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Revision 1.64 by root, Thu Oct 11 23:57:24 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.158 by root, Thu Sep 1 11:38:39 2016 UTC

		1	=head1 NAME
		2
		3	JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast
		4
1	=encoding utf-8	5	=encoding utf-8
2
3	=head1 NAME
4
5	JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast
6		6
7	JSON::XS - 正しくて高速な JSON シリアライザ/デシリアライザ	7	JSON::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)	8	(http://fleur.hio.jp/perldoc/mix/lib/JSON/XS.html)
9		9
10	=head1 SYNOPSIS	10	=head1 SYNOPSIS
…		…
12	use JSON::XS;	12	use JSON::XS;
13		13
14	# exported functions, they croak on error	14	# exported functions, they croak on error
15	# and expect/generate UTF-8	15	# and expect/generate UTF-8
16		16
17	$utf8_encoded_json_text = to_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref;	17	$utf8_encoded_json_text = encode_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref;
18	$perl_hash_or_arrayref = from_json $utf8_encoded_json_text;	18	$perl_hash_or_arrayref = decode_json $utf8_encoded_json_text;
19		19
20	# OO-interface	20	# OO-interface
21		21
22	$coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref;	22	$coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref;
23	$pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar);	23	$pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar);
24	$perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text);	24	$perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text);
25		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
26	=head1 DESCRIPTION	34	=head1 DESCRIPTION
27		35
28	This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its	36	This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its
29	primary goal is to be I<correct> and its secondary goal is to be	37	primary goal is to be I<correct> and its secondary goal is to be
30	I<fast>. To reach the latter goal it was written in C.	38	I<fast>. To reach the latter goal it was written in C.
		39
		40	Beginning with version 2.0 of the JSON module, when both JSON and
		41	JSON::XS are installed, then JSON will fall back on JSON::XS (this can be
		42	overridden) with no overhead due to emulation (by inheriting constructor
		43	and methods). If JSON::XS is not available, it will fall back to the
		44	compatible JSON::PP module as backend, so using JSON instead of JSON::XS
		45	gives you a portable JSON API that can be fast when you need and doesn't
		46	require a C compiler when that is a problem.
31		47
32	As this is the n-th-something JSON module on CPAN, what was the reason	48	As this is the n-th-something JSON module on CPAN, what was the reason
33	to write yet another JSON module? While it seems there are many JSON	49	to write yet another JSON module? While it seems there are many JSON
34	modules, none of them correctly handle all corner cases, and in most cases	50	modules, none of them correctly handle all corner cases, and in most cases
35	their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug	51	their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug
36	reports for other reasons.	52	reports for other reasons.
37		53
38	See COMPARISON, below, for a comparison to some other JSON modules.
39
40	See MAPPING, below, on how JSON::XS maps perl values to JSON values and	54	See MAPPING, below, on how JSON::XS maps perl values to JSON values and
41	vice versa.	55	vice versa.
42		56
43	=head2 FEATURES	57	=head2 FEATURES
44		58
45	=over 4	59	=over 4
46		60
47	=item * correct unicode handling	61	=item * correct Unicode handling
48		62
49	This module knows how to handle Unicode, and even documents how and when	63	This module knows how to handle Unicode, documents how and when it does
50	it does so.	64	so, and even documents what "correct" means.
51		65
52	=item * round-trip integrity	66	=item * round-trip integrity
53		67
54	When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported	68	When you serialise a perl data structure using only data types supported
55	by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level.	69	by JSON and Perl, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl
56	(e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because it looks	70	level. (e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because
57	like a number).	71	it looks like a number). There I<are> minor exceptions to this, read the
		72	MAPPING section below to learn about those.
58		73
59	=item * strict checking of JSON correctness	74	=item * strict checking of JSON correctness
60		75
61	There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default,	76	There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default,
62	and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security	77	and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security
63	feature).	78	feature).
64		79
65	=item * fast	80	=item * fast
66		81
67	Compared to other JSON modules, this module compares favourably in terms	82	Compared to other JSON modules and other serialisers such as Storable,
68	of speed, too.	83	this module usually compares favourably in terms of speed, too.
69		84
70	=item * simple to use	85	=item * simple to use
71		86
72	This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an OO	87	This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an object
73	interface.	88	oriented interface.
74		89
75	=item * reasonably versatile output formats	90	=item * reasonably versatile output formats
76		91
77	You can choose between the most compact guarenteed single-line format	92	You can choose between the most compact guaranteed-single-line format
78	possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format	93	possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ASCII format
79	(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
80	unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that	95	Unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that
81	stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like.	96	stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like.
82		97
83	=back	98	=back
84		99
85	=cut	100	=cut
86		101
87	package JSON::XS;	102	package JSON::XS;
88		103
89	use strict;	104	use common::sense;
90		105
91	our $VERSION = '1.5';	106	our $VERSION = 3.02;
92	our @ISA = qw(Exporter);	107	our @ISA = qw(Exporter);
93		108
94	our @EXPORT = qw(to_json from_json);	109	our @EXPORT = qw(encode_json decode_json);
95		110
96	use Exporter;	111	use Exporter;
97	use XSLoader;	112	use XSLoader;
98		113
		114	use Types::Serialiser ();
		115
99	=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE	116	=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE
100		117
101	The following convinience methods are provided by this module. They are	118	The following convenience methods are provided by this module. They are
102	exported by default:	119	exported by default:
103		120
104	=over 4	121	=over 4
105		122
106	=item $json_text = to_json $perl_scalar	123	=item $json_text = encode_json $perl_scalar
107		124
108	Converts the given Perl data structure to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string	125	Converts the given Perl data structure to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string
109	(that is, the string contains octets only). Croaks on error.	126	(that is, the string contains octets only). Croaks on error.
110		127
111	This function call is functionally identical to:	128	This function call is functionally identical to:
112		129
113	$json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar)	130	$json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar)
114		131
115	except being faster.	132	Except being faster.
116		133
117	=item $perl_scalar = from_json $json_text	134	=item $perl_scalar = decode_json $json_text
118		135
119	The opposite of C<to_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries	136	The opposite of C<encode_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries
120	to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting	137	to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting
121	reference. Croaks on error.	138	reference. Croaks on error.
122		139
123	This function call is functionally identical to:	140	This function call is functionally identical to:
124		141
125	$perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text)	142	$perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text)
126		143
127	except being faster.	144	Except being faster.
128
129	=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar
130
131	Returns true if the passed scalar represents either JSON::XS::true or
132	JSON::XS::false, two constants that act like C<1> and C<0>, respectively
133	and are used to represent JSON C<true> and C<false> values in Perl.
134
135	See MAPPING, below, for more information on how JSON values are mapped to
136	Perl.
137		145
138	=back	146	=back
139		147
140		148
141	=head1 A FEW NOTES ON UNICODE AND PERL	149	=head1 A FEW NOTES ON UNICODE AND PERL
…		…
145		153
146	=over 4	154	=over 4
147		155
148	=item 1. Perl strings can store characters with ordinal values > 255.	156	=item 1. Perl strings can store characters with ordinal values > 255.
149		157
150	This enables you to store unicode characters as single characters in a	158	This enables you to store Unicode characters as single characters in a
151	Perl string - very natural.	159	Perl string - very natural.
152		160
153	=item 2. Perl does I<not> associate an encoding with your strings.	161	=item 2. Perl does I<not> associate an encoding with your strings.
154		162
155	Unless you force it to, e.g. when matching it against a regex, or printing	163	... until you force it to, e.g. when matching it against a regex, or
156	the scalar to a file, in which case Perl either interprets your string as	164	printing the scalar to a file, in which case Perl either interprets your
157	locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode, depending on various	165	string as locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode, depending
158	settings. In no case is an encoding stored together with your data, it is	166	on various settings. In no case is an encoding stored together with your
159	I<use> that decides encoding, not any magical metadata.	167	data, it is I<use> that decides encoding, not any magical meta data.
160		168
161	=item 3. The internal utf-8 flag has no meaning with regards to the	169	=item 3. The internal utf-8 flag has no meaning with regards to the
162	encoding of your string.	170	encoding of your string.
163		171
164	Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written in	172	Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written in
165	XS or want to dive into the internals of perl. Otherwise it will only	173	XS or want to dive into the internals of perl. Otherwise it will only
166	confuse you, as, despite the name, it says nothing about how your string	174	confuse you, as, despite the name, it says nothing about how your string
167	is encoded. You can have unicode strings with that flag set, with that	175	is encoded. You can have Unicode strings with that flag set, with that
168	flag clear, and you can have binary data with that flag set and that flag	176	flag clear, and you can have binary data with that flag set and that flag
169	clear. Other possibilities exist, too.	177	clear. Other possibilities exist, too.
170		178
171	If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it doesn't	179	If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it doesn't
172	exist.	180	exist.
173		181
174	=item 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be	182	=item 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be
175	validly interpreted as a Unicode codepoint.	183	validly interpreted as a Unicode code point.
176		184
177	If you have UTF-8 encoded data, it is no longer a Unicode string, but a	185	If you have UTF-8 encoded data, it is no longer a Unicode string, but a
178	Unicode string encoded in UTF-8, giving you a binary string.	186	Unicode string encoded in UTF-8, giving you a binary string.
179		187
180	=item 5. A string containing "high" (> 255) character values is I<not> a UTF-8 string.	188	=item 5. A string containing "high" (> 255) character values is I<not> a UTF-8 string.
