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Revision 1.52 by root, Mon Jul 2 02:57:11 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.137 by root, Thu Aug 11 17:06:53 2011 UTC

1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast 3JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast
4
5=encoding utf-8
6
7JSON::XS - 正しくて高速な JSON シリアライザ/デシリアライザ
8 (http://fleur.hio.jp/perldoc/mix/lib/JSON/XS.html)
4 9
5=head1 SYNOPSIS 10=head1 SYNOPSIS
6 11
7 use JSON::XS; 12 use JSON::XS;
8 13
9 # exported functions, they croak on error 14 # exported functions, they croak on error
10 # and expect/generate UTF-8 15 # and expect/generate UTF-8
11 16
12 $utf8_encoded_json_text = to_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref; 17 $utf8_encoded_json_text = encode_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref;
13 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = from_json $utf8_encoded_json_text; 18 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = decode_json $utf8_encoded_json_text;
14 19
15 # OO-interface 20 # OO-interface
16 21
17 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref; 22 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref;
18 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar); 23 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar);
19 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text); 24 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text);
20 25
26 # Note that JSON version 2.0 and above will automatically use JSON::XS
27 # if available, at virtually no speed overhead either, so you should
28 # be able to just:
29
30 use JSON;
31
32 # and do the same things, except that you have a pure-perl fallback now.
33
21=head1 DESCRIPTION 34=head1 DESCRIPTION
22 35
23This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its 36This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its
24primary goal is to be I<correct> and its secondary goal is to be 37primary goal is to be I<correct> and its secondary goal is to be
25I<fast>. To reach the latter goal it was written in C. 38I<fast>. To reach the latter goal it was written in C.
39
40Beginning with version 2.0 of the JSON module, when both JSON and
41JSON::XS are installed, then JSON will fall back on JSON::XS (this can be
42overridden) with no overhead due to emulation (by inheriting constructor
43and methods). If JSON::XS is not available, it will fall back to the
44compatible JSON::PP module as backend, so using JSON instead of JSON::XS
45gives you a portable JSON API that can be fast when you need and doesn't
46require a C compiler when that is a problem.
26 47
27As this is the n-th-something JSON module on CPAN, what was the reason 48As this is the n-th-something JSON module on CPAN, what was the reason
28to write yet another JSON module? While it seems there are many JSON 49to write yet another JSON module? While it seems there are many JSON
29modules, none of them correctly handle all corner cases, and in most cases 50modules, none of them correctly handle all corner cases, and in most cases
30their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug 51their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug
31reports for other reasons. 52reports for other reasons.
32 53
33See COMPARISON, below, for a comparison to some other JSON modules.
34
35See MAPPING, below, on how JSON::XS maps perl values to JSON values and 54See MAPPING, below, on how JSON::XS maps perl values to JSON values and
36vice versa. 55vice versa.
37 56
38=head2 FEATURES 57=head2 FEATURES
39 58
40=over 4 59=over 4
41 60
42=item * correct unicode handling 61=item * correct Unicode handling
43 62
44This module knows how to handle Unicode, and even documents how and when 63This module knows how to handle Unicode, documents how and when it does
45it does so. 64so, and even documents what "correct" means.
46 65
47=item * round-trip integrity 66=item * round-trip integrity
48 67
49When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported 68When you serialise a perl data structure using only data types supported
50by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level. 69by JSON and Perl, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl
51(e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because it looks 70level. (e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because
52like a number). 71it looks like a number). There I<are> minor exceptions to this, read the
72MAPPING section below to learn about those.
53 73
54=item * strict checking of JSON correctness 74=item * strict checking of JSON correctness
55 75
56There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default, 76There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default,
57and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security 77and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security
58feature). 78feature).
59 79
60=item * fast 80=item * fast
61 81
62Compared to other JSON modules, this module compares favourably in terms 82Compared to other JSON modules and other serialisers such as Storable,
63of speed, too. 83this module usually compares favourably in terms of speed, too.
64 84
65=item * simple to use 85=item * simple to use
66 86
67This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an OO 87This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an object
68interface. 88oriented interface interface.
69 89
70=item * reasonably versatile output formats 90=item * reasonably versatile output formats
71 91
72You can choose between the most compact guarenteed single-line format 92You can choose between the most compact guaranteed-single-line format
73possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format 93possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ASCII format
74(for when your transport is not 8-bit clean, still supports the whole 94(for when your transport is not 8-bit clean, still supports the whole
75unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that 95Unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that
76stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like. 96stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like.
77 97
78=back 98=back
79 99
80=cut 100=cut
81 101
82package JSON::XS; 102package JSON::XS;
83 103
84use strict; 104use common::sense;
85 105
86our $VERSION = '1.4'; 106our $VERSION = '2.32';
87our @ISA = qw(Exporter); 107our @ISA = qw(Exporter);
88 108
89our @EXPORT = qw(to_json from_json); 109our @EXPORT = qw(encode_json decode_json to_json from_json);
110
111sub to_json($) {
112 require Carp;
113 Carp::croak ("JSON::XS::to_json has been renamed to encode_json, either downgrade to pre-2.0 versions of JSON::XS or rename the call");
114}
115
116sub from_json($) {
117 require Carp;
118 Carp::croak ("JSON::XS::from_json has been renamed to decode_json, either downgrade to pre-2.0 versions of JSON::XS or rename the call");
119}
90 120
91use Exporter; 121use Exporter;
92use XSLoader; 122use XSLoader;
93 123
94=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE 124=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE
95 125
96The following convinience methods are provided by this module. They are 126The following convenience methods are provided by this module. They are
97exported by default: 127exported by default:
98 128
99=over 4 129=over 4
100 130
101=item $json_text = to_json $perl_scalar 131=item $json_text = encode_json $perl_scalar
102 132
103Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference to 133Converts the given Perl data structure to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string
104a hash or array) to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string (that is, the string contains 134(that is, the string contains octets only). Croaks on error.
105octets only). Croaks on error.
106 135
107This function call is functionally identical to: 136This function call is functionally identical to:
108 137
109 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar) 138 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar)
110 139
111except being faster. 140Except being faster.
112 141
113=item $perl_scalar = from_json $json_text 142=item $perl_scalar = decode_json $json_text
114 143
115The opposite of C<to_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries to 144The opposite of C<encode_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries
116parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting simple 145to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting
117scalar or reference. Croaks on error. 146reference. Croaks on error.
118 147
119This function call is functionally identical to: 148This function call is functionally identical to:
120 149
121 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text) 150 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text)
122 151
123except being faster. 152Except being faster.
