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Revision 1.6 by root, Thu Mar 22 23:24:18 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.53 by root, Mon Jul 2 07:39:31 2007 UTC

3JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast 3JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast
4 4
5=head1 SYNOPSIS 5=head1 SYNOPSIS
6 6
7 use JSON::XS; 7 use JSON::XS;
8
9 # exported functions, they croak on error
10 # and expect/generate UTF-8
11
12 $utf8_encoded_json_text = to_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref;
13 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = from_json $utf8_encoded_json_text;
14
15 # OO-interface
16
17 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref;
18 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar);
19 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text);
8 20
9=head1 DESCRIPTION 21=head1 DESCRIPTION
10 22
11This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its 23This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its
12primary goal is to be I<correct> and its secondary goal is to be 24primary goal is to be I<correct> and its secondary goal is to be
18their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug 30their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug
19reports for other reasons. 31reports for other reasons.
20 32
21See COMPARISON, below, for a comparison to some other JSON modules. 33See COMPARISON, below, for a comparison to some other JSON modules.
22 34
35See MAPPING, below, on how JSON::XS maps perl values to JSON values and
36vice versa.
37
23=head2 FEATURES 38=head2 FEATURES
24 39
25=over 4 40=over 4
26 41
27=item * correct handling of unicode issues 42=item * correct unicode handling
28 43
29This module knows how to handle Unicode, and even documents how it does so. 44This module knows how to handle Unicode, and even documents how and when
45it does so.
30 46
31=item * round-trip integrity 47=item * round-trip integrity
32 48
33When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported 49When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported
34by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level. 50by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level.
35(e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2"). 51(e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because it looks
52like a number).
36 53
37=item * strict checking of JSON correctness 54=item * strict checking of JSON correctness
38 55
39There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON strings by default, 56There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default,
40and only JSON is accepted as input (the latter is a security feature). 57and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security
58feature).
41 59
42=item * fast 60=item * fast
43 61
44compared to other JSON modules, this module compares favourably. 62Compared to other JSON modules, this module compares favourably in terms
63of speed, too.
45 64
46=item * simple to use 65=item * simple to use
47 66
48This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an OO 67This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an OO
49interface. 68interface.
50 69
51=item * reasonably versatile output formats 70=item * reasonably versatile output formats
52 71
53You can choose between the most compact format possible, a pure-ascii 72You can choose between the most compact guarenteed single-line format
54format, or a pretty-printed format. Or you can combine those features in 73possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format
55whatever way you like. 74(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
76stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like.
56 77
57=back 78=back
58 79
59=cut 80=cut
60 81
61package JSON::XS; 82package JSON::XS;
62 83
63BEGIN { 84use strict;
85
64 $VERSION = '0.2'; 86our $VERSION = '1.4';
65 @ISA = qw(Exporter); 87our @ISA = qw(Exporter);
66 88
67 @EXPORT = qw(to_json from_json); 89our @EXPORT = qw(to_json from_json);
68 require Exporter;
69 90
70 require XSLoader; 91use Exporter;
71 XSLoader::load JSON::XS::, $VERSION; 92use XSLoader;
72}
73 93
74=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE 94=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE
75 95
76The following convinience methods are provided by this module. They are 96The following convinience methods are provided by this module. They are
77exported by default: 97exported by default:
78 98
79=over 4 99=over 4
80 100
81=item $json_string = to_json $perl_scalar 101=item $json_text = to_json $perl_scalar
82 102
83Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference to 103Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference to
84a hash or array) to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string (that is, the string contains 104a hash or array) to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string (that is, the string contains
85octets only). Croaks on error. 105octets only). Croaks on error.
86 106
87This function call is functionally identical to C<< JSON::XS->new->utf8 107This function call is functionally identical to:
88(1)->encode ($perl_scalar) >>.
89 108
109 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar)
110
111except being faster.
112
90=item $perl_scalar = from_json $json_string 113=item $perl_scalar = from_json $json_text
91 114
92The opposite of C<to_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries to 115The opposite of C<to_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries to
93parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON string, returning the resulting simple 116parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting simple
94scalar or reference. Croaks on error. 117scalar or reference. Croaks on error.
