. 303to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module.
304
305See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
306document.
213 307
214Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON: 308Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON:
215 309
216 use Encode; 310 use Encode;
217 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object); 311 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object);
238 ] 332 ]
239 } 333 }
240 334
241=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable]) 335=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable])
242 336
337=item $enabled = $json->get_indent
338
243If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline 339If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline
244format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair 340format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair
245into its own line, identing them properly. 341into its own line, indenting them properly.
246 342
247If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the 343If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the
248resulting JSON text is guarenteed not to contain any C<newlines>. 344resulting JSON text is guaranteed not to contain any C<newlines>.
249 345
250This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 346This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
251 347
252=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable]) 348=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable])
349
350=item $enabled = $json->get_space_before
253 351
254If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 352If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
255optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects. 353optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects.
256 354
257If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra 355If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra
263Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled: 361Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled:
264 362
265 {"key" :"value"} 363 {"key" :"value"}
266 364
267=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable]) 365=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable])
366
367=item $enabled = $json->get_space_after
268 368
269If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 369If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
270optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects 370optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects
271and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array 371and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array
272members. 372members.
278 378
279Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled: 379Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled:
280 380
281 {"key": "value"} 381 {"key": "value"}
282 382
383=item $json = $json->relaxed ([$enable])
384
385=item $enabled = $json->get_relaxed
386
387If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<decode> will accept some
388extensions to normal JSON syntax (see below). C<encode> will not be
389affected in anyway. I<Be aware that this option makes you accept invalid
390JSON texts as if they were valid!>. I suggest only to use this option to
391parse application-specific files written by humans (configuration files,
392resource files etc.)
393
394If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<decode> will only accept
395valid JSON texts.
396
397Currently accepted extensions are:
398
399=over 4
400
401=item * list items can have an end-comma
402
403JSON I<separates> array elements and key-value pairs with commas. This
404can be annoying if you write JSON texts manually and want to be able to
405quickly append elements, so this extension accepts comma at the end of
406such items not just between them:
407
408 [
409 1,
410 2, <- this comma not normally allowed
411 ]
412 {
413 "k1": "v1",
414 "k2": "v2", <- this comma not normally allowed
415 }
416
417=item * shell-style '#'-comments
418
419Whenever JSON allows whitespace, shell-style comments are additionally
420allowed. They are terminated by the first carriage-return or line-feed
421character, after which more white-space and comments are allowed.
422
423 [
424 1, # this comment not allowed in JSON
425 # neither this one...
426 ]
427
428=back
429
283=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable]) 430=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable])
431
432=item $enabled = $json->get_canonical
284 433
285If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects 434If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects
286by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead. 435by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead.
287 436
288If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value 437If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value
289pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs 438pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs
290of the same script). 439of the same script).
291 440
292This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as 441This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as
293the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled, 442the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled,
294the same hash migh be encoded differently even if contains the same data, 443the same hash might be encoded differently even if contains the same data,
295as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl. 444as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl.
296 445
297This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 446This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
298 447
299=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable]) 448=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable])
449
450=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_nonref
300 451
301If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a 452If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a
302non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value, 453non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value,
303which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON 454which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON
304values instead of croaking. 455values instead of croaking.
314 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!") 465 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!")
315 => "Hello, World!" 466 => "Hello, World!"
316 467
317=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable]) 468=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable])
318 469
470=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_blessed
471
319If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not 472If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
320barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the 473barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the
321B<convert_blessed> option will decide wether C<null> (C<convert_blessed> 474B<convert_blessed> option will decide whether C<null> (C<convert_blessed>
322disabled or no C<to_json> method found) or a representation of the 475disabled or no C<TO_JSON> method found) or a representation of the
323object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<to_json> method found) is being 476object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<TO_JSON> method found) is being
324encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>. 477encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>.
325 478
326If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an 479If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
327exception when it encounters a blessed object. 480exception when it encounters a blessed object.
328 481
329=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable]) 482=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable])
483
484=item $enabled = $json->get_convert_blessed
330 485
331If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a 486If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a
332blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<TO_JSON> method 487blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<TO_JSON> method
333on the object's class. If found, it will be called in scalar context 488on the object's class. If found, it will be called in scalar context
334and the resulting scalar will be encoded instead of the object. If no 489and the resulting scalar will be encoded instead of the object. If no
338The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON> 493The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON>
339returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same 494returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same
340way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle 495way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle
341(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other 496(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other
342methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are 497methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are
343usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with the C<to_json> 498usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with any C<to_json>
344function. 499function or method.