181		189
182	Its a fact. Learn to live with it.	190	It's a fact. Learn to live with it.
183		191
184	=back	192	=back
185		193
186	I hope this helps :)	194	I hope this helps :)
187		195
…		…
204	my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]})	212	my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]})
205	=> {"a": [1, 2]}	213	=> {"a": [1, 2]}
206		214
207	=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable])	215	=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable])
208		216
		217	=item $enabled = $json->get_ascii
		218
209	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not	219	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
210	generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any	220	generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any
211	unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a	221	Unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a
212	single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence,	222	single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence,
213	as per RFC4627. The resulting encoded JSON text can be treated as a native	223	as per RFC4627. The resulting encoded JSON text can be treated as a native
214	unicode string, an ascii-encoded, latin1-encoded or UTF-8 encoded string,	224	Unicode string, an ascii-encoded, latin1-encoded or UTF-8 encoded string,
215	or any other superset of ASCII.	225	or any other superset of ASCII.
216		226
217	If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode	227	If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
218	characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results	228	characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results
219	in a faster and more compact format.	229	in a faster and more compact format.
220		230
		231	See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
		232	document.
		233
221	The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be	234	The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be
222	transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not	235	transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not
223	contain any 8 bit characters.	236	contain any 8 bit characters.
224		237
225	JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401])	238	JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401])
226	=> ["\ud801\udc01"]	239	=> ["\ud801\udc01"]
227		240
228	=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable])	241	=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable])
229		242
		243	=item $enabled = $json->get_latin1
		244
230	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode	245	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
231	the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters	246	the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters
232	outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a	247	outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a
233	latin1-encoded JSON text or a native unicode string. The C<decode> method	248	latin1-encoded JSON text or a native Unicode string. The C<decode> method
234	will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default	249	will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default
235	expects unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1.	250	expects Unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1.
236		251
237	If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode	252	If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
238	characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags.	253	characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags.
		254
		255	See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
		256	document.
239		257
240	The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON	258	The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON
241	text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded	259	text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded
242	size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded	260	size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded
243	in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and	261	in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and
244	transfering), a rare encoding for JSON. It is therefore most useful when	262	transferring), a rare encoding for JSON. It is therefore most useful when
245	you want to store data structures known to contain binary data efficiently	263	you want to store data structures known to contain binary data efficiently
246	in files or databases, not when talking to other JSON encoders/decoders.	264	in files or databases, not when talking to other JSON encoders/decoders.
247		265
248	JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"]	266	JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"]
249	=> ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not)	267	=> ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not)
250		268
251	=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable])	269	=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable])
		270
		271	=item $enabled = $json->get_utf8
252		272
253	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode	273	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
254	the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the	274	the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the
255	C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please	275	C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please
256	note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the	276	note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the
257	range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future	277	range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future
258	versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16	278	versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16
259	and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627.	279	and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627.
260		280
261	If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON	281	If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON
262	string as a (non-encoded) unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a	282	string as a (non-encoded) Unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a
263	unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs	283	Unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs
264	to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module.	284	to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module.
		285
		286	See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
		287	document.
265		288
266	Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON:	289	Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON:
267		290
268	use Encode;	291	use Encode;
269	$jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object);	292	$jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object);
…		…
290	]	313	]
291	}	314	}
292		315
293	=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable])	316	=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable])
294		317
		318	=item $enabled = $json->get_indent
		319
295	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline	320	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline
296	format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair	321	format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair
297	into its own line, identing them properly.	322	into its own line, indenting them properly.
298		323
299	If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the	324	If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the
300	resulting JSON text is guarenteed not to contain any C<newlines>.	325	resulting JSON text is guaranteed not to contain any C<newlines>.
301		326
302	This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.	327	This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
303		328
304	=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable])	329	=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable])
		330
		331	=item $enabled = $json->get_space_before
305		332
306	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra	333	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
307	optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects.	334	optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects.
308		335
309	If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra	336	If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra
…		…
315	Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled:	342	Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled:
316		343
317	{"key" :"value"}	344	{"key" :"value"}
318		345
319	=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable])	346	=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable])
		347
		348	=item $enabled = $json->get_space_after
320		349
321	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra	350	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
322	optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects	351	optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects
323	and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array	352	and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array
324	members.	353	members.
…		…
331	Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled:	360	Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled:
332		361
333	{"key": "value"}	362	{"key": "value"}
334		363
335	=item $json = $json->relaxed ([$enable])	364	=item $json = $json->relaxed ([$enable])
		365
		366	=item $enabled = $json->get_relaxed
336		367
337	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<decode> will accept some	368	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<decode> will accept some
338	extensions to normal JSON syntax (see below). C<encode> will not be	369	extensions to normal JSON syntax (see below). C<encode> will not be
339	affected in anyway. I<Be aware that this option makes you accept invalid	370	affected in anyway. I<Be aware that this option makes you accept invalid
340	JSON texts as if they were valid!>. I suggest only to use this option to	371	JSON texts as if they were valid!>. I suggest only to use this option to
…		…
373	[	404	[
374	1, # this comment not allowed in JSON	405	1, # this comment not allowed in JSON
375	# neither this one...	406	# neither this one...
376	]	407	]
377		408
		409	=item * literal ASCII TAB characters in strings
		410
		411	Literal ASCII TAB characters are now allowed in strings (and treated as
		412	C<\t>).
		413
		414	[
		415	"Hello\tWorld",
		416	"Hello<TAB>World", # literal <TAB> would not normally be allowed
		417	]
		418
378	=back	419	=back
379		420
380	=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable])	421	=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable])
		422
		423	=item $enabled = $json->get_canonical
381		424
382	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects	425	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects
383	by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead.	426	by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead.
384		427
385	If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value	428	If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value
386	pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs	429	pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs
387	of the same script).	430	of the same script, and can change even within the same run from 5.18
		431	onwards).
388		432
389	This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as	433	This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as
390	the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled,	434	the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled,
391	the same hash migh be encoded differently even if contains the same data,	435	the same hash might be encoded differently even if contains the same data,
392	as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl.	436	as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl.
393		437
394	This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.	438	This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
395		439
		440	This setting has currently no effect on tied hashes.
		441
396	=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable])	442	=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable])
		443
		444	=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_nonref
397		445
398	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a	446	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a
399	non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value,	447	non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value,
400	which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON	448	which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON
401	values instead of croaking.	449	values instead of croaking.
…		…
409	resulting in an invalid JSON text:	457	resulting in an invalid JSON text:
410		458
411	JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!")	459	JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!")
412	=> "Hello, World!"	460	=> "Hello, World!"
413		461
		462	=item $json = $json->allow_unknown ([$enable])
		463
		464	=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_unknown
		465
		466	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode> will I<not> throw an
		467	exception when it encounters values it cannot represent in JSON (for
		468	example, filehandles) but instead will encode a JSON C<null> value. Note
		469	that blessed objects are not included here and are handled separately by
		470	c<allow_nonref>.
		471
		472	If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
		473	exception when it encounters anything it cannot encode as JSON.
		474
		475	This option does not affect C<decode> in any way, and it is recommended to
		476	leave it off unless you know your communications partner.
		477
414	=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable])	478	=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable])
415		479
		480	=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_blessed
		481
		482	See L<OBJECT SERIALISATION> for details.
		483
416	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not	484	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
417	barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the	485	barf when it encounters a blessed reference that it cannot convert
418	B<convert_blessed> option will decide wether C<null> (C<convert_blessed>	486	otherwise. Instead, a JSON C<null> value is encoded instead of the object.
419	disabled or no C<to_json> method found) or a representation of the
420	object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<to_json> method found) is being
421	encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>.
422		487
423	If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an	488	If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
424	exception when it encounters a blessed object.	489	exception when it encounters a blessed object that it cannot convert
		490	otherwise.
		491
		492	This setting has no effect on C<decode>.
425		493
426	=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable])	494	=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable])
		495
		496	=item $enabled = $json->get_convert_blessed
		497
		498	See L<OBJECT SERIALISATION> for details.
427		499
428	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a	500	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a
429	blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<TO_JSON> method	501	blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<TO_JSON> method
430	on the object's class. If found, it will be called in scalar context	502	on the object's class. If found, it will be called in scalar context and
431	and the resulting scalar will be encoded instead of the object. If no	503	the resulting scalar will be encoded instead of the object.
432	C<TO_JSON> method is found, the value of C<allow_blessed> will decide what
433	to do.
434		504
435	The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON>	505	The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON>
436	returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same	506	returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same
437	way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle	507	way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle
438	(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other	508	(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other
439	methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are	509	methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are
440	usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with the C<to_json>	510	usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with any C<to_json>
441	function.	511	function or method.
442		512
443	This setting does not yet influence C<decode> in any way, but in the	513	If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will not consider
444	future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are	514	this type of conversion.
445	enabled by this setting.
446		515
447	If C<$enable> is false, then the C<allow_blessed> setting will decide what	516	This setting has no effect on C<decode>.
448	to do when a blessed object is found.	517
		518	=item $json = $json->allow_tags ([$enable])
		519
		520	=item $enabled = $json->allow_tags
		521
		522	See L<OBJECT SERIALISATION> for details.
		523
		524	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a
		525	blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<FREEZE> method on
		526	the object's class. If found, it will be used to serialise the object into
		527	a nonstandard tagged JSON value (that JSON decoders cannot decode).
		528
		529	It also causes C<decode> to parse such tagged JSON values and deserialise
		530	them via a call to the C<THAW> method.
		531
		532	If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will not consider
		533	this type of conversion, and tagged JSON values will cause a parse error
		534	in C<decode>, as if tags were not part of the grammar.