95 118
96This function call is functionally identical to C<< JSON::XS->new->utf8 119This function call is functionally identical to:
97(1)->decode ($json_string) >>. 120
121 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text)
122
123except being faster.
124
125=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar
126
127Returns true if the passed scalar represents either JSON::XS::true or
128JSON::XS::false, two constants that act like C<1> and C<0>, respectively
129and are used to represent JSON C<true> and C<false> values in Perl.
130
131See MAPPING, below, for more information on how JSON values are mapped to
132Perl.
98 133
99=back 134=back
135
100 136
101=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE 137=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE
102 138
103The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or 139The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or
104decoding style, within the limits of supported formats. 140decoding style, within the limits of supported formats.
111strings. All boolean flags described below are by default I<disabled>. 147strings. All boolean flags described below are by default I<disabled>.
112 148
113The mutators for flags all return the JSON object again and thus calls can 149The mutators for flags all return the JSON object again and thus calls can
114be chained: 150be chained:
115 151
116 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8(1)->space_after(1)->encode ({a => [1,2]}) 152 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]})
117 => {"a": [1, 2]} 153 => {"a": [1, 2]}
118 154
119=item $json = $json->ascii ($enable) 155=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable])
120 156
121If C<$enable> is true, then the C<encode> method will not generate 157If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
122characters outside the code range C<0..127>. Any unicode characters 158generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any
123outside that range will be escaped using either a single \uXXXX (BMP 159unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a
124characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence, as per RFC4627. 160single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence,
161as 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,
163or any other superset of ASCII.
125 164
126If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 165If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
127characters unless necessary. 166characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results
167in a faster and more compact format.
128 168
169The 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
171contain any 8 bit characters.
172
129 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode (chr 0x10401) 173 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401])
130 => \ud801\udc01 174 => ["\ud801\udc01"]
131 175
176=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable])
177
178If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
179the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters
180outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a
181latin1-encoded JSON text or a native unicode string. The C<decode> method
182will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default
183expects unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1.
184
185If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
186characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags.
187
188The 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
190size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded
191in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and
192transfering), a rare encoding for JSON. It is therefore most useful when
193you want to store data structures known to contain binary data efficiently
194in files or databases, not when talking to other JSON encoders/decoders.
195
196 JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"]
197 => ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not)
198
132=item $json = $json->utf8 ($enable) 199=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable])
133 200
134If C<$enable> is true, then the C<encode> method will encode the JSON 201If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
135string into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the C<decode> 202the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the
136method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please note that 203C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please
137UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the range 204note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the
138C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. 205range 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
207and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627.
139 208
140If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON 209If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON
141string as a (non-encoded) unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a 210string as a (non-encoded) unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a
142unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs 211unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs
143to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module. 212to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module.
144 213
214Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON:
215
216 use Encode;
217 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object);
218
219Example, decode UTF-32LE-encoded JSON:
220
221 use Encode;
222 $object = JSON::XS->new->decode (decode "UTF-32LE", $jsontext);
223
145=item $json = $json->pretty ($enable) 224=item $json = $json->pretty ([$enable])
146 225
147This enables (or disables) all of the C<indent>, C<space_before> and 226This enables (or disables) all of the C<indent>, C<space_before> and
148C<space_after> (and in the future possibly more) flags in one call to 227C<space_after> (and in the future possibly more) flags in one call to
149generate the most readable (or most compact) form possible. 228generate the most readable (or most compact) form possible.
229
230Example, pretty-print some simple structure:
150 231
151 my $json = JSON::XS->new->pretty(1)->encode ({a => [1,2]}) 232 my $json = JSON::XS->new->pretty(1)->encode ({a => [1,2]})
152 => 233 =>
153 { 234 {
154 "a" : [ 235 "a" : [
155 1, 236 1,
156 2 237 2
157 ] 238 ]
158 } 239 }
159 240
160=item $json = $json->indent ($enable) 241=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable])
161 242
162If C<$enable> is true, then the C<encode> method will use a multiline 243If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline
163format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair 244format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair
164into its own line, identing them properly. 245into its own line, identing them properly.