345 500
346This setting does not yet influence C<decode> in any way, but in the 501This setting does not yet influence C<decode> in any way, but in the
347future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are 502future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are
348enabled by this setting. 503enabled by this setting.
349 504
350If C<$enable> is false, then the C<allow_blessed> setting will decide what 505If C<$enable> is false, then the C<allow_blessed> setting will decide what
351to do when a blessed object is found. 506to do when a blessed object is found.
352 507
508=item $json = $json->filter_json_object ([$coderef->($hashref)])
509
510When C<$coderef> is specified, it will be called from C<decode> each
511time it decodes a JSON object. The only argument is a reference to the
512newly-created hash. If the code references returns a single scalar (which
513need not be a reference), this value (i.e. a copy of that scalar to avoid
514aliasing) is inserted into the deserialised data structure. If it returns
515an empty list (NOTE: I<not> C<undef>, which is a valid scalar), the
516original deserialised hash will be inserted. This setting can slow down
517decoding considerably.
518
519When C<$coderef> is omitted or undefined, any existing callback will
520be removed and C<decode> will not change the deserialised hash in any
521way.
522
523Example, convert all JSON objects into the integer 5:
524
525 my $js = JSON::XS->new->filter_json_object (sub { 5 });
526 # returns [5]
527 $js->decode ('[{}]')
528 # throw an exception because allow_nonref is not enabled
529 # so a lone 5 is not allowed.
530 $js->decode ('{"a":1, "b":2}');
531
532=item $json = $json->filter_json_single_key_object ($key [=> $coderef->($value)])
533
534Works remotely similar to C<filter_json_object>, but is only called for
535JSON objects having a single key named C<$key>.
536
537This C<$coderef> is called before the one specified via
538C<filter_json_object>, if any. It gets passed the single value in the JSON
539object. If it returns a single value, it will be inserted into the data
540structure. If it returns nothing (not even C<undef> but the empty list),
541the callback from C<filter_json_object> will be called next, as if no
542single-key callback were specified.
543
544If C<$coderef> is omitted or undefined, the corresponding callback will be
545disabled. There can only ever be one callback for a given key.
546
547As this callback gets called less often then the C<filter_json_object>
548one, decoding speed will not usually suffer as much. Therefore, single-key
549objects make excellent targets to serialise Perl objects into, especially
550as single-key JSON objects are as close to the type-tagged value concept
551as JSON gets (it's basically an ID/VALUE tuple). Of course, JSON does not
552support this in any way, so you need to make sure your data never looks
553like a serialised Perl hash.
554
555Typical names for the single object key are C<__class_whatever__>, or
556C<$__dollars_are_rarely_used__$> or C<}ugly_brace_placement>, or even
557things like C<__class_md5sum(classname)__>, to reduce the risk of clashing
558with real hashes.
559
560Example, decode JSON objects of the form C<< { "__widget__" => <id> } >>
561into the corresponding C<< $WIDGET{<id>} >> object:
562
563 # return whatever is in $WIDGET{5}:
564 JSON::XS
565 ->new
566 ->filter_json_single_key_object (__widget__ => sub {
567 $WIDGET{ $_[0] }
568 })
569 ->decode ('{"__widget__": 5')
570
571 # this can be used with a TO_JSON method in some "widget" class
572 # for serialisation to json:
573 sub WidgetBase::TO_JSON {
574 my ($self) = @_;
575
576 unless ($self->{id}) {
577 $self->{id} = ..get..some..id..;
578 $WIDGET{$self->{id}} = $self;
579 }
580
581 { __widget__ => $self->{id} }
582 }
583
353=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable]) 584=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable])
585
586=item $enabled = $json->get_shrink
354 587
355Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for 588Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for
356strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either 589strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either
357C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save 590C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save
358memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many 591memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many
376strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats 609strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats
377internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space. 610internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space.
378 611
379=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth]) 612=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])
380 613
614=item $max_depth = $json->get_max_depth
615
381Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding 616Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding
382or decoding. If the JSON text or Perl data structure has an equal or 617or decoding. If the JSON text or Perl data structure has an equal or
383higher nesting level then this limit, then the encoder and decoder will 618higher nesting level then this limit, then the encoder and decoder will
384stop and croak at that point. 619stop and croak at that point.
385 620
396used, which is rarely useful. 631used, which is rarely useful.
