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Revision 1.68 by root, Tue Oct 23 03:30:02 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.109 by root, Sat Jul 19 04:21:32 2008 UTC

1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast 3JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast
4
5=encoding utf-8
4 6
5JSON::XS - 正しくて高速な JSON シリアライザ/デシリアライザ 7JSON::XS - 正しくて高速な JSON シリアライザ/デシリアライザ
6 (http://fleur.hio.jp/perldoc/mix/lib/JSON/XS.html) 8 (http://fleur.hio.jp/perldoc/mix/lib/JSON/XS.html)
7 9
8=head1 SYNOPSIS 10=head1 SYNOPSIS
10 use JSON::XS; 12 use JSON::XS;
11 13
12 # exported functions, they croak on error 14 # exported functions, they croak on error
13 # and expect/generate UTF-8 15 # and expect/generate UTF-8
14 16
15 $utf8_encoded_json_text = to_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref; 17 $utf8_encoded_json_text = encode_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref;
16 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = from_json $utf8_encoded_json_text; 18 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = decode_json $utf8_encoded_json_text;
17 19
18 # OO-interface 20 # OO-interface
19 21
20 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref; 22 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref;
21 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar); 23 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar);
22 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text); 24 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text);
23 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
24=head1 DESCRIPTION 34=head1 DESCRIPTION
25 35
26This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its 36This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its
27primary goal is to be I<correct> and its secondary goal is to be 37primary goal is to be I<correct> and its secondary goal is to be
28I<fast>. To reach the latter goal it was written in C. 38I<fast>. To reach the latter goal it was written in C.
39
40Beginning with version 2.0 of the JSON module, when both JSON and
41JSON::XS are installed, then JSON will fall back on JSON::XS (this can be
42overridden) with no overhead due to emulation (by inheriting constructor
43and methods). If JSON::XS is not available, it will fall back to the
44compatible JSON::PP module as backend, so using JSON instead of JSON::XS
45gives you a portable JSON API that can be fast when you need and doesn't
46require a C compiler when that is a problem.
29 47
30As this is the n-th-something JSON module on CPAN, what was the reason 48As this is the n-th-something JSON module on CPAN, what was the reason
31to write yet another JSON module? While it seems there are many JSON 49to write yet another JSON module? While it seems there are many JSON
32modules, none of them correctly handle all corner cases, and in most cases 50modules, none of them correctly handle all corner cases, and in most cases
33their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug 51their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug
42 60
43=over 4 61=over 4
44 62
45=item * correct Unicode handling 63=item * correct Unicode handling
46 64
47This module knows how to handle Unicode, and even documents how and when 65This module knows how to handle Unicode, documents how and when it does
48it does so. 66so, and even documents what "correct" means.
49 67
50=item * round-trip integrity 68=item * round-trip integrity
51 69
52When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported 70When you serialise a perl data structure using only data types supported
53by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level. 71by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level.
54(e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because it looks 72(e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because it looks
55like a number). 73like a number). There minor I<are> exceptions to this, read the MAPPING
74section below to learn about those.
56 75
57=item * strict checking of JSON correctness 76=item * strict checking of JSON correctness
58 77
59There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default, 78There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default,
60and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security 79and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security
61feature). 80feature).
62 81
63=item * fast 82=item * fast
64 83
65Compared to other JSON modules, this module compares favourably in terms 84Compared to other JSON modules and other serialisers such as Storable,
66of speed, too. 85this module usually compares favourably in terms of speed, too.
67 86
68=item * simple to use 87=item * simple to use
69 88
70This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an OO 89This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an object
71interface. 90oriented interface interface.
72 91
73=item * reasonably versatile output formats 92=item * reasonably versatile output formats
74 93
75You can choose between the most compact guaranteed single-line format 94You can choose between the most compact guaranteed-single-line format
76possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format 95possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ASCII format
77(for when your transport is not 8-bit clean, still supports the whole 96(for when your transport is not 8-bit clean, still supports the whole
78Unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that 97Unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that
79stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like. 98stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like.