124 153
125=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar 154=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar
126 155
127Returns true if the passed scalar represents either JSON::XS::true or 156Returns true if the passed scalar represents either JSON::XS::true or
128JSON::XS::false, two constants that act like C<1> and C<0>, respectively 157JSON::XS::false, two constants that act like C<1> and C<0>, respectively
132Perl. 161Perl.
133 162
134=back 163=back
135 164
136 165
166=head1 A FEW NOTES ON UNICODE AND PERL
167
168Since this often leads to confusion, here are a few very clear words on
169how Unicode works in Perl, modulo bugs.
170
171=over 4
172
173=item 1. Perl strings can store characters with ordinal values > 255.
174
175This enables you to store Unicode characters as single characters in a
176Perl string - very natural.
177
178=item 2. Perl does I<not> associate an encoding with your strings.
179
180... until you force it to, e.g. when matching it against a regex, or
181printing the scalar to a file, in which case Perl either interprets your
182string as locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode, depending
183on various settings. In no case is an encoding stored together with your
184data, it is I<use> that decides encoding, not any magical meta data.
185
186=item 3. The internal utf-8 flag has no meaning with regards to the
187encoding of your string.
188
189Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written in
190XS or want to dive into the internals of perl. Otherwise it will only
191confuse you, as, despite the name, it says nothing about how your string
192is encoded. You can have Unicode strings with that flag set, with that
193flag clear, and you can have binary data with that flag set and that flag
194clear. Other possibilities exist, too.
195
196If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it doesn't
197exist.
198
199=item 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be
200validly interpreted as a Unicode code point.
201
202If you have UTF-8 encoded data, it is no longer a Unicode string, but a
203Unicode string encoded in UTF-8, giving you a binary string.
204
205=item 5. A string containing "high" (> 255) character values is I<not> a UTF-8 string.
206
207It's a fact. Learn to live with it.
208
209=back
210
211I hope this helps :)
212
213
137=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE 214=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE
138 215
139The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or 216The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or
140decoding style, within the limits of supported formats. 217decoding style, within the limits of supported formats.
141 218
152 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]}) 229 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]})
153 => {"a": [1, 2]} 230 => {"a": [1, 2]}
154 231
155=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable]) 232=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable])
156 233
234=item $enabled = $json->get_ascii
235
157If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not 236If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
158generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any 237generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any
159unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a 238Unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a
160single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence, 239single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence,
161as per RFC4627. The resulting encoded JSON text can be treated as a native 240as per RFC4627. The resulting encoded JSON text can be treated as a native
162unicode string, an ascii-encoded, latin1-encoded or UTF-8 encoded string, 241Unicode string, an ascii-encoded, latin1-encoded or UTF-8 encoded string,
163or any other superset of ASCII. 242or any other superset of ASCII.
164 243
165If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 244If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
166characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results 245characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results
167in a faster and more compact format. 246in a faster and more compact format.
168 247
248See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
249document.
250
169The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be 251The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be
170transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not 252transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not
171contain any 8 bit characters. 253contain any 8 bit characters.
172 254
173 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401]) 255 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401])
174 => ["\ud801\udc01"] 256 => ["\ud801\udc01"]
175 257
176=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable]) 258=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable])
177 259
260=item $enabled = $json->get_latin1
261
178If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode 262If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
179the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters 263the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters
180outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a 264outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a
181latin1-encoded JSON text or a native unicode string. The C<decode> method 265latin1-encoded JSON text or a native Unicode string. The C<decode> method
182will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default 266will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default
183expects unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1. 267expects Unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1.
184 268
185If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 269If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
186characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. 270characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags.
271
272See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
273document.
187 274
188The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON 275The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON
189text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded 276text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded
190size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded 277size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded
191in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and 278in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and
192transfering), a rare encoding for JSON. It is therefore most useful when 279transferring), a rare encoding for JSON. It is therefore most useful when
193you want to store data structures known to contain binary data efficiently 280you want to store data structures known to contain binary data efficiently
194in files or databases, not when talking to other JSON encoders/decoders. 281in files or databases, not when talking to other JSON encoders/decoders.
195 282
196 JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"] 283 JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"]
197 => ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not) 284 => ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not)
198 285
199=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable]) 286=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable])
287
288=item $enabled = $json->get_utf8
200 289
201If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode 290If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
202the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the 291the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the
203C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please 292C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please
204note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the 293note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the
205range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future 294range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future
206versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16 295versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16
207and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627. 296and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627.
208 297
209If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON 298If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON
210string as a (non-encoded) unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a 299string as a (non-encoded) Unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a
211unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs 300Unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs
212to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module. 301to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module.
302
303See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
304document.
213 305
214Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON: 306Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON:
215 307
216 use Encode; 308 use Encode;
217 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object); 309 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object);
238 ] 330 ]
239 } 331 }
240 332
241=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable]) 333=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable])
242 334
335=item $enabled = $json->get_indent
336
243If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline 337If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline
244format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair 338format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair
245into its own line, identing them properly. 339into its own line, indenting them properly.
246 340
247If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the 341If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the
248resulting JSON text is guarenteed not to contain any C<newlines>. 342resulting JSON text is guaranteed not to contain any C<newlines>.
249 343
250This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 344This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
251 345
252=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable]) 346=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable])
347
348=item $enabled = $json->get_space_before
253 349
254If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 350If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
255optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects. 351optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects.
256 352
257If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra 353If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra
263Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled: 359Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled:
264 360
265 {"key" :"value"} 361 {"key" :"value"}
266 362
267=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable]) 363=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable])
364
365=item $enabled = $json->get_space_after
268 366
269If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 367If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
270optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects 368optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects
271and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array 369and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array
272members. 370members.
278 376
279Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled: 377Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled:
280 378
281 {"key": "value"} 379 {"key": "value"}
282 380
381=item $json = $json->relaxed ([$enable])
382
383=item $enabled = $json->get_relaxed
384
385If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<decode> will accept some
386extensions to normal JSON syntax (see below). C<encode> will not be
387affected in anyway. I<Be aware that this option makes you accept invalid
388JSON texts as if they were valid!>. I suggest only to use this option to
389parse application-specific files written by humans (configuration files,
390resource files etc.)
391
392If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<decode> will only accept
393valid JSON texts.
394
395Currently accepted extensions are:
396
397=over 4
398
399=item * list items can have an end-comma
400
401JSON I<separates> array elements and key-value pairs with commas. This
402can be annoying if you write JSON texts manually and want to be able to
403quickly append elements, so this extension accepts comma at the end of
404such items not just between them:
405
406 [
407 1,
408 2, <- this comma not normally allowed
409 ]
410 {
411 "k1": "v1",
412 "k2": "v2", <- this comma not normally allowed
413 }
414
415=item * shell-style '#'-comments
416
417Whenever JSON allows whitespace, shell-style comments are additionally
418allowed. They are terminated by the first carriage-return or line-feed
419character, after which more white-space and comments are allowed.