449		535
450	=item $json = $json->filter_json_object ([$coderef->($hashref)])	536	=item $json = $json->filter_json_object ([$coderef->($hashref)])
451		537
452	When C<$coderef> is specified, it will be called from C<decode> each	538	When C<$coderef> is specified, it will be called from C<decode> each
453	time it decodes a JSON object. The only argument is a reference to the	539	time it decodes a JSON object. The only argument is a reference to the
…		…
488		574
489	As this callback gets called less often then the C<filter_json_object>	575	As this callback gets called less often then the C<filter_json_object>
490	one, decoding speed will not usually suffer as much. Therefore, single-key	576	one, decoding speed will not usually suffer as much. Therefore, single-key
491	objects make excellent targets to serialise Perl objects into, especially	577	objects make excellent targets to serialise Perl objects into, especially
492	as single-key JSON objects are as close to the type-tagged value concept	578	as single-key JSON objects are as close to the type-tagged value concept
493	as JSON gets (its basically an ID/VALUE tuple). Of course, JSON does not	579	as JSON gets (it's basically an ID/VALUE tuple). Of course, JSON does not
494	support this in any way, so you need to make sure your data never looks	580	support this in any way, so you need to make sure your data never looks
495	like a serialised Perl hash.	581	like a serialised Perl hash.
496		582
497	Typical names for the single object key are C<__class_whatever__>, or	583	Typical names for the single object key are C<__class_whatever__>, or
498	C<$__dollars_are_rarely_used__$> or C<}ugly_brace_placement>, or even	584	C<$__dollars_are_rarely_used__$> or C<}ugly_brace_placement>, or even
…		…
522		608
523	{ __widget__ => $self->{id} }	609	{ __widget__ => $self->{id} }
524	}	610	}
525		611
526	=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable])	612	=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable])
		613
		614	=item $enabled = $json->get_shrink
527		615
528	Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for	616	Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for
529	strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either	617	strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either
530	C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save	618	C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save
531	memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many	619	memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many
…		…
549	strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats	637	strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats
550	internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space.	638	internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space.
551		639
552	=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])	640	=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])
553		641
		642	=item $max_depth = $json->get_max_depth
		643
554	Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding	644	Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding
555	or decoding. If the JSON text or Perl data structure has an equal or	645	or decoding. If a higher nesting level is detected in JSON text or a Perl
556	higher nesting level then this limit, then the encoder and decoder will	646	data structure, then the encoder and decoder will stop and croak at that
557	stop and croak at that point.	647	point.
558		648
559	Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder	649	Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder
560	needs to traverse to reach a given point or the number of C<{> or C<[>	650	needs to traverse to reach a given point or the number of C<{> or C<[>
561	characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a	651	characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a
562	given character in a string.	652	given character in a string.
563		653
564	Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures	654	Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures
565	that the object is only a single hash/object or array.	655	that the object is only a single hash/object or array.
566		656
567	The argument to C<max_depth> will be rounded up to the next highest power
568	of two. If no argument is given, the highest possible setting will be	657	If no argument is given, the highest possible setting will be used, which
569	used, which is rarely useful.	658	is rarely useful.
		659
		660	Note that nesting is implemented by recursion in C. The default value has
		661	been chosen to be as large as typical operating systems allow without
		662	crashing.
570		663
571	See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.	664	See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
572		665
573	=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size])	666	=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size])
		667
		668	=item $max_size = $json->get_max_size
574		669
575	Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where decoding is	670	Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where decoding is
576	being attempted. The default is C<0>, meaning no limit. When C<decode>	671	being attempted. The default is C<0>, meaning no limit. When C<decode>
577	is called on a string longer then this number of characters it will not	672	is called on a string that is longer then this many bytes, it will not
578	attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no	673	attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no
579	effect on C<encode> (yet).	674	effect on C<encode> (yet).
580		675
581	The argument to C<max_size> will be rounded up to the next B<highest>	676	If no argument is given, the limit check will be deactivated (same as when
582	power of two (so may be more than requested). If no argument is given, the	677	C<0> is specified).
583	limit check will be deactivated (same as when C<0> is specified).
584		678
585	See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.	679	See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
586		680
587	=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar)	681	=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar)
588		682
589	Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference	683	Converts the given Perl value or data structure to its JSON
590	to a hash or array) to its JSON representation. Simple scalars will be	684	representation. Croaks on error.
591	converted into JSON string or number sequences, while references to arrays
592	become JSON arrays and references to hashes become JSON objects. Undefined
593	Perl values (e.g. C<undef>) become JSON C<null> values. Neither C<true>
594	nor C<false> values will be generated.
595		685
596	=item $perl_scalar = $json->decode ($json_text)	686	=item $perl_scalar = $json->decode ($json_text)
597		687
598	The opposite of C<encode>: expects a JSON text and tries to parse it,	688	The opposite of C<encode>: expects a JSON text and tries to parse it,
599	returning the resulting simple scalar or reference. Croaks on error.	689	returning the resulting simple scalar or reference. Croaks on error.
600
601	JSON numbers and strings become simple Perl scalars. JSON arrays become
602	Perl arrayrefs and JSON objects become Perl hashrefs. C<true> becomes
603	C<1>, C<false> becomes C<0> and C<null> becomes C<undef>.
604		690
605	=item ($perl_scalar, $characters) = $json->decode_prefix ($json_text)	691	=item ($perl_scalar, $characters) = $json->decode_prefix ($json_text)
606		692
607	This works like the C<decode> method, but instead of raising an exception	693	This works like the C<decode> method, but instead of raising an exception
608	when there is trailing garbage after the first JSON object, it will	694	when there is trailing garbage after the first JSON object, it will
609	silently stop parsing there and return the number of characters consumed	695	silently stop parsing there and return the number of characters consumed
610	so far.	696	so far.
611		697
612	This is useful if your JSON texts are not delimited by an outer protocol	698	This is useful if your JSON texts are not delimited by an outer protocol
613	(which is not the brightest thing to do in the first place) and you need
614	to know where the JSON text ends.	699	and you need to know where the JSON text ends.
615		700
616	JSON::XS->new->decode_prefix ("[1] the tail")	701	JSON::XS->new->decode_prefix ("[1] the tail")
617	=> ([], 3)	702	=> ([1], 3)
618		703
619	=back	704	=back
		705
		706
		707	=head1 INCREMENTAL PARSING
		708
		709	In some cases, there is the need for incremental parsing of JSON
		710	texts. While this module always has to keep both JSON text and resulting
		711	Perl data structure in memory at one time, it does allow you to parse a
		712	JSON stream incrementally. It does so by accumulating text until it has
		713	a full JSON object, which it then can decode. This process is similar to
		714	using C<decode_prefix> to see if a full JSON object is available, but
		715	is much more efficient (and can be implemented with a minimum of method
		716	calls).
		717
		718	JSON::XS will only attempt to parse the JSON text once it is sure it
		719	has enough text to get a decisive result, using a very simple but
		720	truly incremental parser. This means that it sometimes won't stop as
		721	early as the full parser, for example, it doesn't detect mismatched
		722	parentheses. The only thing it guarantees is that it starts decoding as
		723	soon as a syntactically valid JSON text has been seen. This means you need
		724	to set resource limits (e.g. C<max_size>) to ensure the parser will stop
		725	parsing in the presence if syntax errors.
		726
		727	The following methods implement this incremental parser.
		728
		729	=over 4
		730
		731	=item [void, scalar or list context] = $json->incr_parse ([$string])
		732
		733	This is the central parsing function. It can both append new text and
		734	extract objects from the stream accumulated so far (both of these
		735	functions are optional).
		736
		737	If C<$string> is given, then this string is appended to the already
		738	existing JSON fragment stored in the C<$json> object.
		739
		740	After that, if the function is called in void context, it will simply
		741	return without doing anything further. This can be used to add more text
		742	in as many chunks as you want.
		743
		744	If the method is called in scalar context, then it will try to extract
		745	exactly I<one> JSON object. If that is successful, it will return this
		746	object, otherwise it will return C<undef>. If there is a parse error,
		747	this method will croak just as C<decode> would do (one can then use
		748	C<incr_skip> to skip the erroneous part). This is the most common way of
		749	using the method.
		750
		751	And finally, in list context, it will try to extract as many objects
		752	from the stream as it can find and return them, or the empty list
		753	otherwise. For this to work, there must be no separators (other than
		754	whitespace) between the JSON objects or arrays, instead they must be
		755	concatenated back-to-back. If an error occurs, an exception will be
		756	raised as in the scalar context case. Note that in this case, any
		757	previously-parsed JSON texts will be lost.
		758
		759	Example: Parse some JSON arrays/objects in a given string and return
		760	them.
		761
		762	my @objs = JSON::XS->new->incr_parse ("[5][7][1,2]");
		763
		764	=item $lvalue_string = $json->incr_text
		765
		766	This method returns the currently stored JSON fragment as an lvalue, that
		767	is, you can manipulate it. This I<only> works when a preceding call to
		768	C<incr_parse> in I<scalar context> successfully returned an object. Under
		769	all other circumstances you must not call this function (I mean it.
		770	although in simple tests it might actually work, it I<will> fail under
		771	real world conditions). As a special exception, you can also call this
		772	method before having parsed anything.
		773
		774	This function is useful in two cases: a) finding the trailing text after a
		775	JSON object or b) parsing multiple JSON objects separated by non-JSON text
		776	(such as commas).
		777
		778	=item $json->incr_skip
		779
		780	This will reset the state of the incremental parser and will remove
		781	the parsed text from the input buffer so far. This is useful after
		782	C<incr_parse> died, in which case the input buffer and incremental parser
		783	state is left unchanged, to skip the text parsed so far and to reset the
		784	parse state.
		785
		786	The difference to C<incr_reset> is that only text until the parse error
		787	occurred is removed.
		788
		789	=item $json->incr_reset
		790
		791	This completely resets the incremental parser, that is, after this call,
		792	it will be as if the parser had never parsed anything.