397 632
398See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful. 633See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
399 634
400=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size]) 635=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size])
636
637=item $max_size = $json->get_max_size
401 638
402Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where decoding is 639Set 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> 640being 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 641is called on a string longer then this number of characters it will not
405attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no 642attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no
444 => ([], 3) 681 => ([], 3)
445 682
446=back 683=back
447 684
448 685
686=head1 INCREMENTAL PARSING
687
688[This section is still EXPERIMENTAL]
689
690In some cases, there is the need for incremental parsing of JSON
691texts. While this module always has to keep both JSON text and resulting
692Perl data structure in memory at one time, it does allow you to parse a
693JSON stream incrementally. It does so by accumulating text until it has
694a full JSON object, which it then can decode. This process is similar to
695using C<decode_prefix> to see if a full JSON object is available, but is
696much more efficient (JSON::XS will only attempt to parse the JSON text
697once it is sure it has enough text to get a decisive result, using a very
698simple but truly incremental parser).
699
700The following two methods deal with this.
701
702=over 4
703
704=item [void, scalar or list context] = $json->incr_parse ([$string])
705
706This is the central parsing function. It can both append new text and
707extract objects from the stream accumulated so far (both of these
708functions are optional).
709
710If C<$string> is given, then this string is appended to the already
711existing JSON fragment stored in the C<$json> object.
712
713After that, if the function is called in void context, it will simply
714return without doing anything further. This can be used to add more text
715in as many chunks as you want.
716
717If the method is called in scalar context, then it will try to extract
718exactly I<one> JSON object. If that is successful, it will return this
719object, otherwise it will return C<undef>. If there is a parse error,
720this method will croak just as C<decode> would do (one can then use
721C<incr_skip> to skip the errornous part). This is the most common way of
722using the method.
723
724And finally, in list context, it will try to extract as many objects
725from the stream as it can find and return them, or the empty list
726otherwise. For this to work, there must be no separators between the JSON
727objects or arrays, instead they must be concatenated back-to-back. If
728an error occurs, an exception will be raised as in the scalar context
729case. Note that in this case, any previously-parsed JSON texts will be
730lost.
731
732If there is a parse
733
734=item $lvalue_string = $json->incr_text
735
736This method returns the currently stored JSON fragment as an lvalue, that
737is, you can manipulate it. This I<only> works when a preceding call to
738C<incr_parse> in I<scalar context> successfully returned an object. Under
739all other circumstances you must not call this function (I mean it.
740although in simple tests it might actually work, it I<will> fail under
741real world conditions). As a special exception, you can also call this
742method before having parsed anything.
743
744This function is useful in two cases: a) finding the trailing text after a
745JSON object or b) parsing multiple JSON objects separated by non-JSON text
746(such as commas).
747
748=back
749
750=head2 LIMITATIONS
751
752All options that affect decoding are supported, except
753C<allow_nonref>. The reason for this is that it cannot be made to
754work sensibly: JSON objects and arrays are self-delimited, i.e. you can concatenate
755them back to back and still decode them perfectly. This does not hold true
756for JSON numbers, however.
757
758For example, is the string C<1> a single JSON number, or is it simply the
759start of C<12>? Or is C<12> a single JSON number, or the concatenation
760of C<1> and C<2>? In neither case you can tell, and this is why JSON::XS
761takes the conservative route and disallows this case.
762
763=head2 EXAMPLES
764
765Some examples will make all this clearer. First, a simple example that
766works similarly to C<decode_prefix>: We want to decode the JSON object at
767the start of a string and identify the portion after the JSON object:
768
769 my $text = "[1,2,3] hello";
770
771 my $json = new JSON::XS;
772
773 my $obj = $json->incr_parse ($text)
774 or die "expected JSON object or array at beginning of string";
775
776 my $tail = $json->incr_text;
777 # $tail now contains " hello"
778
779Easy, isn't it?
780
781Now for a more complicated example: Imagine a hypothetical protocol where
782you read some requests from a TCP stream, and each request is a JSON
783array, without any separation between them (in fact, it is often useful to
784use newlines as "separators", as these get interpreted as whitespace at
785the start of the JSON text, which makes it possible to test said protocol
786with C<telnet>...).