420
421 [
422 1, # this comment not allowed in JSON
423 # neither this one...
424 ]
425
426=back
427
283=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable]) 428=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable])
429
430=item $enabled = $json->get_canonical
284 431
285If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects 432If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects
286by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead. 433by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead.
287 434
288If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value 435If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value
289pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs 436pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs
290of the same script). 437of the same script).
291 438
292This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as 439This 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, 440the 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, 441the same hash might be encoded differently even if contains the same data,
295as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl. 442as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl.
296 443
297This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 444This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
298 445
446This setting has currently no effect on tied hashes.
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.
312resulting in an invalid JSON text: 463resulting in an invalid JSON text:
313 464
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
468=item $json = $json->allow_unknown ([$enable])
469
470=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_unknown
471
472If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode> will I<not> throw an
473exception when it encounters values it cannot represent in JSON (for
474example, filehandles) but instead will encode a JSON C<null> value. Note
475that blessed objects are not included here and are handled separately by
476c<allow_nonref>.
477
478If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
479exception when it encounters anything it cannot encode as JSON.
480
481This option does not affect C<decode> in any way, and it is recommended to
482leave it off unless you know your communications partner.
483
317=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable]) 484=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable])
485
486=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_blessed
318 487
319If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not 488If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
320barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the 489barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the
321B<convert_blessed> option will decide wether C<null> (C<convert_blessed> 490B<convert_blessed> option will decide whether C<null> (C<convert_blessed>
322disabled or no C<to_json> method found) or a representation of the 491disabled or no C<TO_JSON> method found) or a representation of the
323object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<to_json> method found) is being 492object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<TO_JSON> method found) is being
324encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>. 493encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>.
325 494
326If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an 495If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
327exception when it encounters a blessed object. 496exception when it encounters a blessed object.
328 497
329=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable]) 498=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable])
499
500=item $enabled = $json->get_convert_blessed
330 501
331If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a 502If 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 503blessed 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 504on 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 505and 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> 509The 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 510returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same
340way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle 511way. 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 512(== 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 513methods 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> 514usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with any C<to_json>
344function. 515function or method.
345 516
346This setting does not yet influence C<decode> in any way, but in the 517This 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 518future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are
348enabled by this setting. 519enabled by this setting.
349 520
391 562
392As this callback gets called less often then the C<filter_json_object> 563As this callback gets called less often then the C<filter_json_object>
393one, decoding speed will not usually suffer as much. Therefore, single-key 564one, decoding speed will not usually suffer as much. Therefore, single-key
394objects make excellent targets to serialise Perl objects into, especially 565objects make excellent targets to serialise Perl objects into, especially
395as single-key JSON objects are as close to the type-tagged value concept 566as single-key JSON objects are as close to the type-tagged value concept
396as JSON gets (its basically an ID/VALUE tuple). Of course, JSON does not 567as JSON gets (it's basically an ID/VALUE tuple). Of course, JSON does not
397support this in any way, so you need to make sure your data never looks 568support this in any way, so you need to make sure your data never looks
398like a serialised Perl hash. 569like a serialised Perl hash.
399 570
400Typical names for the single object key are C<__class_whatever__>, or 571Typical names for the single object key are C<__class_whatever__>, or
401C<$__dollars_are_rarely_used__$> or C<}ugly_brace_placement>, or even 572C<$__dollars_are_rarely_used__$> or C<}ugly_brace_placement>, or even
425 596
426 { __widget__ => $self->{id} } 597 { __widget__ => $self->{id} }
427 } 598 }
428 599
429=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable]) 600=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable])
601
602=item $enabled = $json->get_shrink
430 603
431Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for 604Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for
432strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either 605strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either
433C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save 606C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save
434memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many 607memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many
452strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats 625strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats
453internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space. 626internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space.
454 627
455=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth]) 628=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])
456 629
630=item $max_depth = $json->get_max_depth
631
457Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding 632Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding
458or decoding. If the JSON text or Perl data structure has an equal or 633or decoding. If a higher nesting level is detected in JSON text or a Perl
459higher nesting level then this limit, then the encoder and decoder will 634data structure, then the encoder and decoder will stop and croak at that
460stop and croak at that point. 635point.
461 636
462Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder 637Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder
463needs to traverse to reach a given point or the number of C<{> or C<[> 638needs to traverse to reach a given point or the number of C<{> or C<[>
464characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a 639characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a
465given character in a string. 640given character in a string.
466 641
467Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures 642Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures
468that the object is only a single hash/object or array. 643that the object is only a single hash/object or array.
469 644
470The argument to C<max_depth> will be rounded up to the next highest power
471of two. If no argument is given, the highest possible setting will be 645If no argument is given, the highest possible setting will be used, which
472used, which is rarely useful. 646is rarely useful.
647
648Note that nesting is implemented by recursion in C. The default value has
649been chosen to be as large as typical operating systems allow without
650crashing.
473 651
474See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful. 652See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
475 653
476=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size]) 654=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size])
655
656=item $max_size = $json->get_max_size
477 657
478Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where decoding is 658Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where decoding is
479being attempted. The default is C<0>, meaning no limit. When C<decode> 659being attempted. The default is C<0>, meaning no limit. When C<decode>
480is called on a string longer then this number of characters it will not 660is called on a string that is longer then this many bytes, it will not
481attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no 661attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no
482effect on C<encode> (yet). 662effect on C<encode> (yet).
483 663
484The argument to C<max_size> will be rounded up to the next B<highest> 664If no argument is given, the limit check will be deactivated (same as when
485power of two (so may be more than requested). If no argument is given, the 665C<0> is specified).
486limit check will be deactivated (same as when C<0> is specified).
487 666
488See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful. 667See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
489 668
490=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar) 669=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar)
491 670
520 => ([], 3) 699 => ([], 3)
521 700
522=back 701=back
523 702
524 703
704=head1 INCREMENTAL PARSING
705
706In some cases, there is the need for incremental parsing of JSON
707texts. While this module always has to keep both JSON text and resulting
708Perl data structure in memory at one time, it does allow you to parse a
709JSON stream incrementally. It does so by accumulating text until it has
710a full JSON object, which it then can decode. This process is similar to
711using C<decode_prefix> to see if a full JSON object is available, but
712is much more efficient (and can be implemented with a minimum of method
713calls).