165 246
166If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the 247If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the
167resulting JSON strings is guarenteed not to contain any C<newlines>. 248resulting JSON text is guarenteed not to contain any C<newlines>.
168 249
169This setting has no effect when decoding JSON strings. 250This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
170 251
171=item $json = $json->space_before ($enable) 252=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable])
172 253
173If C<$enable> is true, then the C<encode> method will add an extra 254If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
174optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects. 255optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects.
175 256
176If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra 257If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra
177space at those places. 258space at those places.
178 259
179This setting has no effect when decoding JSON strings. You will also most 260This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. You will also
180likely combine this setting with C<space_after>. 261most likely combine this setting with C<space_after>.
181 262
263Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled:
264
265 {"key" :"value"}
266
182=item $json = $json->space_after ($enable) 267=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable])
183 268
184If C<$enable> is true, then the C<encode> method will add an extra 269If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
185optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects 270optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects
186and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array 271and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array
187members. 272members.
188 273
189If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra 274If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra
190space at those places. 275space at those places.
191 276
192This setting has no effect when decoding JSON strings. 277This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
193 278
279Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled:
280
281 {"key": "value"}
282
194=item $json = $json->canonical ($enable) 283=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable])
195 284
196If C<$enable> is true, then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects 285If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects
197by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead. 286by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead.
198 287
199If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value 288If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value
200pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs 289pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs
201of the same script). 290of the same script).
202 291
203This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as 292This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as
204the same JSON string (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled, 293the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled,
205the same hash migh be encoded differently even if contains the same data, 294the same hash migh be encoded differently even if contains the same data,
206as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl. 295as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl.
207 296
208This setting has no effect when decoding JSON strings. 297This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
209 298
210=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ($enable) 299=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable])
211 300
212If C<$enable> is true, then the C<encode> method can convert a 301If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a
213non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value, 302non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value,
214which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON 303which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON
215values instead of croaking. 304values instead of croaking.
216 305
217If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will croak if it isn't 306If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will croak if it isn't
218passed an arrayref or hashref, as JSON strings must either be an object 307passed an arrayref or hashref, as JSON texts must either be an object
219or array. Likewise, C<decode> will croak if given something that is not a 308or array. Likewise, C<decode> will croak if given something that is not a
220JSON object or array. 309JSON object or array.
221 310
311Example, encode a Perl scalar as JSON value with enabled C<allow_nonref>,
312resulting in an invalid JSON text:
313
314 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!")
315 => "Hello, World!"
316
317=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable])
318
319If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
320barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the
321B<convert_blessed> option will decide wether C<null> (C<convert_blessed>
322disabled or no C<to_json> method found) or a representation of the
323object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<to_json> method found) is being
324encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>.
325
326If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
327exception when it encounters a blessed object.
328
329=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable])
330
331If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a
332blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<TO_JSON> method
333on the object's class. If found, it will be called in scalar context
334and the resulting scalar will be encoded instead of the object. If no
335C<TO_JSON> method is found, the value of C<allow_blessed> will decide what
336to do.
337
338The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON>
339returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same
340way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle
341(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other
342methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are
343usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with the C<to_json>
344function.
345
346This setting does not yet influence C<decode> in any way, but in the
347future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are
348enabled by this setting.
349
350If C<$enable> is false, then the C<allow_blessed> setting will decide what
351to do when a blessed object is found.
352
353=item $json = $json->filter_json_object ([$coderef->($hashref)])
354
355When C<$coderef> is specified, it will be called from C<decode> each
356time it decodes a JSON object. The only argument is a reference to the
357newly-created hash. If the code references returns a single scalar (which
358need not be a reference), this value (i.e. a copy of that scalar to avoid
359aliasing) is inserted into the deserialised data structure. If it returns
360an empty list (NOTE: I<not> C<undef>, which is a valid scalar), the
361original deserialised hash will be inserted. This setting can slow down
362decoding considerably.
363
364When C<$coderef> is omitted or undefined, any existing callback will
365be removed and C<decode> will not change the deserialised hash in any
366way.