787
788Here is how you'd do it (it is trivial to write this in an event-based
789manner):
790
791 my $json = new JSON::XS;
792
793 # read some data from the socket
794 while (sysread $socket, my $buf, 4096) {
795
796 # split and decode as many requests as possible
797 for my $request ($json->incr_parse ($buf)) {
798 # act on the $request
799 }
800 }
801
802Another complicated example: Assume you have a string with JSON objects
803or arrays, all separated by (optional) comma characters (e.g. C<[1],[2],
804[3]>). To parse them, we have to skip the commas between the JSON texts,
805and here is where the lvalue-ness of C<incr_text> comes in useful:
806
807 my $text = "[1],[2], [3]";
808 my $json = new JSON::XS;
809
810 # void context, so no parsing done
811 $json->incr_parse ($text);
812
813 # now extract as many objects as possible. note the
814 # use of scalar context so incr_text can be called.
815 while (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
816 # do something with $obj
817
818 # now skip the optional comma
819 $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* , //x;
820 }
821
822Now lets go for a very complex example: Assume that you have a gigantic
823JSON array-of-objects, many gigabytes in size, and you want to parse it,
824but you cannot load it into memory fully (this has actually happened in
825the real world :).
826
827Well, you lost, you have to implement your own JSON parser. But JSON::XS
828can still help you: You implement a (very simple) array parser and let
829JSON decode the array elements, which are all full JSON objects on their
830own (this wouldn't work if the array elements could be JSON numbers, for
831example):
832
833 my $json = new JSON::XS;
834
835 # open the monster
836 open my $fh, "<bigfile.json"
837 or die "bigfile: $!";
838
839 # first parse the initial "["
840 for (;;) {
841 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
842 or die "read error: $!";
843 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
844
845 # Exit the loop once we found and removed(!) the initial "[".
846 # In essence, we are (ab-)using the $json object as a simple scalar
847 # we append data to.
848 last if $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* \[ //x;
849 }
850
851 # now we have the skipped the initial "[", so continue
852 # parsing all the elements.
853 for (;;) {
854 # in this loop we read data until we got a single JSON object
855 for (;;) {
856 if (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
857 # do something with $obj
858 last;
859 }
860
861 # add more data
862 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
863 or die "read error: $!";
864 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
865 }
866
867 # in this loop we read data until we either found and parsed the
868 # separating "," between elements, or the final "]"
869 for (;;) {
870 # first skip whitespace
871 $json->incr_text =~ s/^\s*//;
872
873 # if we find "]", we are done
874 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^\]//) {
875 print "finished.\n";
876 exit;
877 }
878
879 # if we find ",", we can continue with the next element
880 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^,//) {
881 last;
882 }
883
884 # if we find anything else, we have a parse error!
885 if (length $json->incr_text) {
886 die "parse error near ", $json->incr_text;
887 }
888
889 # else add more data
890 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
891 or die "read error: $!";
892 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
893 }
894
895This is a complex example, but most of the complexity comes from the fact
896that we are trying to be correct (bear with me if I am wrong, I never ran
897the above example :).
898
899
900
449=head1 MAPPING 901=head1 MAPPING
450 902
451This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and 903This 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 904vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most
453circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics 905circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics
454(what you put in comes out as something equivalent). 906(what you put in comes out as something equivalent).
455 907
456For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions, 908For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions,
457lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppcercase I<Perl> 909lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppercase I<Perl>
458refers to the abstract Perl language itself. 910refers to the abstract Perl language itself.
459 911
460 912
461=head2 JSON -> PERL 913=head2 JSON -> PERL
462 914
463=over 4 915=over 4
464 916
465=item object 917=item object
466 918
467A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object 919A 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). 920keys is preserved (JSON does not preserve object key ordering itself).
469 921
470=item array 922=item array
471 923
472A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl. 924A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl.
473 925
477are represented by the same codepoints in the Perl string, so no manual 929are represented by the same codepoints in the Perl string, so no manual
478decoding is necessary. 930decoding is necessary.
479 931
480=item number 932=item number
481 933
482A JSON number becomes either an integer or numeric (floating point) 934A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or
483scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On the 935string 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 936the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all
485conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and might 937the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and
486represent more values exactly than (floating point) numbers. 938might represent more values exactly than floating point numbers.
939
940If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent
941it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as
942a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of
943precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value (in
944which case you lose roundtripping ability, as the JSON number will be
945re-encoded toa JSON string).
946
947Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be
948represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of
949precision (in which case you might lose perfect roundtripping ability, but
950the JSON number will still be re-encoded as a JSON number).
487 951
488=item true, false 952=item true, false
489 953
490These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>, 954These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>,
491respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers 955respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers
492C<1> and C<0>. You can check wether a scalar is a JSON boolean by using 956C<1> and C<0>. You can check whether a scalar is a JSON boolean by using
493the C<JSON::XS::is_bool> function. 957the C<JSON::XS::is_bool> function.