		793
		794	This is useful if you want to repeatedly parse JSON objects and want to
		795	ignore any trailing data, which means you have to reset the parser after
		796	each successful decode.
		797
		798	=back
		799
		800	=head2 LIMITATIONS
		801
		802	All options that affect decoding are supported, except
		803	C<allow_nonref>. The reason for this is that it cannot be made to work
		804	sensibly: JSON objects and arrays are self-delimited, i.e. you can
		805	concatenate them back to back and still decode them perfectly. This does
		806	not hold true for JSON numbers, however.
		807
		808	For example, is the string C<1> a single JSON number, or is it simply the
		809	start of C<12>? Or is C<12> a single JSON number, or the concatenation
		810	of C<1> and C<2>? In neither case you can tell, and this is why JSON::XS
		811	takes the conservative route and disallows this case.
		812
		813	=head2 EXAMPLES
		814
		815	Some examples will make all this clearer. First, a simple example that
		816	works similarly to C<decode_prefix>: We want to decode the JSON object at
		817	the start of a string and identify the portion after the JSON object:
		818
		819	my $text = "[1,2,3] hello";
		820
		821	my $json = new JSON::XS;
		822
		823	my $obj = $json->incr_parse ($text)
		824	or die "expected JSON object or array at beginning of string";
		825
		826	my $tail = $json->incr_text;
		827	# $tail now contains " hello"
		828
		829	Easy, isn't it?
		830
		831	Now for a more complicated example: Imagine a hypothetical protocol where
		832	you read some requests from a TCP stream, and each request is a JSON
		833	array, without any separation between them (in fact, it is often useful to
		834	use newlines as "separators", as these get interpreted as whitespace at
		835	the start of the JSON text, which makes it possible to test said protocol
		836	with C<telnet>...).
		837
		838	Here is how you'd do it (it is trivial to write this in an event-based
		839	manner):
		840
		841	my $json = new JSON::XS;
		842
		843	# read some data from the socket
		844	while (sysread $socket, my $buf, 4096) {
		845
		846	# split and decode as many requests as possible
		847	for my $request ($json->incr_parse ($buf)) {
		848	# act on the $request
		849	}
		850	}
		851
		852	Another complicated example: Assume you have a string with JSON objects
		853	or arrays, all separated by (optional) comma characters (e.g. C<[1],[2],
		854	[3]>). To parse them, we have to skip the commas between the JSON texts,
		855	and here is where the lvalue-ness of C<incr_text> comes in useful:
		856
		857	my $text = "[1],[2], [3]";
		858	my $json = new JSON::XS;
		859
		860	# void context, so no parsing done
		861	$json->incr_parse ($text);
		862
		863	# now extract as many objects as possible. note the
		864	# use of scalar context so incr_text can be called.
		865	while (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
		866	# do something with $obj
		867
		868	# now skip the optional comma
		869	$json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* , //x;
		870	}
		871
		872	Now lets go for a very complex example: Assume that you have a gigantic
		873	JSON array-of-objects, many gigabytes in size, and you want to parse it,
		874	but you cannot load it into memory fully (this has actually happened in
		875	the real world :).
		876
		877	Well, you lost, you have to implement your own JSON parser. But JSON::XS
		878	can still help you: You implement a (very simple) array parser and let
		879	JSON decode the array elements, which are all full JSON objects on their
		880	own (this wouldn't work if the array elements could be JSON numbers, for
		881	example):
		882
		883	my $json = new JSON::XS;
		884
		885	# open the monster
		886	open my $fh, "<bigfile.json"
		887	or die "bigfile: $!";
		888
		889	# first parse the initial "["
		890	for (;;) {
		891	sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
		892	or die "read error: $!";
		893	$json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
		894
		895	# Exit the loop once we found and removed(!) the initial "[".
		896	# In essence, we are (ab-)using the $json object as a simple scalar
		897	# we append data to.
		898	last if $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* \[ //x;
		899	}
		900
		901	# now we have the skipped the initial "[", so continue
		902	# parsing all the elements.
		903	for (;;) {
		904	# in this loop we read data until we got a single JSON object
		905	for (;;) {
		906	if (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
		907	# do something with $obj
		908	last;
		909	}
		910
		911	# add more data
		912	sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
		913	or die "read error: $!";
		914	$json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
		915	}
		916
		917	# in this loop we read data until we either found and parsed the
		918	# separating "," between elements, or the final "]"
		919	for (;;) {
		920	# first skip whitespace
		921	$json->incr_text =~ s/^\s*//;
		922
		923	# if we find "]", we are done
		924	if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^\]//) {
		925	print "finished.\n";
		926	exit;
		927	}
		928
		929	# if we find ",", we can continue with the next element
		930	if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^,//) {
		931	last;
		932	}
		933
		934	# if we find anything else, we have a parse error!
		935	if (length $json->incr_text) {
		936	die "parse error near ", $json->incr_text;
		937	}
		938
		939	# else add more data
		940	sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
		941	or die "read error: $!";
		942	$json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
		943	}
		944
		945	This is a complex example, but most of the complexity comes from the fact
		946	that we are trying to be correct (bear with me if I am wrong, I never ran
		947	the above example :).
		948
620		949
621		950
622	=head1 MAPPING	951	=head1 MAPPING
623		952
624	This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and	953	This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and
625	vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most	954	vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most
626	circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics	955	circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics
627	(what you put in comes out as something equivalent).	956	(what you put in comes out as something equivalent).
628		957
629	For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions,	958	For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions,
630	lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppcercase I<Perl>	959	lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppercase I<Perl>
631	refers to the abstract Perl language itself.	960	refers to the abstract Perl language itself.
632		961
633		962
634	=head2 JSON -> PERL	963	=head2 JSON -> PERL
635		964
636	=over 4	965	=over 4
637		966
638	=item object	967	=item object
639		968
640	A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object	969	A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object
641	keys is preserved (JSON does not preserver object key ordering itself).	970	keys is preserved (JSON does not preserve object key ordering itself).
642		971
643	=item array	972	=item array
644		973
645	A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl.	974	A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl.
646		975
…		…
654		983
655	A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or	984	A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or
656	string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On	985	string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On
657	the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all	986	the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all
658	the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and	987	the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and
659	might represent more values exactly than (floating point) numbers.	988	might represent more values exactly than floating point numbers.
660		989
661	If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent	990	If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent
662	it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as	991	it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as
663	a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of	992	a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of
664	precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value.	993	precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value (in
		994	which case you lose roundtripping ability, as the JSON number will be
		995	re-encoded to a JSON string).
665		996
666	Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be	997	Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be
667	represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of	998	represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of
668	precision.	999	precision (in which case you might lose perfect roundtripping ability, but
		1000	the JSON number will still be re-encoded as a JSON number).
669		1001
670	This might create round-tripping problems as numbers might become strings,	1002	Note that precision is not accuracy - binary floating point values cannot
671	but as Perl is typeless there is no other way to do it.	1003	represent most decimal fractions exactly, and when converting from and to
		1004	floating point, JSON::XS only guarantees precision up to but not including
		1005	the least significant bit.
672		1006
673	=item true, false	1007	=item true, false
674		1008
675	These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>,	1009	These JSON atoms become C<Types::Serialiser::true> and
676	respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers	1010	C<Types::Serialiser::false>, respectively. They are overloaded to act
677	C<1> and C<0>. You can check wether a scalar is a JSON boolean by using	1011	almost exactly like the numbers C<1> and C<0>. You can check whether
678	the C<JSON::XS::is_bool> function.	1012	a scalar is a JSON boolean by using the C<Types::Serialiser::is_bool>
		1013	function (after C<use Types::Serialier>, of course).
679		1014
680	=item null	1015	=item null
681		1016
682	A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl.	1017	A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl.
		1018
		1019	=item shell-style comments (C<< # I<text> >>)
		1020
		1021	As a nonstandard extension to the JSON syntax that is enabled by the
		1022	C<relaxed> setting, shell-style comments are allowed. They can start
		1023	anywhere outside strings and go till the end of the line.
		1024
		1025	=item tagged values (C<< (I<tag>)I<value> >>).
		1026
		1027	Another nonstandard extension to the JSON syntax, enabled with the
		1028	C<allow_tags> setting, are tagged values. In this implementation, the
		1029	I<tag> must be a perl package/class name encoded as a JSON string, and the
		1030	I<value> must be a JSON array encoding optional constructor arguments.
		1031
		1032	See L<OBJECT SERIALISATION>, below, for details.
683		1033
684	=back	1034	=back
685		1035
686		1036
687	=head2 PERL -> JSON	1037	=head2 PERL -> JSON
…		…
692		1042
693	=over 4	1043	=over 4
694		1044
695	=item hash references	1045	=item hash references
696		1046
697	Perl hash references become JSON objects. As there is no inherent ordering	1047	Perl hash references become JSON objects. As there is no inherent
698	in hash keys (or JSON objects), they will usually be encoded in a	1048	ordering in hash keys (or JSON objects), they will usually be encoded
699	pseudo-random order that can change between runs of the same program but	1049	in a pseudo-random order. JSON::XS can optionally sort the hash keys
700	stays generally the same within a single run of a program. JSON::XS can	1050	(determined by the I<canonical> flag), so the same datastructure will
701	optionally sort the hash keys (determined by the I<canonical> flag), so	1051	serialise to the same JSON text (given same settings and version of
702	the same datastructure will serialise to the same JSON text (given same	1052	JSON::XS), but this incurs a runtime overhead and is only rarely useful,
703	settings and version of JSON::XS), but this incurs a runtime overhead	1053	e.g. when you want to compare some JSON text against another for equality.