367
368Example, convert all JSON objects into the integer 5:
369
370 my $js = JSON::XS->new->filter_json_object (sub { 5 });
371 # returns [5]
372 $js->decode ('[{}]')
373 # throw an exception because allow_nonref is not enabled
374 # so a lone 5 is not allowed.
375 $js->decode ('{"a":1, "b":2}');
376
377=item $json = $json->filter_json_single_key_object ($key [=> $coderef->($value)])
378
379Works remotely similar to C<filter_json_object>, but is only called for
380JSON objects having a single key named C<$key>.
381
382This C<$coderef> is called before the one specified via
383C<filter_json_object>, if any. It gets passed the single value in the JSON
384object. If it returns a single value, it will be inserted into the data
385structure. If it returns nothing (not even C<undef> but the empty list),
386the callback from C<filter_json_object> will be called next, as if no
387single-key callback were specified.
388
389If C<$coderef> is omitted or undefined, the corresponding callback will be
390disabled. There can only ever be one callback for a given key.
391
392As this callback gets called less often then the C<filter_json_object>
393one, decoding speed will not usually suffer as much. Therefore, single-key
394objects make excellent targets to serialise Perl objects into, especially
395as single-key JSON objects are as close to the type-tagged value concept
396as JSON gets (its basically an ID/VALUE tuple). Of course, JSON does not
397support this in any way, so you need to make sure your data never looks
398like a serialised Perl hash.
399
400Typical names for the single object key are C<__class_whatever__>, or
401C<$__dollars_are_rarely_used__$> or C<}ugly_brace_placement>, or even
402things like C<__class_md5sum(classname)__>, to reduce the risk of clashing
403with real hashes.
404
405Example, decode JSON objects of the form C<< { "__widget__" => <id> } >>
406into the corresponding C<< $WIDGET{<id>} >> object:
407
408 # return whatever is in $WIDGET{5}:
409 JSON::XS
410 ->new
411 ->filter_json_single_key_object (__widget__ => sub {
412 $WIDGET{ $_[0] }
413 })
414 ->decode ('{"__widget__": 5')
415
416 # this can be used with a TO_JSON method in some "widget" class
417 # for serialisation to json:
418 sub WidgetBase::TO_JSON {
419 my ($self) = @_;
420
421 unless ($self->{id}) {
422 $self->{id} = ..get..some..id..;
423 $WIDGET{$self->{id}} = $self;
424 }
425
426 { __widget__ => $self->{id} }
427 }
428
429=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable])
430
431Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for
432strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either
433C<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
435short strings. It will also try to downgrade any strings to octet-form
436if possible: perl stores strings internally either in an encoding called
437UTF-X or in octet-form. The latter cannot store everything but uses less
438space in general (and some buggy Perl or C code might even rely on that
439internal representation being used).
440
441The actual definition of what shrink does might change in future versions,
442but it will always try to save space at the expense of time.
443
444If C<$enable> is true (or missing), the string returned by C<encode> will
445be shrunk-to-fit, while all strings generated by C<decode> will also be
446shrunk-to-fit.
447
448If C<$enable> is false, then the normal perl allocation algorithms are used.
449If you work with your data, then this is likely to be faster.
450
451In the future, this setting might control other things, such as converting
452strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats
453internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space.
454
455=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])
456
457Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding
458or decoding. If the JSON text or Perl data structure has an equal or
459higher nesting level then this limit, then the encoder and decoder will
460stop and croak at that point.
461
462Nesting 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<[>
464characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a
465given character in a string.
466
467Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures
468that the object is only a single hash/object or array.
469
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
472used, which is rarely useful.
473
474See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
475
476=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size])
477
478Set 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>
480is called on a string longer then this number of characters it will not
481attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no
482effect on C<encode> (yet).
483
484The argument to C<max_size> will be rounded up to the next B<highest>
485power of two (so may be more than requested). If no argument is given, the
486limit check will be deactivated (same as when C<0> is specified).