494 958
495=item null 959=item null
496 960
497A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl. 961A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl.
528Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an 992Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an
529exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and 993exception 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 994C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can
531also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability. 995also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability.
532 996
533 to_json [\0,JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true] 997 encode_json [\0,JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true]
534 998
535=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false 999=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false
536 1000
537These special values become JSON true and JSON false values, 1001These special values become JSON true and JSON false values,
538respectively. You cna alos use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want. 1002respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want.
539 1003
540=item blessed objects 1004=item blessed objects
541 1005
542Blessed objects are not allowed. JSON::XS currently tries to encode their 1006Blessed objects are not directly representable in JSON. See the
543underlying representation (hash- or arrayref), but this behaviour might 1007C<allow_blessed> and C<convert_blessed> methods on various options on
544change in future versions. 1008how to deal with this: basically, you can choose between throwing an
1009exception, encoding the reference as if it weren't blessed, or provide
1010your own serialiser method.
545 1011
546=item simple scalars 1012=item simple scalars
547 1013
548Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most 1014Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most
549difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as 1015difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as
550JSON null value, scalars that have last been used in a string context 1016JSON C<null> values, scalars that have last been used in a string context
551before encoding as JSON strings and anything else as number value: 1017before encoding as JSON strings, and anything else as number value:
552 1018
553 # dump as number 1019 # dump as number
554 to_json [2] # yields [2] 1020 encode_json [2] # yields [2]
555 to_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17] 1021 encode_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17]
556 my $value = 5; to_json [$value] # yields [5] 1022 my $value = 5; encode_json [$value] # yields [5]
557 1023
558 # used as string, so dump as string 1024 # used as string, so dump as string
559 print $value; 1025 print $value;
560 to_json [$value] # yields ["5"] 1026 encode_json [$value] # yields ["5"]
561 1027
562 # undef becomes null 1028 # undef becomes null
563 to_json [undef] # yields [null] 1029 encode_json [undef] # yields [null]
564 1030
565You can force the type to be a string by stringifying it: 1031You can force the type to be a JSON string by stringifying it:
566 1032
567 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number 1033 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number
568 "$x"; # stringified 1034 "$x"; # stringified
569 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify 1035 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify
570 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often 1036 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often
571 1037
572You can force the type to be a number by numifying it: 1038You can force the type to be a JSON number by numifying it:
573 1039
574 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string 1040 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string
575 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number 1041 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number
576 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choise is yours. 1042 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours.
577 1043
578You can not currently output JSON booleans or force the type in other, 1044You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me
579less obscure, ways. Tell me if you need this capability. 1045if you need this capability (but don't forget to explain why it's needed
1046:).
580 1047
581=back 1048=back
582 1049
583 1050
584=head1 COMPARISON 1051=head1 ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES
585 1052
586As already mentioned, this module was created because none of the existing 1053The interested reader might have seen a number of flags that signify
587JSON modules could be made to work correctly. First I will describe the 1054encodings or codesets - C<utf8>, C<latin1> and C<ascii>. There seems to be
588problems (or pleasures) I encountered with various existing JSON modules, 1055some confusion on what these do, so here is a short comparison:
589followed by some benchmark values. JSON::XS was designed not to suffer 1056
590from any of these problems or limitations. 1057C<utf8> controls whether the JSON text created by C<encode> (and expected
1058by C<decode>) is UTF-8 encoded or not, while C<latin1> and C<ascii> only
1059control whether C<encode> escapes character values outside their respective
1060codeset range. Neither of these flags conflict with each other, although
1061some combinations make less sense than others.
1062
1063Care has been taken to make all flags symmetrical with respect to
1064C<encode> and C<decode>, that is, texts encoded with any combination of
1065these flag values will be correctly decoded when the same flags are used
1066- in general, if you use different flag settings while encoding vs. when
1067decoding you likely have a bug somewhere.
1068
1069Below comes a verbose discussion of these flags. Note that a "codeset" is
1070simply an abstract set of character-codepoint pairs, while an encoding
1071takes those codepoint numbers and I<encodes> them, in our case into
1072octets. Unicode is (among other things) a codeset, UTF-8 is an encoding,
1073and ISO-8859-1 (= latin 1) and ASCII are both codesets I<and> encodings at
1074the same time, which can be confusing.