714
715JSON::XS will only attempt to parse the JSON text once it is sure it
716has enough text to get a decisive result, using a very simple but
717truly incremental parser. This means that it sometimes won't stop as
718early as the full parser, for example, it doesn't detect mismatched
719parentheses. The only thing it guarantees is that it starts decoding as
720soon as a syntactically valid JSON text has been seen. This means you need
721to set resource limits (e.g. C<max_size>) to ensure the parser will stop
722parsing in the presence if syntax errors.
723
724The following methods implement this incremental parser.
725
726=over 4
727
728=item [void, scalar or list context] = $json->incr_parse ([$string])
729
730This is the central parsing function. It can both append new text and
731extract objects from the stream accumulated so far (both of these
732functions are optional).
733
734If C<$string> is given, then this string is appended to the already
735existing JSON fragment stored in the C<$json> object.
736
737After that, if the function is called in void context, it will simply
738return without doing anything further. This can be used to add more text
739in as many chunks as you want.
740
741If the method is called in scalar context, then it will try to extract
742exactly I<one> JSON object. If that is successful, it will return this
743object, otherwise it will return C<undef>. If there is a parse error,
744this method will croak just as C<decode> would do (one can then use
745C<incr_skip> to skip the errornous part). This is the most common way of
746using the method.
747
748And finally, in list context, it will try to extract as many objects
749from the stream as it can find and return them, or the empty list
750otherwise. For this to work, there must be no separators between the JSON
751objects or arrays, instead they must be concatenated back-to-back. If
752an error occurs, an exception will be raised as in the scalar context
753case. Note that in this case, any previously-parsed JSON texts will be
754lost.
755
756Example: Parse some JSON arrays/objects in a given string and return
757them.
758
759 my @objs = JSON::XS->new->incr_parse ("[5][7][1,2]");
760
761=item $lvalue_string = $json->incr_text
762
763This method returns the currently stored JSON fragment as an lvalue, that
764is, you can manipulate it. This I<only> works when a preceding call to
765C<incr_parse> in I<scalar context> successfully returned an object. Under
766all other circumstances you must not call this function (I mean it.
767although in simple tests it might actually work, it I<will> fail under
768real world conditions). As a special exception, you can also call this
769method before having parsed anything.
770
771This function is useful in two cases: a) finding the trailing text after a
772JSON object or b) parsing multiple JSON objects separated by non-JSON text
773(such as commas).
774
775=item $json->incr_skip
776
777This will reset the state of the incremental parser and will remove
778the parsed text from the input buffer so far. This is useful after
779C<incr_parse> died, in which case the input buffer and incremental parser
780state is left unchanged, to skip the text parsed so far and to reset the
781parse state.
782
783The difference to C<incr_reset> is that only text until the parse error
784occured is removed.
785
786=item $json->incr_reset
787
788This completely resets the incremental parser, that is, after this call,
789it will be as if the parser had never parsed anything.
790
791This is useful if you want to repeatedly parse JSON objects and want to
792ignore any trailing data, which means you have to reset the parser after
793each successful decode.
794
795=back
796
797=head2 LIMITATIONS
798
799All options that affect decoding are supported, except
800C<allow_nonref>. The reason for this is that it cannot be made to
801work sensibly: JSON objects and arrays are self-delimited, i.e. you can concatenate
802them back to back and still decode them perfectly. This does not hold true
803for JSON numbers, however.
804
805For example, is the string C<1> a single JSON number, or is it simply the
806start of C<12>? Or is C<12> a single JSON number, or the concatenation
807of C<1> and C<2>? In neither case you can tell, and this is why JSON::XS
808takes the conservative route and disallows this case.
809
810=head2 EXAMPLES
811
812Some examples will make all this clearer. First, a simple example that
813works similarly to C<decode_prefix>: We want to decode the JSON object at
814the start of a string and identify the portion after the JSON object:
815
816 my $text = "[1,2,3] hello";
817
818 my $json = new JSON::XS;
819
820 my $obj = $json->incr_parse ($text)
821 or die "expected JSON object or array at beginning of string";
822
823 my $tail = $json->incr_text;
824 # $tail now contains " hello"
825
826Easy, isn't it?
827
828Now for a more complicated example: Imagine a hypothetical protocol where
829you read some requests from a TCP stream, and each request is a JSON
830array, without any separation between them (in fact, it is often useful to
831use newlines as "separators", as these get interpreted as whitespace at
832the start of the JSON text, which makes it possible to test said protocol
833with C<telnet>...).
834
835Here is how you'd do it (it is trivial to write this in an event-based
836manner):
837
838 my $json = new JSON::XS;
839
840 # read some data from the socket
841 while (sysread $socket, my $buf, 4096) {
842
843 # split and decode as many requests as possible
844 for my $request ($json->incr_parse ($buf)) {
845 # act on the $request
846 }
847 }
848
849Another complicated example: Assume you have a string with JSON objects
850or arrays, all separated by (optional) comma characters (e.g. C<[1],[2],
851[3]>). To parse them, we have to skip the commas between the JSON texts,
852and here is where the lvalue-ness of C<incr_text> comes in useful:
853
854 my $text = "[1],[2], [3]";
855 my $json = new JSON::XS;
856
857 # void context, so no parsing done
858 $json->incr_parse ($text);
859
860 # now extract as many objects as possible. note the
861 # use of scalar context so incr_text can be called.
862 while (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
863 # do something with $obj
864
865 # now skip the optional comma
866 $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* , //x;
867 }
868
869Now lets go for a very complex example: Assume that you have a gigantic
870JSON array-of-objects, many gigabytes in size, and you want to parse it,
871but you cannot load it into memory fully (this has actually happened in
872the real world :).
873
874Well, you lost, you have to implement your own JSON parser. But JSON::XS
875can still help you: You implement a (very simple) array parser and let
876JSON decode the array elements, which are all full JSON objects on their
877own (this wouldn't work if the array elements could be JSON numbers, for
878example):
879
880 my $json = new JSON::XS;
881
882 # open the monster
883 open my $fh, "<bigfile.json"
884 or die "bigfile: $!";
885
886 # first parse the initial "["
887 for (;;) {
888 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
889 or die "read error: $!";
890 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
891
892 # Exit the loop once we found and removed(!) the initial "[".
893 # In essence, we are (ab-)using the $json object as a simple scalar
894 # we append data to.
895 last if $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* \[ //x;
896 }
897
898 # now we have the skipped the initial "[", so continue
899 # parsing all the elements.
900 for (;;) {
901 # in this loop we read data until we got a single JSON object
902 for (;;) {
903 if (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
904 # do something with $obj
905 last;
906 }
907
908 # add more data
909 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
910 or die "read error: $!";
911 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
912 }
913
914 # in this loop we read data until we either found and parsed the
915 # separating "," between elements, or the final "]"
916 for (;;) {
917 # first skip whitespace
918 $json->incr_text =~ s/^\s*//;
919
920 # if we find "]", we are done
921 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^\]//) {
922 print "finished.\n";
923 exit;
924 }
925
926 # if we find ",", we can continue with the next element
927 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^,//) {
928 last;
929 }
930
931 # if we find anything else, we have a parse error!