487
488See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
489
222=item $json_string = $json->encode ($perl_scalar) 490=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar)
223 491
224Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference 492Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference
225to a hash or array) to its JSON representation. Simple scalars will be 493to a hash or array) to its JSON representation. Simple scalars will be
226converted into JSON string or number sequences, while references to arrays 494converted into JSON string or number sequences, while references to arrays
227become JSON arrays and references to hashes become JSON objects. Undefined 495become JSON arrays and references to hashes become JSON objects. Undefined
228Perl values (e.g. C<undef>) become JSON C<null> values. Neither C<true> 496Perl values (e.g. C<undef>) become JSON C<null> values. Neither C<true>
229nor C<false> values will be generated. 497nor C<false> values will be generated.
230 498
231=item $perl_scalar = $json->decode ($json_string) 499=item $perl_scalar = $json->decode ($json_text)
232 500
233The opposite of C<encode>: expects a JSON string and tries to parse it, 501The opposite of C<encode>: expects a JSON text and tries to parse it,
234returning the resulting simple scalar or reference. Croaks on error. 502returning the resulting simple scalar or reference. Croaks on error.
235 503
236JSON numbers and strings become simple Perl scalars. JSON arrays become 504JSON numbers and strings become simple Perl scalars. JSON arrays become
237Perl arrayrefs and JSON objects become Perl hashrefs. C<true> becomes 505Perl arrayrefs and JSON objects become Perl hashrefs. C<true> becomes
238C<1>, C<false> becomes C<0> and C<null> becomes C<undef>. 506C<1>, C<false> becomes C<0> and C<null> becomes C<undef>.
239 507
508=item ($perl_scalar, $characters) = $json->decode_prefix ($json_text)
509
510This works like the C<decode> method, but instead of raising an exception
511when there is trailing garbage after the first JSON object, it will
512silently stop parsing there and return the number of characters consumed
513so far.
514
515This is useful if your JSON texts are not delimited by an outer protocol
516(which is not the brightest thing to do in the first place) and you need
517to know where the JSON text ends.
518
519 JSON::XS->new->decode_prefix ("[1] the tail")
520 => ([], 3)
521
240=back 522=back
523
524
525=head1 MAPPING
526
527This 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
529circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics
530(what you put in comes out as something equivalent).
531
532For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions,
533lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppcercase I<Perl>
534refers to the abstract Perl language itself.
535
536
537=head2 JSON -> PERL
538
539=over 4
540
541=item object
542
543A 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).
545
546=item array
547
548A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl.
549
550=item string
551
552A JSON string becomes a string scalar in Perl - Unicode codepoints in JSON
553are represented by the same codepoints in the Perl string, so no manual
554decoding is necessary.
555
556=item number
557
558A JSON number becomes either an integer or numeric (floating point)
559scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On the
560Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all the
561conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and might
562represent more values exactly than (floating point) numbers.
563
564=item true, false
565
566These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>,
567respectively. 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
569the C<JSON::XS::is_bool> function.
570
571=item null
572
573A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl.
574
575=back
576
577
578=head2 PERL -> JSON
579
580The mapping from Perl to JSON is slightly more difficult, as Perl is a
581truly typeless language, so we can only guess which JSON type is meant by
582a Perl value.
583
584=over 4
585
586=item hash references
587
588Perl hash references become JSON objects. As there is no inherent ordering
589in hash keys (or JSON objects), they will usually be encoded in a
590pseudo-random order that can change between runs of the same program but
591stays generally the same within a single run of a program. JSON::XS can
592optionally sort the hash keys (determined by the I<canonical> flag), so
593the same datastructure will serialise to the same JSON text (given same
594settings and version of JSON::XS), but this incurs a runtime overhead
595and is only rarely useful, e.g. when you want to compare some JSON text
596against another for equality.
597
598=item array references
599
600Perl array references become JSON arrays.
601
602=item other references
603
604Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an
605exception 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
607also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability.
608
609 to_json [\0,JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true]
610
611=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false
612
613These special values become JSON true and JSON false values,
614respectively. You cna alos use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want.
615
616=item blessed objects
617
618Blessed objects are not allowed. JSON::XS currently tries to encode their
619underlying representation (hash- or arrayref), but this behaviour might
620change in future versions.