591 1075
592=over 4 1076=over 4
593 1077
594=item JSON 1.07 1078=item C<utf8> flag disabled
595 1079
596Slow (but very portable, as it is written in pure Perl). 1080When C<utf8> is disabled (the default), then C<encode>/C<decode> generate
1081and expect Unicode strings, that is, characters with high ordinal Unicode
1082values (> 255) will be encoded as such characters, and likewise such
1083characters are decoded as-is, no canges to them will be done, except
1084"(re-)interpreting" them as Unicode codepoints or Unicode characters,
1085respectively (to Perl, these are the same thing in strings unless you do
1086funny/weird/dumb stuff).
597 1087
598Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling (how JSON handles unicode values is 1088This is useful when you want to do the encoding yourself (e.g. when you
599undocumented. One can get far by feeding it unicode strings and doing 1089want to have UTF-16 encoded JSON texts) or when some other layer does
600en-/decoding oneself, but unicode escapes are not working properly). 1090the encoding for you (for example, when printing to a terminal using a
1091filehandle that transparently encodes to UTF-8 you certainly do NOT want
1092to UTF-8 encode your data first and have Perl encode it another time).
601 1093
602No roundtripping (strings get clobbered if they look like numbers, e.g. 1094=item C<utf8> flag enabled
603the string C<2.0> will encode to C<2.0> instead of C<"2.0">, and that will
604decode into the number 2.
605 1095
606=item JSON::PC 0.01 1096If the C<utf8>-flag is enabled, C<encode>/C<decode> will encode all
1097characters using the corresponding UTF-8 multi-byte sequence, and will
1098expect your input strings to be encoded as UTF-8, that is, no "character"
1099of the input string must have any value > 255, as UTF-8 does not allow
1100that.
607 1101
608Very fast. 1102The C<utf8> flag therefore switches between two modes: disabled means you
1103will get a Unicode string in Perl, enabled means you get an UTF-8 encoded
1104octet/binary string in Perl.
609 1105
610Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling. 1106=item C<latin1> or C<ascii> flags enabled
611 1107
612No roundtripping. 1108With C<latin1> (or C<ascii>) enabled, C<encode> will escape characters
1109with ordinal values > 255 (> 127 with C<ascii>) and encode the remaining
1110characters as specified by the C<utf8> flag.
613 1111
614Has problems handling many Perl values (e.g. regex results and other magic 1112If C<utf8> is disabled, then the result is also correctly encoded in those
615values will make it croak). 1113character sets (as both are proper subsets of Unicode, meaning that a
1114Unicode string with all character values < 256 is the same thing as a
1115ISO-8859-1 string, and a Unicode string with all character values < 128 is
1116the same thing as an ASCII string in Perl).
616 1117
617Does not even generate valid JSON (C<{1,2}> gets converted to C<{1:2}> 1118If C<utf8> is enabled, you still get a correct UTF-8-encoded string,
618which is not a valid JSON text. 1119regardless of these flags, just some more characters will be escaped using
1120C<\uXXXX> then before.
619 1121
620Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not 1122Note that ISO-8859-1-I<encoded> strings are not compatible with UTF-8
621getting fixed). 1123encoding, while ASCII-encoded strings are. That is because the ISO-8859-1
1124encoding is NOT a subset of UTF-8 (despite the ISO-8859-1 I<codeset> being
1125a subset of Unicode), while ASCII is.
622 1126
623=item JSON::Syck 0.21 1127Surprisingly, C<decode> will ignore these flags and so treat all input
1128values as governed by the C<utf8> flag. If it is disabled, this allows you
1129to decode ISO-8859-1- and ASCII-encoded strings, as both strict subsets of
1130Unicode. If it is enabled, you can correctly decode UTF-8 encoded strings.
624 1131
625Very buggy (often crashes). 1132So neither C<latin1> nor C<ascii> are incompatible with the C<utf8> flag -
1133they only govern when the JSON output engine escapes a character or not.
626 1134
627Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty much 1135The main use for C<latin1> is to relatively efficiently store binary data
628undocumented. I need at least a format for easy reading by humans and a 1136as JSON, at the expense of breaking compatibility with most JSON decoders.
629single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and preferably a way to
630generate ASCII-only JSON texts).
631 1137
632Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling (unicode 1138The main use for C<ascii> is to force the output to not contain characters
633escapes are not working properly, you need to set ImplicitUnicode to 1139with values > 127, which means you can interpret the resulting string
634I<different> values on en- and decoding to get symmetric behaviour). 1140as UTF-8, ISO-8859-1, ASCII, KOI8-R or most about any character set and
635 11418-bit-encoding, and still get the same data structure back. This is useful
636No roundtripping (simple cases work, but this depends on wether the scalar 1142when your channel for JSON transfer is not 8-bit clean or the encoding
637value was used in a numeric context or not). 1143might be mangled in between (e.g. in mail), and works because ASCII is a
638 1144proper subset of most 8-bit and multibyte encodings in use in the world.