932 if (length $json->incr_text) {
933 die "parse error near ", $json->incr_text;
934 }
935
936 # else add more data
937 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
938 or die "read error: $!";
939 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
940 }
941
942This is a complex example, but most of the complexity comes from the fact
943that we are trying to be correct (bear with me if I am wrong, I never ran
944the above example :).
945
946
947
525=head1 MAPPING 948=head1 MAPPING
526 949
527This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and 950This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and
528vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most 951vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most
529circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics 952circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics
530(what you put in comes out as something equivalent). 953(what you put in comes out as something equivalent).
531 954
532For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions, 955For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions,
533lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppcercase I<Perl> 956lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppercase I<Perl>
534refers to the abstract Perl language itself. 957refers to the abstract Perl language itself.
535 958
536 959
537=head2 JSON -> PERL 960=head2 JSON -> PERL
538 961
539=over 4 962=over 4
540 963
541=item object 964=item object
542 965
543A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object 966A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object
544keys is preserved (JSON does not preserver object key ordering itself). 967keys is preserved (JSON does not preserve object key ordering itself).
545 968
546=item array 969=item array
547 970
548A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl. 971A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl.
549 972
553are represented by the same codepoints in the Perl string, so no manual 976are represented by the same codepoints in the Perl string, so no manual
554decoding is necessary. 977decoding is necessary.
555 978
556=item number 979=item number
557 980
558A JSON number becomes either an integer or numeric (floating point) 981A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or
559scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On the 982string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On
560Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all the 983the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all
561conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and might 984the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and
562represent more values exactly than (floating point) numbers. 985might represent more values exactly than floating point numbers.
986
987If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent
988it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as
989a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of
990precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value (in
991which case you lose roundtripping ability, as the JSON number will be
992re-encoded toa JSON string).
993
994Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be
995represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of
996precision (in which case you might lose perfect roundtripping ability, but
997the JSON number will still be re-encoded as a JSON number).
998
999Note that precision is not accuracy - binary floating point values cannot
1000represent most decimal fractions exactly, and when converting from and to
1001floating point, JSON::XS only guarantees precision up to but not including
1002the leats significant bit.
563 1003
564=item true, false 1004=item true, false
565 1005
566These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>, 1006These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>,
567respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers 1007respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers
568C<1> and C<0>. You can check wether a scalar is a JSON boolean by using 1008C<1> and C<0>. You can check whether a scalar is a JSON boolean by using
569the C<JSON::XS::is_bool> function. 1009the C<JSON::XS::is_bool> function.
570 1010
571=item null 1011=item null
572 1012
573A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl. 1013A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl.
604Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an 1044Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an
605exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and 1045exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and
606C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can 1046C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can
607also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability. 1047also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability.
608 1048
609 to_json [\0,JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true] 1049 encode_json [\0, JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true]
610 1050
611=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false 1051=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false
612 1052
613These special values become JSON true and JSON false values, 1053These special values become JSON true and JSON false values,
614respectively. You cna alos use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want. 1054respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want.
615 1055
616=item blessed objects 1056=item blessed objects
617 1057
618Blessed objects are not allowed. JSON::XS currently tries to encode their 1058Blessed objects are not directly representable in JSON. See the
619underlying representation (hash- or arrayref), but this behaviour might 1059C<allow_blessed> and C<convert_blessed> methods on various options on
620change in future versions. 1060how to deal with this: basically, you can choose between throwing an
1061exception, encoding the reference as if it weren't blessed, or provide
1062your own serialiser method.
621 1063
622=item simple scalars 1064=item simple scalars
623 1065
624Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most 1066Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most
625difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as 1067difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as
626JSON null value, scalars that have last been used in a string context 1068JSON C<null> values, scalars that have last been used in a string context
627before encoding as JSON strings and anything else as number value: 1069before encoding as JSON strings, and anything else as number value:
628 1070
629 # dump as number 1071 # dump as number
630 to_json [2] # yields [2] 1072 encode_json [2] # yields [2]
631 to_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17] 1073 encode_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17]
632 my $value = 5; to_json [$value] # yields [5] 1074 my $value = 5; encode_json [$value] # yields [5]
633 1075
634 # used as string, so dump as string 1076 # used as string, so dump as string
635 print $value; 1077 print $value;
636 to_json [$value] # yields ["5"] 1078 encode_json [$value] # yields ["5"]
637 1079
638 # undef becomes null 1080 # undef becomes null
639 to_json [undef] # yields [null] 1081 encode_json [undef] # yields [null]
640 1082
641You can force the type to be a string by stringifying it: 1083You can force the type to be a JSON string by stringifying it:
642 1084
643 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number 1085 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number
644 "$x"; # stringified 1086 "$x"; # stringified
645 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify 1087 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify
646 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often 1088 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often
647 1089
648You can force the type to be a number by numifying it: 1090You can force the type to be a JSON number by numifying it:
649 1091
650 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string 1092 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string
651 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number 1093 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number
652 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choise is yours. 1094 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours.
653 1095
654You can not currently output JSON booleans or force the type in other, 1096You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me
655less obscure, ways. Tell me if you need this capability. 1097if you need this capability (but don't forget to explain why it's needed
1098:).
1099
1100Note that numerical precision has the same meaning as under Perl (so
1101binary to decimal conversion follows the same rules as in Perl, which
1102can differ to other languages). Also, your perl interpreter might expose
1103extensions to the floating point numbers of your platform, such as
1104infinities or NaN's - these cannot be represented in JSON, and it is an
1105error to pass those in.
656 1106
657=back 1107=back
658 1108
659 1109
660=head1 COMPARISON 1110=head1 ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES
661 1111
662As already mentioned, this module was created because none of the existing 1112The interested reader might have seen a number of flags that signify
663JSON modules could be made to work correctly. First I will describe the 1113encodings or codesets - C<utf8>, C<latin1> and C<ascii>. There seems to be
664problems (or pleasures) I encountered with various existing JSON modules, 1114some confusion on what these do, so here is a short comparison:
665followed by some benchmark values. JSON::XS was designed not to suffer 1115
666from any of these problems or limitations. 1116C<utf8> controls whether the JSON text created by C<encode> (and expected
1117by C<decode>) is UTF-8 encoded or not, while C<latin1> and C<ascii> only
1118control whether C<encode> escapes character values outside their respective
1119codeset range. Neither of these flags conflict with each other, although
1120some combinations make less sense than others.