621
622=item simple scalars
623
624Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most
625difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as
626JSON null value, scalars that have last been used in a string context
627before encoding as JSON strings and anything else as number value:
628
629 # dump as number
630 to_json [2] # yields [2]
631 to_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17]
632 my $value = 5; to_json [$value] # yields [5]
633
634 # used as string, so dump as string
635 print $value;
636 to_json [$value] # yields ["5"]
637
638 # undef becomes null
639 to_json [undef] # yields [null]
640
641You can force the type to be a string by stringifying it:
642
643 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number
644 "$x"; # stringified
645 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify
646 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often
647
648You can force the type to be a number by numifying it:
649
650 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string
651 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number
652 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choise is yours.
653
654You can not currently output JSON booleans or force the type in other,
655less obscure, ways. Tell me if you need this capability.
656
657=back
658
241 659
242=head1 COMPARISON 660=head1 COMPARISON
243 661
244As already mentioned, this module was created because none of the existing 662As already mentioned, this module was created because none of the existing
245JSON modules could be made to work correctly. First I will describe the 663JSON modules could be made to work correctly. First I will describe the
271 689
272Has problems handling many Perl values (e.g. regex results and other magic 690Has problems handling many Perl values (e.g. regex results and other magic
273values will make it croak). 691values will make it croak).
274 692
275Does not even generate valid JSON (C<{1,2}> gets converted to C<{1:2}> 693Does not even generate valid JSON (C<{1,2}> gets converted to C<{1:2}>
276which is not a valid JSON string. 694which is not a valid JSON text.
277 695
278Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not 696Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not
279getting fixed). 697getting fixed).
280 698
281=item JSON::Syck 0.21 699=item JSON::Syck 0.21
283Very buggy (often crashes). 701Very buggy (often crashes).
284 702
285Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty much 703Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty much
286undocumented. I need at least a format for easy reading by humans and a 704undocumented. I need at least a format for easy reading by humans and a
287single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and preferably a way to 705single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and preferably a way to
288generate ASCII-only JSON strings). 706generate ASCII-only JSON texts).
289 707
290Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling (unicode 708Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling (unicode
291escapes are not working properly, you need to set ImplicitUnicode to 709escapes are not working properly, you need to set ImplicitUnicode to
292I<different> values on en- and decoding to get symmetric behaviour). 710I<different> values on en- and decoding to get symmetric behaviour).
293 711
316 734
317Very inflexible. 735Very inflexible.
318 736
319No roundtripping. 737No roundtripping.
320 738
321Does not generate valid JSON (key strings are often unquoted, empty keys 739Does not generate valid JSON texts (key strings are often unquoted, empty keys
322result in nothing being output) 740result in nothing being output)
323 741
324Does not check input for validity. 742Does not check input for validity.
325 743
326=back 744=back
745
746
747=head2 JSON and YAML
748
749You often hear that JSON is a subset (or a close subset) of YAML. This is,
750however, a mass hysteria and very far from the truth. In general, there is
751no way to configure JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML.
752
753If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this
754algorithm (subject to change in future versions):
755
756 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1);
757 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n";
758
759This will usually generate JSON texts that also parse as valid
760YAML. 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
762keys are noticably shorter than the 1024 characters YAML allows.
763
764There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of. In general
765you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice versa,
766or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are high
767that you will run into severe interoperability problems.
768
327 769
328=head2 SPEED 770=head2 SPEED
329 771
330It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following 772It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following
331tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program 773tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program
332in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own 774in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own
333system. 775system.
334 776
335First is a comparison between various modules using a very simple JSON 777First comes a comparison between various modules using a very short
778single-line JSON string:
779
780 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], \
781 "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7, true, false]}
782
336string, showing the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS is 783It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses
337the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 is the OO interface with 784the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface
338pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled). 785with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables
786shrink). Higher is better:
339 787
788 Storable | 15779.925 | 14169.946 |
789 -----------+------------+------------+
340 module | encode | decode | 790 module | encode | decode |
341 -----------|------------|------------| 791 -----------|------------|------------|
342 JSON | 14006 | 6820 | 792 JSON | 4990.842 | 4088.813 |
343 JSON::DWIW | 200937 | 120386 | 793 JSON::DWIW | 51653.990 | 71575.154 |
344 JSON::PC | 85065 | 129366 | 794 JSON::PC | 65948.176 | 74631.744 |
345 JSON::Syck | 59898 | 44232 | 795 JSON::PP | 8931.652 | 3817.168 |
346 JSON::XS | 1171478 | 342435 | 796 JSON::Syck | 24877.248 | 27776.848 |
347 JSON::XS/2 | 730760 | 328714 | 797 JSON::XS | 388361.481 | 227951.304 |
798 JSON::XS/2 | 227951.304 | 218453.333 |
799 JSON::XS/3 | 338250.323 | 218453.333 |
800 Storable | 16500.016 | 135300.129 |
348 -----------+------------+------------+ 801 -----------+------------+------------+
349 802
350That is, JSON::XS is 6 times faster than than JSON::DWIW and about 80 803That is, JSON::XS is about five times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding,
804about three times faster on decoding, and over fourty times faster
351times faster than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. 805than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares
806favourably to Storable for small amounts of data.