704	and is only rarely useful, e.g. when you want to compare some JSON text
705	against another for equality.
706		1054
707	=item array references	1055	=item array references
708		1056
709	Perl array references become JSON arrays.	1057	Perl array references become JSON arrays.
710		1058
711	=item other references	1059	=item other references
712		1060
713	Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an	1061	Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an
714	exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and	1062	exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and
715	C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can	1063	C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON.
716	also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability.
717		1064
		1065	Since C<JSON::XS> uses the boolean model from L<Types::Serialiser>, you
		1066	can also C<use Types::Serialiser> and then use C<Types::Serialiser::false>
		1067	and C<Types::Serialiser::true> to improve readability.
		1068
		1069	use Types::Serialiser;
718	to_json [\0,JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true]	1070	encode_json [\0, Types::Serialiser::true] # yields [false,true]
719		1071
720	=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false	1072	=item Types::Serialiser::true, Types::Serialiser::false
721		1073
722	These special values become JSON true and JSON false values,	1074	These special values from the L<Types::Serialiser> module become JSON true
723	respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want.	1075	and JSON false values, respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0>
		1076	directly if you want.
724		1077
725	=item blessed objects	1078	=item blessed objects
726		1079
727	Blessed objects are not allowed. JSON::XS currently tries to encode their	1080	Blessed objects are not directly representable in JSON, but C<JSON::XS>
728	underlying representation (hash- or arrayref), but this behaviour might	1081	allows various ways of handling objects. See L<OBJECT SERIALISATION>,
729	change in future versions.	1082	below, for details.
730		1083
731	=item simple scalars	1084	=item simple scalars
732		1085
733	Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most	1086	Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most
734	difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as	1087	difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as
735	JSON null value, scalars that have last been used in a string context	1088	JSON C<null> values, scalars that have last been used in a string context
736	before encoding as JSON strings and anything else as number value:	1089	before encoding as JSON strings, and anything else as number value:
737		1090
738	# dump as number	1091	# dump as number
739	to_json [2] # yields [2]	1092	encode_json [2] # yields [2]
740	to_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17]	1093	encode_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17]
741	my $value = 5; to_json [$value] # yields [5]	1094	my $value = 5; encode_json [$value] # yields [5]
742		1095
743	# used as string, so dump as string	1096	# used as string, so dump as string
744	print $value;	1097	print $value;
745	to_json [$value] # yields ["5"]	1098	encode_json [$value] # yields ["5"]
746		1099
747	# undef becomes null	1100	# undef becomes null
748	to_json [undef] # yields [null]	1101	encode_json [undef] # yields [null]
749		1102
750	You can force the type to be a string by stringifying it:	1103	You can force the type to be a JSON string by stringifying it:
751		1104
752	my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number	1105	my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number
753	"$x"; # stringified	1106	"$x"; # stringified
754	$x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify	1107	$x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify
755	print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often	1108	print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often
756		1109
757	You can force the type to be a number by numifying it:	1110	You can force the type to be a JSON number by numifying it:
758		1111
759	my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string	1112	my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string
760	$x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number	1113	$x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number
761	$x *= 1; # same thing, the choise is yours.	1114	$x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours.
762		1115
763	You can not currently output JSON booleans or force the type in other,	1116	You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me
764	less obscure, ways. Tell me if you need this capability.	1117	if you need this capability (but don't forget to explain why it's needed
		1118	:).
		1119
		1120	Note that numerical precision has the same meaning as under Perl (so
		1121	binary to decimal conversion follows the same rules as in Perl, which
		1122	can differ to other languages). Also, your perl interpreter might expose
		1123	extensions to the floating point numbers of your platform, such as
		1124	infinities or NaN's - these cannot be represented in JSON, and it is an
		1125	error to pass those in.
765		1126
766	=back	1127	=back
767		1128
		1129	=head2 OBJECT SERIALISATION
768		1130
769	=head1 COMPARISON	1131	As JSON cannot directly represent Perl objects, you have to choose between
		1132	a pure JSON representation (without the ability to deserialise the object
		1133	automatically again), and a nonstandard extension to the JSON syntax,
		1134	tagged values.
770		1135
771	As already mentioned, this module was created because none of the existing	1136	=head3 SERIALISATION
772	JSON modules could be made to work correctly. First I will describe the	1137
773	problems (or pleasures) I encountered with various existing JSON modules,	1138	What happens when C<JSON::XS> encounters a Perl object depends on the
774	followed by some benchmark values. JSON::XS was designed not to suffer	1139	C<allow_blessed>, C<convert_blessed> and C<allow_tags> settings, which are
775	from any of these problems or limitations.	1140	used in this order:
776		1141
777	=over 4	1142	=over 4
778		1143
779	=item JSON 1.07	1144	=item 1. C<allow_tags> is enabled and the object has a C<FREEZE> method.
780		1145
781	Slow (but very portable, as it is written in pure Perl).	1146	In this case, C<JSON::XS> uses the L<Types::Serialiser> object
		1147	serialisation protocol to create a tagged JSON value, using a nonstandard
		1148	extension to the JSON syntax.
782		1149
783	Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling (how JSON handles unicode values is	1150	This works by invoking the C<FREEZE> method on the object, with the first
784	undocumented. One can get far by feeding it unicode strings and doing	1151	argument being the object to serialise, and the second argument being the
785	en-/decoding oneself, but unicode escapes are not working properly).	1152	constant string C<JSON> to distinguish it from other serialisers.
786		1153
787	No roundtripping (strings get clobbered if they look like numbers, e.g.	1154	The C<FREEZE> method can return any number of values (i.e. zero or
788	the string C<2.0> will encode to C<2.0> instead of C<"2.0">, and that will	1155	more). These values and the paclkage/classname of the object will then be
789	decode into the number 2.	1156	encoded as a tagged JSON value in the following format:
790		1157
791	=item JSON::PC 0.01	1158	("classname")[FREEZE return values...]
792		1159
793	Very fast.	1160	e.g.:
794		1161
795	Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling.	1162	("URI")["http://www.google.com/"]
		1163	("MyDate")[2013,10,29]
		1164	("ImageData::JPEG")["Z3...VlCg=="]
796		1165
797	No roundtripping.	1166	For example, the hypothetical C<My::Object> C<FREEZE> method might use the
		1167	objects C<type> and C<id> members to encode the object:
798		1168
799	Has problems handling many Perl values (e.g. regex results and other magic	1169	sub My::Object::FREEZE {
800	values will make it croak).	1170	my ($self, $serialiser) = @_;
801		1171
802	Does not even generate valid JSON (C<{1,2}> gets converted to C<{1:2}>	1172	($self->{type}, $self->{id})
803	which is not a valid JSON text.	1173	}
804		1174
805	Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not	1175	=item 2. C<convert_blessed> is enabled and the object has a C<TO_JSON> method.
806	getting fixed).
807		1176
808	=item JSON::Syck 0.21	1177	In this case, the C<TO_JSON> method of the object is invoked in scalar
		1178	context. It must return a single scalar that can be directly encoded into
		1179	JSON. This scalar replaces the object in the JSON text.
809		1180
810	Very buggy (often crashes).	1181	For example, the following C<TO_JSON> method will convert all L<URI>
		1182	objects to JSON strings when serialised. The fatc that these values
		1183	originally were L<URI> objects is lost.
811		1184
812	Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty much	1185	sub URI::TO_JSON {
813	undocumented. I need at least a format for easy reading by humans and a	1186	my ($uri) = @_;
814	single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and preferably a way to	1187	$uri->as_string
815	generate ASCII-only JSON texts).	1188	}
816		1189
817	Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling (unicode	1190	=item 3. C<allow_blessed> is enabled.
818	escapes are not working properly, you need to set ImplicitUnicode to
819	I<different> values on en- and decoding to get symmetric behaviour).
820		1191
821	No roundtripping (simple cases work, but this depends on wether the scalar	1192	The object will be serialised as a JSON null value.
822	value was used in a numeric context or not).
823		1193
824	Dumping hashes may skip hash values depending on iterator state.	1194	=item 4. none of the above
825		1195
826	Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not	1196	If none of the settings are enabled or the respective methods are missing,
827	getting fixed).	1197	C<JSON::XS> throws an exception.
828
829	Does not check input for validity (i.e. will accept non-JSON input and
830	return "something" instead of raising an exception. This is a security
831	issue: imagine two banks transfering money between each other using
832	JSON. One bank might parse a given non-JSON request and deduct money,
833	while the other might reject the transaction with a syntax error. While a
834	good protocol will at least recover, that is extra unnecessary work and
835	the transaction will still not succeed).
836
837	=item JSON::DWIW 0.04
838
839	Very fast. Very natural. Very nice.
840
841	Undocumented unicode handling (but the best of the pack. Unicode escapes
842	still don't get parsed properly).
843
844	Very inflexible.
845
846	No roundtripping.
847
848	Does not generate valid JSON texts (key strings are often unquoted, empty keys
849	result in nothing being output)
850
851	Does not check input for validity.
852		1198
853	=back	1199	=back
854		1200
		1201	=head3 DESERIALISATION
		1202
		1203	For deserialisation there are only two cases to consider: either
		1204	nonstandard tagging was used, in which case C<allow_tags> decides,
		1205	or objects cannot be automatically be deserialised, in which
		1206	case you can use postprocessing or the C<filter_json_object> or
		1207	C<filter_json_single_key_object> callbacks to get some real objects our of
		1208	your JSON.
		1209
		1210	This section only considers the tagged value case: I a tagged JSON object
		1211	is encountered during decoding and C<allow_tags> is disabled, a parse
		1212	error will result (as if tagged values were not part of the grammar).