1121
1122Care has been taken to make all flags symmetrical with respect to
1123C<encode> and C<decode>, that is, texts encoded with any combination of
1124these flag values will be correctly decoded when the same flags are used
1125- in general, if you use different flag settings while encoding vs. when
1126decoding you likely have a bug somewhere.
1127
1128Below comes a verbose discussion of these flags. Note that a "codeset" is
1129simply an abstract set of character-codepoint pairs, while an encoding
1130takes those codepoint numbers and I<encodes> them, in our case into
1131octets. Unicode is (among other things) a codeset, UTF-8 is an encoding,
1132and ISO-8859-1 (= latin 1) and ASCII are both codesets I<and> encodings at
1133the same time, which can be confusing.
667 1134
668=over 4 1135=over 4
669 1136
670=item JSON 1.07 1137=item C<utf8> flag disabled
671 1138
672Slow (but very portable, as it is written in pure Perl). 1139When C<utf8> is disabled (the default), then C<encode>/C<decode> generate
1140and expect Unicode strings, that is, characters with high ordinal Unicode
1141values (> 255) will be encoded as such characters, and likewise such
1142characters are decoded as-is, no canges to them will be done, except
1143"(re-)interpreting" them as Unicode codepoints or Unicode characters,
1144respectively (to Perl, these are the same thing in strings unless you do
1145funny/weird/dumb stuff).
673 1146
674Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling (how JSON handles unicode values is 1147This is useful when you want to do the encoding yourself (e.g. when you
675undocumented. One can get far by feeding it unicode strings and doing 1148want to have UTF-16 encoded JSON texts) or when some other layer does
676en-/decoding oneself, but unicode escapes are not working properly). 1149the encoding for you (for example, when printing to a terminal using a
1150filehandle that transparently encodes to UTF-8 you certainly do NOT want
1151to UTF-8 encode your data first and have Perl encode it another time).
677 1152
678No roundtripping (strings get clobbered if they look like numbers, e.g. 1153=item C<utf8> flag enabled
679the string C<2.0> will encode to C<2.0> instead of C<"2.0">, and that will
680decode into the number 2.
681 1154
682=item JSON::PC 0.01 1155If the C<utf8>-flag is enabled, C<encode>/C<decode> will encode all
1156characters using the corresponding UTF-8 multi-byte sequence, and will
1157expect your input strings to be encoded as UTF-8, that is, no "character"
1158of the input string must have any value > 255, as UTF-8 does not allow
1159that.
683 1160
684Very fast. 1161The C<utf8> flag therefore switches between two modes: disabled means you
1162will get a Unicode string in Perl, enabled means you get an UTF-8 encoded
1163octet/binary string in Perl.
685 1164
686Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling. 1165=item C<latin1> or C<ascii> flags enabled
687 1166
688No roundtripping. 1167With C<latin1> (or C<ascii>) enabled, C<encode> will escape characters
1168with ordinal values > 255 (> 127 with C<ascii>) and encode the remaining
1169characters as specified by the C<utf8> flag.
689 1170
690Has problems handling many Perl values (e.g. regex results and other magic 1171If C<utf8> is disabled, then the result is also correctly encoded in those
691values will make it croak). 1172character sets (as both are proper subsets of Unicode, meaning that a
1173Unicode string with all character values < 256 is the same thing as a
1174ISO-8859-1 string, and a Unicode string with all character values < 128 is
1175the same thing as an ASCII string in Perl).
692 1176
693Does not even generate valid JSON (C<{1,2}> gets converted to C<{1:2}> 1177If C<utf8> is enabled, you still get a correct UTF-8-encoded string,
694which is not a valid JSON text. 1178regardless of these flags, just some more characters will be escaped using
1179C<\uXXXX> then before.
695 1180
696Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not 1181Note that ISO-8859-1-I<encoded> strings are not compatible with UTF-8
697getting fixed). 1182encoding, while ASCII-encoded strings are. That is because the ISO-8859-1
1183encoding is NOT a subset of UTF-8 (despite the ISO-8859-1 I<codeset> being
1184a subset of Unicode), while ASCII is.
698 1185
699=item JSON::Syck 0.21 1186Surprisingly, C<decode> will ignore these flags and so treat all input
1187values as governed by the C<utf8> flag. If it is disabled, this allows you
1188to decode ISO-8859-1- and ASCII-encoded strings, as both strict subsets of
1189Unicode. If it is enabled, you can correctly decode UTF-8 encoded strings.
700 1190
701Very buggy (often crashes). 1191So neither C<latin1> nor C<ascii> are incompatible with the C<utf8> flag -
1192they only govern when the JSON output engine escapes a character or not.
702 1193
703Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty much 1194The main use for C<latin1> is to relatively efficiently store binary data
704undocumented. I need at least a format for easy reading by humans and a 1195as JSON, at the expense of breaking compatibility with most JSON decoders.
705single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and preferably a way to
706generate ASCII-only JSON texts).
707 1196
708Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling (unicode 1197The main use for C<ascii> is to force the output to not contain characters
709escapes are not working properly, you need to set ImplicitUnicode to 1198with values > 127, which means you can interpret the resulting string
710I<different> values on en- and decoding to get symmetric behaviour). 1199as UTF-8, ISO-8859-1, ASCII, KOI8-R or most about any character set and
711 12008-bit-encoding, and still get the same data structure back. This is useful
712No roundtripping (simple cases work, but this depends on wether the scalar 1201when your channel for JSON transfer is not 8-bit clean or the encoding
713value was used in a numeric context or not). 1202might be mangled in between (e.g. in mail), and works because ASCII is a
714 1203proper subset of most 8-bit and multibyte encodings in use in the world.
715Dumping hashes may skip hash values depending on iterator state.
716
717Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not
718getting fixed).
719
720Does not check input for validity (i.e. will accept non-JSON input and
721return "something" instead of raising an exception. This is a security
722issue: imagine two banks transfering money between each other using
723JSON. One bank might parse a given non-JSON request and deduct money,
724while the other might reject the transaction with a syntax error. While a
725good protocol will at least recover, that is extra unnecessary work and
726the transaction will still not succeed).
727
728=item JSON::DWIW 0.04
729
730Very fast. Very natural. Very nice.
731
732Undocumented unicode handling (but the best of the pack. Unicode escapes
733still don't get parsed properly).
734
735Very inflexible.
736
737No roundtripping.
738
739Does not generate valid JSON texts (key strings are often unquoted, empty keys
740result in nothing being output)
741
742Does not check input for validity.
743 1204
744=back 1205=back
745 1206
746 1207
1208=head2 JSON and ECMAscript
1209
1210JSON syntax is based on how literals are represented in javascript (the
1211not-standardised predecessor of ECMAscript) which is presumably why it is
1212called "JavaScript Object Notation".