639Dumping hashes may skip hash values depending on iterator state.
640
641Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not
642getting fixed).
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 1145
668=back 1146=back
669 1147
670 1148
671=head2 JSON and YAML 1149=head2 JSON and YAML
672 1150
673You often hear that JSON is a subset (or a close subset) of YAML. This is, 1151You 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 1152hysteria(*) 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. 1153so let me state it clearly: I<in general, there is no way to configure
1154JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML> that works in all
1155cases.
676 1156
677If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this 1157If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this
678algorithm (subject to change in future versions): 1158algorithm (subject to change in future versions):
679 1159
680 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1); 1160 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1);
681 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n"; 1161 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n";
682 1162
683This will usually generate JSON texts that also parse as valid 1163This will I<usually> generate JSON texts that also parse as valid
684YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key 1164YAML. 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 1165lengths that JSON doesn't have and also has different and incompatible
1166unicode handling, so you should make sure that your hash keys are
686keys are noticably shorter than the 1024 characters YAML allows. 1167noticeably shorter than the 1024 "stream characters" YAML allows and that
1168you do not have characters with codepoint values outside the Unicode BMP
1169(basic multilingual page). YAML also does not allow C<\/> sequences in
1170strings (which JSON::XS does not I<currently> generate, but other JSON
1171generators might).
687 1172
688There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of. In general 1173There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of (or the YAML
1174specification 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, 1175general 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 1176versa, or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are
691that you will run into severe interoperability problems. 1177high that you will run into severe interoperability problems when you
1178least expect it.
1179
1180=over 4
1181
1182=item (*)
1183
1184I have been pressured multiple times by Brian Ingerson (one of the
1185authors of the YAML specification) to remove this paragraph, despite him
1186acknowledging that the actual incompatibilities exist. As I was personally
1187bitten by this "JSON is YAML" lie, I refused and said I will continue to
1188educate people about these issues, so others do not run into the same
1189problem again and again. After this, Brian called me a (quote)I<complete
1190and worthless idiot>(unquote).
1191
1192In my opinion, instead of pressuring and insulting people who actually
1193clarify issues with YAML and the wrong statements of some of its
1194proponents, I would kindly suggest reading the JSON spec (which is not
1195that difficult or long) and finally make YAML compatible to it, and
1196educating users about the changes, instead of spreading lies about the
1197real compatibility for many I<years> and trying to silence people who
1198point out that it isn't true.
1199
1200=back
692 1201
693 1202
694=head2 SPEED 1203=head2 SPEED
695 1204
696It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following 1205It 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 1206tables. 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 1207in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own
699system. 1208system.
700 1209
701First comes a comparison between various modules using a very short 1210First comes a comparison between various modules using
702single-line JSON string: 1211a very short single-line JSON string (also available at
1212L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/short.json>).
703 1213
704 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], \ 1214 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], \
705 "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7, true, false]} 1215 "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7, true, false]}
706 1216
707It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses 1217It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses
708the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface 1218the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface
709with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables 1219with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables
710shrink). Higher is better: 1220shrink). Higher is better:
711 1221
712 Storable | 15779.925 | 14169.946 |
713 -----------+------------+------------+
714 module | encode | decode | 1222 module | encode | decode |
715 -----------|------------|------------| 1223 -----------|------------|------------|
716 JSON | 4990.842 | 4088.813 | 1224 JSON 1.x | 4990.842 | 4088.813 |
717 JSON::DWIW | 51653.990 | 71575.154 | 1225 JSON::DWIW | 51653.990 | 71575.154 |
718 JSON::PC | 65948.176 | 74631.744 | 1226 JSON::PC | 65948.176 | 74631.744 |
719 JSON::PP | 8931.652 | 3817.168 | 1227 JSON::PP | 8931.652 | 3817.168 |
720 JSON::Syck | 24877.248 | 27776.848 | 1228 JSON::Syck | 24877.248 | 27776.848 |
721 JSON::XS | 388361.481 | 227951.304 | 1229 JSON::XS | 388361.481 | 227951.304 |
723 JSON::XS/3 | 338250.323 | 218453.333 | 1231 JSON::XS/3 | 338250.323 | 218453.333 |
724 Storable | 16500.016 | 135300.129 | 1232 Storable | 16500.016 | 135300.129 |
725 -----------+------------+------------+ 1233 -----------+------------+------------+
726 1234
727That is, JSON::XS is about five times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding, 1235That is, JSON::XS is about five times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding,
728about three times faster on decoding, and over fourty times faster 1236about three times faster on decoding, and over forty times faster
729than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares 1237than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares
730favourably to Storable for small amounts of data. 1238favourably to Storable for small amounts of data.