		1213
		1214	If C<allow_tags> is enabled, C<JSON::XS> will look up the C<THAW> method
		1215	of the package/classname used during serialisation (it will not attempt
		1216	to load the package as a Perl module). If there is no such method, the
		1217	decoding will fail with an error.
		1218
		1219	Otherwise, the C<THAW> method is invoked with the classname as first
		1220	argument, the constant string C<JSON> as second argument, and all the
		1221	values from the JSON array (the values originally returned by the
		1222	C<FREEZE> method) as remaining arguments.
		1223
		1224	The method must then return the object. While technically you can return
		1225	any Perl scalar, you might have to enable the C<enable_nonref> setting to
		1226	make that work in all cases, so better return an actual blessed reference.
		1227
		1228	As an example, let's implement a C<THAW> function that regenerates the
		1229	C<My::Object> from the C<FREEZE> example earlier:
		1230
		1231	sub My::Object::THAW {
		1232	my ($class, $serialiser, $type, $id) = @_;
		1233
		1234	$class->new (type => $type, id => $id)
		1235	}
		1236
		1237
		1238	=head1 ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES
		1239
		1240	The interested reader might have seen a number of flags that signify
		1241	encodings or codesets - C<utf8>, C<latin1> and C<ascii>. There seems to be
		1242	some confusion on what these do, so here is a short comparison:
		1243
		1244	C<utf8> controls whether the JSON text created by C<encode> (and expected
		1245	by C<decode>) is UTF-8 encoded or not, while C<latin1> and C<ascii> only
		1246	control whether C<encode> escapes character values outside their respective
		1247	codeset range. Neither of these flags conflict with each other, although
		1248	some combinations make less sense than others.
		1249
		1250	Care has been taken to make all flags symmetrical with respect to
		1251	C<encode> and C<decode>, that is, texts encoded with any combination of
		1252	these flag values will be correctly decoded when the same flags are used
		1253	- in general, if you use different flag settings while encoding vs. when
		1254	decoding you likely have a bug somewhere.
		1255
		1256	Below comes a verbose discussion of these flags. Note that a "codeset" is
		1257	simply an abstract set of character-codepoint pairs, while an encoding
		1258	takes those codepoint numbers and I<encodes> them, in our case into
		1259	octets. Unicode is (among other things) a codeset, UTF-8 is an encoding,
		1260	and ISO-8859-1 (= latin 1) and ASCII are both codesets I<and> encodings at
		1261	the same time, which can be confusing.
		1262
		1263	=over 4
		1264
		1265	=item C<utf8> flag disabled
		1266
		1267	When C<utf8> is disabled (the default), then C<encode>/C<decode> generate
		1268	and expect Unicode strings, that is, characters with high ordinal Unicode
		1269	values (> 255) will be encoded as such characters, and likewise such
		1270	characters are decoded as-is, no changes to them will be done, except
		1271	"(re-)interpreting" them as Unicode codepoints or Unicode characters,
		1272	respectively (to Perl, these are the same thing in strings unless you do
		1273	funny/weird/dumb stuff).
		1274
		1275	This is useful when you want to do the encoding yourself (e.g. when you
		1276	want to have UTF-16 encoded JSON texts) or when some other layer does
		1277	the encoding for you (for example, when printing to a terminal using a
		1278	filehandle that transparently encodes to UTF-8 you certainly do NOT want
		1279	to UTF-8 encode your data first and have Perl encode it another time).
		1280
		1281	=item C<utf8> flag enabled
		1282
		1283	If the C<utf8>-flag is enabled, C<encode>/C<decode> will encode all
		1284	characters using the corresponding UTF-8 multi-byte sequence, and will
		1285	expect your input strings to be encoded as UTF-8, that is, no "character"
		1286	of the input string must have any value > 255, as UTF-8 does not allow
		1287	that.
		1288
		1289	The C<utf8> flag therefore switches between two modes: disabled means you
		1290	will get a Unicode string in Perl, enabled means you get an UTF-8 encoded
		1291	octet/binary string in Perl.
		1292
		1293	=item C<latin1> or C<ascii> flags enabled
		1294
		1295	With C<latin1> (or C<ascii>) enabled, C<encode> will escape characters
		1296	with ordinal values > 255 (> 127 with C<ascii>) and encode the remaining
		1297	characters as specified by the C<utf8> flag.
		1298
		1299	If C<utf8> is disabled, then the result is also correctly encoded in those
		1300	character sets (as both are proper subsets of Unicode, meaning that a
		1301	Unicode string with all character values < 256 is the same thing as a
		1302	ISO-8859-1 string, and a Unicode string with all character values < 128 is
		1303	the same thing as an ASCII string in Perl).
		1304
		1305	If C<utf8> is enabled, you still get a correct UTF-8-encoded string,
		1306	regardless of these flags, just some more characters will be escaped using
		1307	C<\uXXXX> then before.
		1308
		1309	Note that ISO-8859-1-I<encoded> strings are not compatible with UTF-8
		1310	encoding, while ASCII-encoded strings are. That is because the ISO-8859-1
		1311	encoding is NOT a subset of UTF-8 (despite the ISO-8859-1 I<codeset> being
		1312	a subset of Unicode), while ASCII is.
		1313
		1314	Surprisingly, C<decode> will ignore these flags and so treat all input
		1315	values as governed by the C<utf8> flag. If it is disabled, this allows you
		1316	to decode ISO-8859-1- and ASCII-encoded strings, as both strict subsets of
		1317	Unicode. If it is enabled, you can correctly decode UTF-8 encoded strings.
		1318
		1319	So neither C<latin1> nor C<ascii> are incompatible with the C<utf8> flag -
		1320	they only govern when the JSON output engine escapes a character or not.
		1321
		1322	The main use for C<latin1> is to relatively efficiently store binary data
		1323	as JSON, at the expense of breaking compatibility with most JSON decoders.
		1324
		1325	The main use for C<ascii> is to force the output to not contain characters
		1326	with values > 127, which means you can interpret the resulting string
		1327	as UTF-8, ISO-8859-1, ASCII, KOI8-R or most about any character set and
		1328	8-bit-encoding, and still get the same data structure back. This is useful
		1329	when your channel for JSON transfer is not 8-bit clean or the encoding
		1330	might be mangled in between (e.g. in mail), and works because ASCII is a
		1331	proper subset of most 8-bit and multibyte encodings in use in the world.
		1332
		1333	=back
		1334
		1335
		1336	=head2 JSON and ECMAscript
		1337
		1338	JSON syntax is based on how literals are represented in javascript (the
		1339	not-standardised predecessor of ECMAscript) which is presumably why it is
		1340	called "JavaScript Object Notation".
		1341
		1342	However, JSON is not a subset (and also not a superset of course) of
		1343	ECMAscript (the standard) or javascript (whatever browsers actually
		1344	implement).
		1345
		1346	If you want to use javascript's C<eval> function to "parse" JSON, you
		1347	might run into parse errors for valid JSON texts, or the resulting data
		1348	structure might not be queryable:
		1349
		1350	One of the problems is that U+2028 and U+2029 are valid characters inside
		1351	JSON strings, but are not allowed in ECMAscript string literals, so the
		1352	following Perl fragment will not output something that can be guaranteed
		1353	to be parsable by javascript's C<eval>:
		1354
		1355	use JSON::XS;
		1356
		1357	print encode_json [chr 0x2028];
		1358
		1359	The right fix for this is to use a proper JSON parser in your javascript
		1360	programs, and not rely on C<eval> (see for example Douglas Crockford's
		1361	F<json2.js> parser).
		1362
		1363	If this is not an option, you can, as a stop-gap measure, simply encode to
		1364	ASCII-only JSON:
		1365
		1366	use JSON::XS;
		1367
		1368	print JSON::XS->new->ascii->encode ([chr 0x2028]);
		1369
		1370	Note that this will enlarge the resulting JSON text quite a bit if you
		1371	have many non-ASCII characters. You might be tempted to run some regexes
		1372	to only escape U+2028 and U+2029, e.g.:
		1373
		1374	# DO NOT USE THIS!
		1375	my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ([chr 0x2028]);
		1376	$json =~ s/\xe2\x80\xa8/\\u2028/g; # escape U+2028
		1377	$json =~ s/\xe2\x80\xa9/\\u2029/g; # escape U+2029
		1378	print $json;
		1379
		1380	Note that I<this is a bad idea>: the above only works for U+2028 and
		1381	U+2029 and thus only for fully ECMAscript-compliant parsers. Many existing
		1382	javascript implementations, however, have issues with other characters as
		1383	well - using C<eval> naively simply I<will> cause problems.
		1384
		1385	Another problem is that some javascript implementations reserve
		1386	some property names for their own purposes (which probably makes
		1387	them non-ECMAscript-compliant). For example, Iceweasel reserves the
		1388	C<__proto__> property name for its own purposes.
		1389
		1390	If that is a problem, you could parse try to filter the resulting JSON
		1391	output for these property strings, e.g.:
		1392
		1393	$json =~ s/"__proto__"\s*:/"__proto__renamed":/g;
		1394
		1395	This works because C<__proto__> is not valid outside of strings, so every
		1396	occurrence of C<"__proto__"\s*:> must be a string used as property name.
		1397
		1398	If you know of other incompatibilities, please let me know.
		1399
855		1400
856	=head2 JSON and YAML	1401	=head2 JSON and YAML
857		1402
858	You often hear that JSON is a subset (or a close subset) of YAML. This is,	1403	You often hear that JSON is a subset of YAML. This is, however, a mass
859	however, a mass hysteria and very far from the truth. In general, there is	1404	hysteria(*) and very far from the truth (as of the time of this writing),
860	no way to configure JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML.	1405	so let me state it clearly: I<in general, there is no way to configure
		1406	JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML> that works in all
		1407	cases.