1213
1214However, JSON is not a subset (and also not a superset of course) of
1215ECMAscript (the standard) or javascript (whatever browsers actually
1216implement).
1217
1218If you want to use javascript's C<eval> function to "parse" JSON, you
1219might run into parse errors for valid JSON texts, or the resulting data
1220structure might not be queryable:
1221
1222One of the problems is that U+2028 and U+2029 are valid characters inside
1223JSON strings, but are not allowed in ECMAscript string literals, so the
1224following Perl fragment will not output something that can be guaranteed
1225to be parsable by javascript's C<eval>:
1226
1227 use JSON::XS;
1228
1229 print encode_json [chr 0x2028];
1230
1231The right fix for this is to use a proper JSON parser in your javascript
1232programs, and not rely on C<eval> (see for example Douglas Crockford's
1233F<json2.js> parser).
1234
1235If this is not an option, you can, as a stop-gap measure, simply encode to
1236ASCII-only JSON:
1237
1238 use JSON::XS;
1239
1240 print JSON::XS->new->ascii->encode ([chr 0x2028]);
1241
1242Note that this will enlarge the resulting JSON text quite a bit if you
1243have many non-ASCII characters. You might be tempted to run some regexes
1244to only escape U+2028 and U+2029, e.g.:
1245
1246 # DO NOT USE THIS!
1247 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ([chr 0x2028]);
1248 $json =~ s/\xe2\x80\xa8/\\u2028/g; # escape U+2028
1249 $json =~ s/\xe2\x80\xa9/\\u2029/g; # escape U+2029
1250 print $json;
1251
1252Note that I<this is a bad idea>: the above only works for U+2028 and
1253U+2029 and thus only for fully ECMAscript-compliant parsers. Many existing
1254javascript implementations, however, have issues with other characters as
1255well - using C<eval> naively simply I<will> cause problems.
1256
1257Another problem is that some javascript implementations reserve
1258some property names for their own purposes (which probably makes
1259them non-ECMAscript-compliant). For example, Iceweasel reserves the
1260C<__proto__> property name for its own purposes.
1261
1262If that is a problem, you could parse try to filter the resulting JSON
1263output for these property strings, e.g.:
1264
1265 $json =~ s/"__proto__"\s*:/"__proto__renamed":/g;
1266
1267This works because C<__proto__> is not valid outside of strings, so every
1268occurence of C<"__proto__"\s*:> must be a string used as property name.
1269
1270If you know of other incompatibilities, please let me know.
1271
1272
747=head2 JSON and YAML 1273=head2 JSON and YAML
748 1274
749You often hear that JSON is a subset (or a close subset) of YAML. This is, 1275You often hear that JSON is a subset of YAML. This is, however, a mass
750however, a mass hysteria and very far from the truth. In general, there is 1276hysteria(*) and very far from the truth (as of the time of this writing),
751no way to configure JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML. 1277so let me state it clearly: I<in general, there is no way to configure
1278JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML> that works in all
1279cases.
752 1280
753If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this 1281If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this
754algorithm (subject to change in future versions): 1282algorithm (subject to change in future versions):
755 1283
756 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1); 1284 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1);
757 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n"; 1285 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n";
758 1286
759This will usually generate JSON texts that also parse as valid 1287This will I<usually> generate JSON texts that also parse as valid
760YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key 1288YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key
761lengths that JSON doesn't have, so you should make sure that your hash 1289lengths that JSON doesn't have and also has different and incompatible
1290unicode character escape syntax, so you should make sure that your hash
762keys are noticably shorter than the 1024 characters YAML allows. 1291keys are noticeably shorter than the 1024 "stream characters" YAML allows
1292and that you do not have characters with codepoint values outside the
1293Unicode BMP (basic multilingual page). YAML also does not allow C<\/>
1294sequences in strings (which JSON::XS does not I<currently> generate, but
1295other JSON generators might).
763 1296
764There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of. In general 1297There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of (or the YAML
1298specification has been changed yet again - it does so quite often). In
765you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice versa, 1299general you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice
766or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are high 1300versa, or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are
767that you will run into severe interoperability problems. 1301high that you will run into severe interoperability problems when you
1302least expect it.
1303
1304=over 4
1305
1306=item (*)
1307
1308I have been pressured multiple times by Brian Ingerson (one of the
1309authors of the YAML specification) to remove this paragraph, despite him
1310acknowledging that the actual incompatibilities exist. As I was personally
1311bitten by this "JSON is YAML" lie, I refused and said I will continue to
1312educate people about these issues, so others do not run into the same
1313problem again and again. After this, Brian called me a (quote)I<complete
1314and worthless idiot>(unquote).
1315
1316In my opinion, instead of pressuring and insulting people who actually
1317clarify issues with YAML and the wrong statements of some of its
1318proponents, I would kindly suggest reading the JSON spec (which is not
1319that difficult or long) and finally make YAML compatible to it, and
1320educating users about the changes, instead of spreading lies about the
1321real compatibility for many I<years> and trying to silence people who
1322point out that it isn't true.
1323
1324Addendum/2009: the YAML 1.2 spec is still incompatible with JSON, even
1325though the incompatibilities have been documented (and are known to Brian)
1326for many years and the spec makes explicit claims that YAML is a superset
1327of JSON. It would be so easy to fix, but apparently, bullying people and
1328corrupting userdata is so much easier.
1329
1330=back
768 1331
769 1332
770=head2 SPEED 1333=head2 SPEED
771 1334
772It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following 1335It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following
773tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program 1336tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program
774in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own 1337in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own
775system. 1338system.
776 1339
777First comes a comparison between various modules using a very short 1340First comes a comparison between various modules using
778single-line JSON string: 1341a very short single-line JSON string (also available at
1342L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/short.json>).