731 1239
732Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals 1240Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals
733search API (http://nanoref.com/yahooapis/mgPdGg): 1241search API (L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/long.json>).
734 1242
735 module | encode | decode | 1243 module | encode | decode |
736 -----------|------------|------------| 1244 -----------|------------|------------|
737 JSON | 55.260 | 34.971 | 1245 JSON 1.x | 55.260 | 34.971 |
738 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 | 1246 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 |
739 JSON::PC | 3571.444 | 2394.829 | 1247 JSON::PC | 3571.444 | 2394.829 |
740 JSON::PP | 210.987 | 32.574 | 1248 JSON::PP | 210.987 | 32.574 |
741 JSON::Syck | 552.551 | 787.544 | 1249 JSON::Syck | 552.551 | 787.544 |
742 JSON::XS | 5780.463 | 4854.519 | 1250 JSON::XS | 5780.463 | 4854.519 |
746 -----------+------------+------------+ 1254 -----------+------------+------------+
747 1255
748Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly 1256Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly
749decodes faster). 1257decodes faster).
750 1258
751On large strings containing lots of high unicode characters, some modules 1259On 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 1260(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 1261will be broken due to missing (or wrong) Unicode handling. Others refuse
754to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair 1262to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair
755comparison table for that case. 1263comparison table for that case.
756 1264
757 1265
758=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS 1266=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
764any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am 1272any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am
765trying hard on making that true, but you never know. 1273trying hard on making that true, but you never know.
766 1274
767Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you should 1275Second, 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 1276limit 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 1277resources 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 1278can 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 1279usually 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 1280it 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 1281text, 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. 1282might want to check the size before you accept the string.
775 1283
776Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and 1284Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and
777arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64 1285arrays. 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 1286machine 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 1287only 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 1288to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. To be
781conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process 1289conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process
782has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the 1290has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the
783C<max_depth> method. 1291C<max_depth> method.
784 1292
785And last but least, something else could bomb you that I forgot to think 1293Something 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, 1294case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, though...
787though... 1295
1296Also keep in mind that JSON::XS might leak contents of your Perl data
1297structures in its error messages, so when you serialise sensitive
1298information you might want to make sure that exceptions thrown by JSON::XS
1299will not end up in front of untrusted eyes.
788 1300
789If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption 1301If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption
790by javascript scripts in a browser you should have a look at 1302by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at
791L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see wether 1303L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see whether
792you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser 1304you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser
793design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it, as major 1305design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it, as major
794browser developers care only for features, not about doing security 1306browser developers care only for features, not about getting security
795right). 1307right).
796 1308
797 1309
1310=head1 THREADS
1311
1312This module is I<not> guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no
1313plans to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the
1314horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated
1315process simulations - use fork, it's I<much> faster, cheaper, better).
1316
1317(It might actually work, but you have been warned).
1318
1319
798=head1 BUGS 1320=head1 BUGS
799 1321
800While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does 1322While 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 1323not mean it's bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is
802still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they 1324still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they
803will be fixed swiftly, though. 1325will be fixed swiftly, though.
804 1326
1327Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting
1328service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason.
1329
805=cut 1330=cut
806 1331
807our $true = do { bless \(my $dummy = "1"), "JSON::XS::Boolean" }; 1332our $true = do { bless \(my $dummy = 1), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
808our $false = do { bless \(my $dummy = "0"), "JSON::XS::Boolean" }; 1333our $false = do { bless \(my $dummy = 0), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
809 1334
810sub true() { $true } 1335sub true() { $true }
811sub false() { $false } 1336sub false() { $false }
812 1337
813sub is_bool($) { 1338sub is_bool($) {
825 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 }, 1350 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 },
826 fallback => 1; 1351 fallback => 1;
827 1352
8281; 13531;
829 1354
1355=head1 SEE ALSO
1356
1357The F<json_xs> command line utility for quick experiments.
1358
830=head1 AUTHOR 1359=head1 AUTHOR
831 1360
832 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 1361 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
833 http://home.schmorp.de/ 1362 http://home.schmorp.de/
834 1363

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