352 807
353Using a longer test string (roughly 8KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals 808Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals
354search API (http://nanoref.com/yahooapis/mgPdGg): 809search API (http://nanoref.com/yahooapis/mgPdGg):
355 810
356 module | encode | decode | 811 module | encode | decode |
357 -----------|------------|------------| 812 -----------|------------|------------|
358 JSON | 673 | 38 | 813 JSON | 55.260 | 34.971 |
359 JSON::DWIW | 5271 | 770 | 814 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 |
360 JSON::PC | 9901 | 2491 | 815 JSON::PC | 3571.444 | 2394.829 |
361 JSON::Syck | 2360 | 786 | 816 JSON::PP | 210.987 | 32.574 |
362 JSON::XS | 37398 | 3202 | 817 JSON::Syck | 552.551 | 787.544 |
363 JSON::XS/2 | 13765 | 3153 | 818 JSON::XS | 5780.463 | 4854.519 |
819 JSON::XS/2 | 3869.998 | 4798.975 |
820 JSON::XS/3 | 5862.880 | 4798.975 |
821 Storable | 4445.002 | 5235.027 |
364 -----------+------------+------------+ 822 -----------+------------+------------+
365 823
366Again, JSON::XS leads by far in the encoding case, while still beating 824Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly
367every other module in the decoding case. 825decodes faster).
368 826
369Last example is an almost 8MB large hash with many large binary values 827On large strings containing lots of high unicode characters, some modules
370(PNG files), resulting in a lot of escaping: 828(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
830to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair
831comparison table for that case.
832
833
834=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
835
836When you are using JSON in a protocol, talking to untrusted potentially
837hostile creatures requires relatively few measures.
838
839First of all, your JSON decoder should be secure, that is, should not have
840any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am
841trying hard on making that true, but you never know.
842
843Second, 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
845resources run out, thats just fine (e.g. by using a separate process that
846can 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
848it 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
850might want to check the size before you accept the string.
851
852Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and
853arrays. 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
855only 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
857conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process
858has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the
859C<max_depth> method.
860
861And last but least, something else could bomb you that I forgot to think
862of. In that case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints,
863though...
864
865If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption
866by javascript scripts in a browser you should have a look at
867L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see wether
868you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser
869design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it, as major
870browser developers care only for features, not about doing security
871right).
872
371 873
372=head1 BUGS 874=head1 BUGS
373 875
374While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does 876While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does
375not mean its bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is 877not mean its bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is
376still very young and not well-tested. If you keep reporting bugs they will 878still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they
377be fixed swiftly, though. 879will be fixed swiftly, though.
378 880
379=cut 881=cut
882
883our $true = do { bless \(my $dummy = 1), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
884our $false = do { bless \(my $dummy = 0), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
885
886sub true() { $true }
887sub false() { $false }
888
889sub is_bool($) {
890 UNIVERSAL::isa $_[0], "JSON::XS::Boolean"
891# or UNIVERSAL::isa $_[0], "JSON::Literal"
892}
893
894XSLoader::load "JSON::XS", $VERSION;
895
896package JSON::XS::Boolean;
897
898use overload
899 "0+" => sub { ${$_[0]} },
900 "++" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} + 1 },
901 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 },
902 fallback => 1;
380 903
3811; 9041;
382 905
383=head1 AUTHOR 906=head1 AUTHOR
384 907

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