861		1408
862	If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this	1409	If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this
863	algorithm (subject to change in future versions):	1410	algorithm (subject to change in future versions):
864		1411
865	my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1);	1412	my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1);
866	my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n";	1413	my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n";
867		1414
868	This will usually generate JSON texts that also parse as valid	1415	This will I<usually> generate JSON texts that also parse as valid
869	YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key	1416	YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key
870	lengths that JSON doesn't have, so you should make sure that your hash	1417	lengths that JSON doesn't have and also has different and incompatible
		1418	unicode character escape syntax, so you should make sure that your hash
871	keys are noticably shorter than the 1024 characters YAML allows.	1419	keys are noticeably shorter than the 1024 "stream characters" YAML allows
		1420	and that you do not have characters with codepoint values outside the
		1421	Unicode BMP (basic multilingual page). YAML also does not allow C<\/>
		1422	sequences in strings (which JSON::XS does not I<currently> generate, but
		1423	other JSON generators might).
872		1424
873	There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of. In general	1425	There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of (or the YAML
		1426	specification has been changed yet again - it does so quite often). In
874	you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice versa,	1427	general you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice
875	or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are high	1428	versa, or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are
876	that you will run into severe interoperability problems.	1429	high that you will run into severe interoperability problems when you
		1430	least expect it.
		1431
		1432	=over 4
		1433
		1434	=item (*)
		1435
		1436	I have been pressured multiple times by Brian Ingerson (one of the
		1437	authors of the YAML specification) to remove this paragraph, despite him
		1438	acknowledging that the actual incompatibilities exist. As I was personally
		1439	bitten by this "JSON is YAML" lie, I refused and said I will continue to
		1440	educate people about these issues, so others do not run into the same
		1441	problem again and again. After this, Brian called me a (quote)I<complete
		1442	and worthless idiot>(unquote).
		1443
		1444	In my opinion, instead of pressuring and insulting people who actually
		1445	clarify issues with YAML and the wrong statements of some of its
		1446	proponents, I would kindly suggest reading the JSON spec (which is not
		1447	that difficult or long) and finally make YAML compatible to it, and
		1448	educating users about the changes, instead of spreading lies about the
		1449	real compatibility for many I<years> and trying to silence people who
		1450	point out that it isn't true.
		1451
		1452	Addendum/2009: the YAML 1.2 spec is still incompatible with JSON, even
		1453	though the incompatibilities have been documented (and are known to Brian)
		1454	for many years and the spec makes explicit claims that YAML is a superset
		1455	of JSON. It would be so easy to fix, but apparently, bullying people and
		1456	corrupting userdata is so much easier.
		1457
		1458	=back
877		1459
878		1460
879	=head2 SPEED	1461	=head2 SPEED
880		1462
881	It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following	1463	It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following
882	tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program	1464	tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program
883	in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own	1465	in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own
884	system.	1466	system.
885		1467
886	First comes a comparison between various modules using a very short	1468	First comes a comparison between various modules using
887	single-line JSON string:	1469	a very short single-line JSON string (also available at
		1470	L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/short.json>).
888		1471
889	{"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], \	1472	{"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1",
890	"id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7, true, false]}	1473	"we were just talking"], "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7,
		1474	1, 0]}
891		1475
892	It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses	1476	It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses
893	the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface	1477	the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface
894	with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables	1478	with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables
895	shrink). Higher is better:	1479	shrink. JSON::DWIW/DS uses the deserialise function, while JSON::DWIW::FJ
		1480	uses the from_json method). Higher is better:
896		1481
897	Storable | 15779.925 | 14169.946 |
898	-----------+------------+------------+
899	module | encode | decode |	1482	module | encode | decode |
900	-----------|------------|------------|	1483	--------------|------------|------------|
901	JSON | 4990.842 | 4088.813 |	1484	JSON::DWIW/DS | 86302.551 | 102300.098 |
902	JSON::DWIW | 51653.990 | 71575.154 |	1485	JSON::DWIW/FJ | 86302.551 | 75983.768 |
903	JSON::PC | 65948.176 | 74631.744 |	1486	JSON::PP | 15827.562 | 6638.658 |
904	JSON::PP | 8931.652 | 3817.168 |	1487	JSON::Syck | 63358.066 | 47662.545 |
905	JSON::Syck | 24877.248 | 27776.848 |	1488	JSON::XS | 511500.488 | 511500.488 |
906	JSON::XS | 388361.481 | 227951.304 |	1489	JSON::XS/2 | 291271.111 | 388361.481 |
907	JSON::XS/2 | 227951.304 | 218453.333 |	1490	JSON::XS/3 | 361577.931 | 361577.931 |
908	JSON::XS/3 | 338250.323 | 218453.333 |	1491	Storable | 66788.280 | 265462.278 |
909	Storable | 16500.016 | 135300.129 |
910	-----------+------------+------------+	1492	--------------+------------+------------+
911		1493
912	That is, JSON::XS is about five times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding,	1494	That is, JSON::XS is almost six times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding,
913	about three times faster on decoding, and over fourty times faster	1495	about five times faster on decoding, and over thirty to seventy times
914	than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares	1496	faster than JSON's pure perl implementation. It also compares favourably
915	favourably to Storable for small amounts of data.	1497	to Storable for small amounts of data.
916		1498
917	Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals	1499	Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals
918	search API (http://nanoref.com/yahooapis/mgPdGg):	1500	search API (L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/long.json>).
919		1501
920	module | encode | decode |	1502	module | encode | decode |
921	-----------|------------|------------|	1503	--------------|------------|------------|
922	JSON | 55.260 | 34.971 |	1504	JSON::DWIW/DS | 1647.927 | 2673.916 |
923	JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 |	1505	JSON::DWIW/FJ | 1630.249 | 2596.128 |
924	JSON::PC | 3571.444 | 2394.829 |
925	JSON::PP | 210.987 | 32.574 |	1506	JSON::PP | 400.640 | 62.311 |
926	JSON::Syck | 552.551 | 787.544 |	1507	JSON::Syck | 1481.040 | 1524.869 |
927	JSON::XS | 5780.463 | 4854.519 |	1508	JSON::XS | 20661.596 | 9541.183 |
928	JSON::XS/2 | 3869.998 | 4798.975 |	1509	JSON::XS/2 | 10683.403 | 9416.938 |
929	JSON::XS/3 | 5862.880 | 4798.975 |	1510	JSON::XS/3 | 20661.596 | 9400.054 |
930	Storable | 4445.002 | 5235.027 |	1511	Storable | 19765.806 | 10000.725 |
931	-----------+------------+------------+	1512	--------------+------------+------------+
932		1513
933	Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly	1514	Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly
934	decodes faster).	1515	decodes a bit faster).
935		1516
936	On large strings containing lots of high unicode characters, some modules	1517	On large strings containing lots of high Unicode characters, some modules
937	(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result	1518	(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result
938	will be broken due to missing (or wrong) unicode handling. Others refuse	1519	will be broken due to missing (or wrong) Unicode handling. Others refuse
939	to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair	1520	to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair
940	comparison table for that case.	1521	comparison table for that case.
941		1522
942		1523
943	=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS	1524	=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
…		…
949	any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am	1530	any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am
950	trying hard on making that true, but you never know.	1531	trying hard on making that true, but you never know.
951		1532
952	Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you should	1533	Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you should
953	limit the size of JSON texts you accept, or make sure then when your	1534	limit the size of JSON texts you accept, or make sure then when your
954	resources run out, thats just fine (e.g. by using a separate process that	1535	resources run out, that's just fine (e.g. by using a separate process that
955	can crash safely). The size of a JSON text in octets or characters is	1536	can crash safely). The size of a JSON text in octets or characters is
956	usually a good indication of the size of the resources required to decode	1537	usually a good indication of the size of the resources required to decode
957	it into a Perl structure. While JSON::XS can check the size of the JSON	1538	it into a Perl structure. While JSON::XS can check the size of the JSON
958	text, it might be too late when you already have it in memory, so you	1539	text, it might be too late when you already have it in memory, so you
959	might want to check the size before you accept the string.	1540	might want to check the size before you accept the string.
960		1541
961	Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and	1542	Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and
962	arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64	1543	arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64
963	machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but	1544	machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but
964	only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak	1545	only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak
965	to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. to be	1546	to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. To be
966	conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process	1547	conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process
967	has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the	1548	has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the
968	C<max_depth> method.	1549	C<max_depth> method.
969		1550
970	And last but least, something else could bomb you that I forgot to think	1551	Something else could bomb you, too, that I forgot to think of. In that
971	of. In that case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints,	1552	case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, though...
972	though...	1553
		1554	Also keep in mind that JSON::XS might leak contents of your Perl data
		1555	structures in its error messages, so when you serialise sensitive
		1556	information you might want to make sure that exceptions thrown by JSON::XS
		1557	will not end up in front of untrusted eyes.
973		1558
974	If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption	1559	If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption
975	by javascript scripts in a browser you should have a look at	1560	by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at
976	L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see wether	1561	L<http://blog.archive.jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security/> to
977	you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser	1562	see whether you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really
978	design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it, as major	1563	are browser design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with
979	browser developers care only for features, not about doing security	1564	it, as major browser developers care only for features, not about getting
980	right).	1565	security right).