779 1343
780 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], \ 1344 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1",
781 "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7, true, false]} 1345 "we were just talking"], "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7,
1346 1, 0]}
782 1347
783It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses 1348It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses
784the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface 1349the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface
785with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables 1350with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables
786shrink). Higher is better: 1351shrink. JSON::DWIW/DS uses the deserialise function, while JSON::DWIW::FJ
1352uses the from_json method). Higher is better:
787 1353
788 Storable | 15779.925 | 14169.946 |
789 -----------+------------+------------+
790 module | encode | decode | 1354 module | encode | decode |
791 -----------|------------|------------| 1355 --------------|------------|------------|
792 JSON | 4990.842 | 4088.813 | 1356 JSON::DWIW/DS | 86302.551 | 102300.098 |
793 JSON::DWIW | 51653.990 | 71575.154 | 1357 JSON::DWIW/FJ | 86302.551 | 75983.768 |
794 JSON::PC | 65948.176 | 74631.744 | 1358 JSON::PP | 15827.562 | 6638.658 |
795 JSON::PP | 8931.652 | 3817.168 | 1359 JSON::Syck | 63358.066 | 47662.545 |
796 JSON::Syck | 24877.248 | 27776.848 | 1360 JSON::XS | 511500.488 | 511500.488 |
797 JSON::XS | 388361.481 | 227951.304 | 1361 JSON::XS/2 | 291271.111 | 388361.481 |
798 JSON::XS/2 | 227951.304 | 218453.333 | 1362 JSON::XS/3 | 361577.931 | 361577.931 |
799 JSON::XS/3 | 338250.323 | 218453.333 | 1363 Storable | 66788.280 | 265462.278 |
800 Storable | 16500.016 | 135300.129 |
801 -----------+------------+------------+ 1364 --------------+------------+------------+
802 1365
803That is, JSON::XS is about five times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding, 1366That is, JSON::XS is almost six times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding,
804about three times faster on decoding, and over fourty times faster 1367about five times faster on decoding, and over thirty to seventy times
805than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares 1368faster than JSON's pure perl implementation. It also compares favourably
806favourably to Storable for small amounts of data. 1369to Storable for small amounts of data.
807 1370
808Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals 1371Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals
809search API (http://nanoref.com/yahooapis/mgPdGg): 1372search API (L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/long.json>).
810 1373
811 module | encode | decode | 1374 module | encode | decode |
812 -----------|------------|------------| 1375 --------------|------------|------------|
813 JSON | 55.260 | 34.971 | 1376 JSON::DWIW/DS | 1647.927 | 2673.916 |
814 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 | 1377 JSON::DWIW/FJ | 1630.249 | 2596.128 |
815 JSON::PC | 3571.444 | 2394.829 |
816 JSON::PP | 210.987 | 32.574 | 1378 JSON::PP | 400.640 | 62.311 |
817 JSON::Syck | 552.551 | 787.544 | 1379 JSON::Syck | 1481.040 | 1524.869 |
818 JSON::XS | 5780.463 | 4854.519 | 1380 JSON::XS | 20661.596 | 9541.183 |
819 JSON::XS/2 | 3869.998 | 4798.975 | 1381 JSON::XS/2 | 10683.403 | 9416.938 |
820 JSON::XS/3 | 5862.880 | 4798.975 | 1382 JSON::XS/3 | 20661.596 | 9400.054 |
821 Storable | 4445.002 | 5235.027 | 1383 Storable | 19765.806 | 10000.725 |
822 -----------+------------+------------+ 1384 --------------+------------+------------+
823 1385
824Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly 1386Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly
825decodes faster). 1387decodes a bit faster).
826 1388
827On large strings containing lots of high unicode characters, some modules 1389On large strings containing lots of high Unicode characters, some modules
828(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result 1390(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result
829will be broken due to missing (or wrong) unicode handling. Others refuse 1391will be broken due to missing (or wrong) Unicode handling. Others refuse
830to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair 1392to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair
831comparison table for that case. 1393comparison table for that case.
832 1394
833 1395
834=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS 1396=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
840any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am 1402any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am
841trying hard on making that true, but you never know. 1403trying hard on making that true, but you never know.
842 1404
843Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you should 1405Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you should
844limit the size of JSON texts you accept, or make sure then when your 1406limit the size of JSON texts you accept, or make sure then when your
845resources run out, thats just fine (e.g. by using a separate process that 1407resources run out, that's just fine (e.g. by using a separate process that
846can crash safely). The size of a JSON text in octets or characters is 1408can crash safely). The size of a JSON text in octets or characters is
847usually a good indication of the size of the resources required to decode 1409usually a good indication of the size of the resources required to decode
848it into a Perl structure. While JSON::XS can check the size of the JSON 1410it into a Perl structure. While JSON::XS can check the size of the JSON
849text, it might be too late when you already have it in memory, so you 1411text, it might be too late when you already have it in memory, so you
850might want to check the size before you accept the string. 1412might want to check the size before you accept the string.
851 1413
852Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and 1414Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and
853arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64 1415arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64
854machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but 1416machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but
855only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak 1417only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak
856to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. to be 1418to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. To be
857conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process 1419conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process
858has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the 1420has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the
859C<max_depth> method. 1421C<max_depth> method.
860 1422
861And last but least, something else could bomb you that I forgot to think 1423Something else could bomb you, too, that I forgot to think of. In that
862of. In that case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, 1424case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, though...
863though... 1425
1426Also keep in mind that JSON::XS might leak contents of your Perl data
1427structures in its error messages, so when you serialise sensitive
1428information you might want to make sure that exceptions thrown by JSON::XS
1429will not end up in front of untrusted eyes.
864 1430
865If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption 1431If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption
866by javascript scripts in a browser you should have a look at 1432by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at
867L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see wether 1433L<http://blog.archive.jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security/> to
868you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser 1434see whether you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really
869design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it, as major 1435are browser design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with
870browser developers care only for features, not about doing security 1436it, as major browser developers care only for features, not about getting
871right). 1437security right).
1438
1439
1440=head1 THREADS
1441
1442This module is I<not> guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no
1443plans to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the
1444horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated
1445process simulations - use fork, it's I<much> faster, cheaper, better).
1446
1447(It might actually work, but you have been warned).
872 1448
873 1449
874=head1 BUGS 1450=head1 BUGS
875 1451
876While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does 1452While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does
877not mean its bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is 1453not mean it's bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. If you
878still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they 1454keep reporting bugs they will be fixed swiftly, though.
879will be fixed swiftly, though. 1455
1456Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting
1457service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason.
880 1458
881=cut 1459=cut
882 1460
883our $true = do { bless \(my $dummy = "1"), "JSON::XS::Boolean" }; 1461our $true = do { bless \(my $dummy = 1), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
884our $false = do { bless \(my $dummy = "0"), "JSON::XS::Boolean" }; 1462our $false = do { bless \(my $dummy = 0), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
885 1463
886sub true() { $true } 1464sub true() { $true }
887sub false() { $false } 1465sub false() { $false }
888 1466
889sub is_bool($) { 1467sub is_bool($) {
901 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 }, 1479 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 },
902 fallback => 1; 1480 fallback => 1;
903 1481
9041; 14821;
905 1483
1484=head1 SEE ALSO
1485
1486The F<json_xs> command line utility for quick experiments.
1487
906=head1 AUTHOR 1488=head1 AUTHOR
907 1489
908 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 1490 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
909 http://home.schmorp.de/ 1491 http://home.schmorp.de/
910 1492

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