		1566
		1567
		1568	=head1 "OLD" VS. "NEW" JSON (RFC 4627 VS. RFC 7159)
		1569
		1570	TL;DR: Due to security concerns, JSON::XS will not allow scalar data in
		1571	JSON texts by default - you need to create your own JSON::XS object and
		1572	enable C<allow_nonref>:
		1573
		1574
		1575	my $json = JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref;
		1576
		1577	$text = $json->encode ($data);
		1578	$data = $json->decode ($text);
		1579
		1580	The long version: JSON being an important and supposedly stable format,
		1581	the IETF standardised it as RFC 4627 in 2006. Unfortunately, the inventor
		1582	of JSON, Dougles Crockford, unilaterally changed the definition of JSON in
		1583	javascript. Rather than create a fork, the IETF decided to standardise the
		1584	new syntax (apparently, so Iw as told, without finding it very amusing).
		1585
		1586	The biggest difference between thed original JSON and the new JSON is that
		1587	the new JSON supports scalars (anything other than arrays and objects) at
		1588	the toplevel of a JSON text. While this is strictly backwards compatible
		1589	to older versions, it breaks a number of protocols that relied on sending
		1590	JSON back-to-back, and is a minor security concern.
		1591
		1592	For example, imagine you have two banks communicating, and on one side,
		1593	trhe JSON coder gets upgraded. Two messages, such as C<10> and C<1000>
		1594	might then be confused to mean C<101000>, something that couldn't happen
		1595	in the original JSON, because niether of these messages would be valid
		1596	JSON.
		1597
		1598	If one side accepts these messages, then an upgrade in the coder on either
		1599	side could result in this becoming exploitable.
		1600
		1601	This module has always allowed these messages as an optional extension, by
		1602	default disabled. The security concerns are the reason why the default is
		1603	still disabled, but future versions might/will likely upgrade to the newer
		1604	RFC as default format, so you are advised to check your implementation
		1605	and/or override the default with C<< ->allow_nonref (0) >> to ensure that
		1606	future versions are safe.
		1607
		1608
		1609	=head1 INTEROPERABILITY WITH OTHER MODULES
		1610
		1611	C<JSON::XS> uses the L<Types::Serialiser> module to provide boolean
		1612	constants. That means that the JSON true and false values will be
		1613	comaptible to true and false values of iother modules that do the same,
		1614	such as L<JSON::PP> and L<CBOR::XS>.
		1615
		1616
		1617	=head1 INTEROPERABILITY WITH OTHER JSON DECODERS
		1618
		1619	As long as you only serialise data that can be directly expressed in JSON,
		1620	C<JSON::XS> is incapable of generating invalid JSON output (modulo bugs,
		1621	but C<JSON::XS> has found more bugs in the official JSON testsuite (1)
		1622	than the official JSON testsuite has found in C<JSON::XS> (0)).
		1623
		1624	When you have trouble decoding JSON generated by this module using other
		1625	decoders, then it is very likely that you have an encoding mismatch or the
		1626	other decoder is broken.
		1627
		1628	When decoding, C<JSON::XS> is strict by default and will likely catch all
		1629	errors. There are currently two settings that change this: C<relaxed>
		1630	makes C<JSON::XS> accept (but not generate) some non-standard extensions,
		1631	and C<allow_tags> will allow you to encode and decode Perl objects, at the
		1632	cost of not outputting valid JSON anymore.
		1633
		1634	=head2 TAGGED VALUE SYNTAX AND STANDARD JSON EN/DECODERS
		1635
		1636	When you use C<allow_tags> to use the extended (and also nonstandard and
		1637	invalid) JSON syntax for serialised objects, and you still want to decode
		1638	the generated When you want to serialise objects, you can run a regex
		1639	to replace the tagged syntax by standard JSON arrays (it only works for
		1640	"normal" packagesnames without comma, newlines or single colons). First,
		1641	the readable Perl version:
		1642
		1643	# if your FREEZE methods return no values, you need this replace first:
		1644	$json =~ s/\( \s* (" (?: [^\\":,]+|\\.|::)* ") \s* \) \s* \[\s*\]/[$1]/gx;
		1645
		1646	# this works for non-empty constructor arg lists:
		1647	$json =~ s/\( \s* (" (?: [^\\":,]+|\\.|::)* ") \s* \) \s* \[/[$1,/gx;
		1648
		1649	And here is a less readable version that is easy to adapt to other
		1650	languages:
		1651
		1652	$json =~ s/\(\s*("([^\\":,]+|\\.|::)*")\s*\)\s*\[/[$1,/g;
		1653
		1654	Here is an ECMAScript version (same regex):
		1655
		1656	json = json.replace (/\(\s*("([^\\":,]+|\\.|::)*")\s*\)\s*\[/g, "[$1,");
		1657
		1658	Since this syntax converts to standard JSON arrays, it might be hard to
		1659	distinguish serialised objects from normal arrays. You can prepend a
		1660	"magic number" as first array element to reduce chances of a collision:
		1661
		1662	$json =~ s/\(\s*("([^\\":,]+|\\.|::)*")\s*\)\s*\[/["XU1peReLzT4ggEllLanBYq4G9VzliwKF",$1,/g;
		1663
		1664	And after decoding the JSON text, you could walk the data
		1665	structure looking for arrays with a first element of
		1666	C<XU1peReLzT4ggEllLanBYq4G9VzliwKF>.
		1667
		1668	The same approach can be used to create the tagged format with another
		1669	encoder. First, you create an array with the magic string as first member,
		1670	the classname as second, and constructor arguments last, encode it as part
		1671	of your JSON structure, and then:
		1672
		1673	$json =~ s/\[\s*"XU1peReLzT4ggEllLanBYq4G9VzliwKF"\s*,\s*("([^\\":,]+|\\.|::)*")\s*,/($1)[/g;
		1674
		1675	Again, this has some limitations - the magic string must not be encoded
		1676	with character escapes, and the constructor arguments must be non-empty.
		1677
		1678
		1679	=head1 RFC7159
		1680
		1681	Since this module was written, Google has written a new JSON RFC, RFC 7159
		1682	(and RFC7158). Unfortunately, this RFC breaks compatibility with both the
		1683	original JSON specification on www.json.org and RFC4627.
		1684
		1685	As far as I can see, you can get partial compatibility when parsing by
		1686	using C<< ->allow_nonref >>. However, consider thew security implications
		1687	of doing so.
		1688
		1689	I haven't decided yet when to break compatibility with RFC4627 by default
		1690	(and potentially leave applications insecure) and change the default to
		1691	follow RFC7159, but application authors are well advised to call C<<
		1692	->allow_nonref(0) >> even if this is the current default, if they cannot
		1693	handle non-reference values, in preparation for the day when the4 default
		1694	will change.
981		1695
982		1696
983	=head1 THREADS	1697	=head1 THREADS
984		1698
985	This module is I<not> guarenteed to be thread safe and there are no	1699	This module is I<not> guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no
986	plans to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the	1700	plans to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the
987	horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated	1701	horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated
988	process simulations - use fork, its I<much> faster, cheaper, better).	1702	process simulations - use fork, it's I<much> faster, cheaper, better).
989		1703
990	(It might actually work, but you ahve ben warned).	1704	(It might actually work, but you have been warned).
		1705
		1706
		1707	=head1 THE PERILS OF SETLOCALE
		1708
		1709	Sometimes people avoid the Perl locale support and directly call the
		1710	system's setlocale function with C<LC_ALL>.
		1711
		1712	This breaks both perl and modules such as JSON::XS, as stringification of
		1713	numbers no longer works correctly (e.g. C<$x = 0.1; print "$x"+1> might
		1714	print C<1>, and JSON::XS might output illegal JSON as JSON::XS relies on
		1715	perl to stringify numbers).
		1716
		1717	The solution is simple: don't call C<setlocale>, or use it for only those
		1718	categories you need, such as C<LC_MESSAGES> or C<LC_CTYPE>.
		1719
		1720	If you need C<LC_NUMERIC>, you should enable it only around the code that
		1721	actually needs it (avoiding stringification of numbers), and restore it
		1722	afterwards.
991		1723
992		1724
993	=head1 BUGS	1725	=head1 BUGS
994		1726
995	While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does	1727	While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does
996	not mean its bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is	1728	not mean it's bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. If you
997	still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they	1729	keep reporting bugs they will be fixed swiftly, though.
998	will be fixed swiftly, though.
999		1730
1000	Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting	1731	Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting
1001	service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason.	1732	service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason.
1002		1733
1003	=cut	1734	=cut
1004		1735
1005	our $true = do { bless \(my $dummy = 1), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };	1736	BEGIN {
1006	our $false = do { bless \(my $dummy = 0), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };	1737	*true = \$Types::Serialiser::true;
		1738	*true = \&Types::Serialiser::true;
		1739	*false = \$Types::Serialiser::false;
		1740	*false = \&Types::Serialiser::false;
		1741	*is_bool = \&Types::Serialiser::is_bool;
1007		1742
1008	sub true() { $true }	1743	*JSON::XS::Boolean:: = *Types::Serialiser::Boolean::;
1009	sub false() { $false }
1010
1011	sub is_bool($) {
1012	UNIVERSAL::isa $_[0], "JSON::XS::Boolean"
1013	# or UNIVERSAL::isa $_[0], "JSON::Literal"
1014	}	1744	}
1015		1745
1016	XSLoader::load "JSON::XS", $VERSION;	1746	XSLoader::load "JSON::XS", $VERSION;
1017		1747
1018	package JSON::XS::Boolean;	1748	=head1 SEE ALSO
1019		1749
1020	use overload	1750	The F<json_xs> command line utility for quick experiments.
1021	"0+" => sub { ${$_[0]} },
1022	"++" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} + 1 },
1023	"--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 },
1024	fallback => 1;
1025
1026	1;
1027		1751
1028	=head1 AUTHOR	1752	=head1 AUTHOR
1029		1753
1030	Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>	1754	Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1031	http://home.schmorp.de/	1755	http://home.schmorp.de/
1032		1756
1033	=cut	1757	=cut
1034		1758
		1759	1
		1760

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