80 99
81=back 100=back
84 103
85package JSON::XS; 104package JSON::XS;
86 105
87use strict; 106use strict;
88 107
89our $VERSION = '1.52'; 108our $VERSION = '2.222';
90our @ISA = qw(Exporter); 109our @ISA = qw(Exporter);
91 110
92our @EXPORT = qw(to_json from_json); 111our @EXPORT = qw(encode_json decode_json to_json from_json);
112
113sub to_json($) {
114 require Carp;
115 Carp::croak ("JSON::XS::to_json has been renamed to encode_json, either downgrade to pre-2.0 versions of JSON::XS or rename the call");
116}
117
118sub from_json($) {
119 require Carp;
120 Carp::croak ("JSON::XS::from_json has been renamed to decode_json, either downgrade to pre-2.0 versions of JSON::XS or rename the call");
121}
93 122
94use Exporter; 123use Exporter;
95use XSLoader; 124use XSLoader;
96 125
97=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE 126=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE
99The following convenience methods are provided by this module. They are 128The following convenience methods are provided by this module. They are
100exported by default: 129exported by default:
101 130
102=over 4 131=over 4
103 132
104=item $json_text = to_json $perl_scalar 133=item $json_text = encode_json $perl_scalar
105 134
106Converts the given Perl data structure to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string 135Converts the given Perl data structure to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string
107(that is, the string contains octets only). Croaks on error. 136(that is, the string contains octets only). Croaks on error.
108 137
109This function call is functionally identical to: 138This function call is functionally identical to:
110 139
111 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar) 140 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar)
112 141
113except being faster. 142Except being faster.
114 143
115=item $perl_scalar = from_json $json_text 144=item $perl_scalar = decode_json $json_text
116 145
117The opposite of C<to_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries 146The opposite of C<encode_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries
118to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting 147to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting
119reference. Croaks on error. 148reference. Croaks on error.
120 149
121This function call is functionally identical to: 150This function call is functionally identical to:
122 151
123 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text) 152 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text)
124 153
125except being faster. 154Except being faster.
126 155
127=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar 156=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar
128 157
129Returns true if the passed scalar represents either JSON::XS::true or 158Returns true if the passed scalar represents either JSON::XS::true or
130JSON::XS::false, two constants that act like C<1> and C<0>, respectively 159JSON::XS::false, two constants that act like C<1> and C<0>, respectively
148This enables you to store Unicode characters as single characters in a 177This enables you to store Unicode characters as single characters in a
149Perl string - very natural. 178Perl string - very natural.
150 179
151=item 2. Perl does I<not> associate an encoding with your strings. 180=item 2. Perl does I<not> associate an encoding with your strings.
152 181
153Unless you force it to, e.g. when matching it against a regex, or printing 182... until you force it to, e.g. when matching it against a regex, or
154the scalar to a file, in which case Perl either interprets your string as 183printing the scalar to a file, in which case Perl either interprets your
155locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode, depending on various 184string as locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode, depending
156settings. In no case is an encoding stored together with your data, it is 185on various settings. In no case is an encoding stored together with your
157I<use> that decides encoding, not any magical metadata. 186data, it is I<use> that decides encoding, not any magical meta data.
158 187
159=item 3. The internal utf-8 flag has no meaning with regards to the 188=item 3. The internal utf-8 flag has no meaning with regards to the
160encoding of your string. 189encoding of your string.
161 190
162Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written in 191Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written in
168 197
169If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it doesn't 198If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it doesn't
170exist. 199exist.
171 200
172=item 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be 201=item 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be
173validly interpreted as a Unicode codepoint. 202validly interpreted as a Unicode code point.
174 203
175If you have UTF-8 encoded data, it is no longer a Unicode string, but a 204If you have UTF-8 encoded data, it is no longer a Unicode string, but a
176Unicode string encoded in UTF-8, giving you a binary string. 205Unicode string encoded in UTF-8, giving you a binary string.
177 206
178=item 5. A string containing "high" (> 255) character values is I<not> a UTF-8 string. 207=item 5. A string containing "high" (> 255) character values is I<not> a UTF-8 string.
201 230
202 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]}) 231 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after->encode ({a => [1,2]})
203 => {"a": [1, 2]} 232 => {"a": [1, 2]}
204 233
205=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable]) 234=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable])
235
236=item $enabled = $json->get_ascii
206 237
207If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not 238If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
208generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any 239generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any
209Unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a 240Unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a
210single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence, 241single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence,
214 245
215If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 246If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
216characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results 247characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results
217in a faster and more compact format. 248in a faster and more compact format.
218 249
250See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
251document.
252
219The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be 253The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be
220transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not 254transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not
221contain any 8 bit characters. 255contain any 8 bit characters.
222 256
223 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401]) 257 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401])
224 => ["\ud801\udc01"] 258 => ["\ud801\udc01"]
225 259
226=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable]) 260=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable])
261
262=item $enabled = $json->get_latin1
227 263
228If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode 264If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
229the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters 265the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters
230outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a 266outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a
231latin1-encoded JSON text or a native Unicode string. The C<decode> method 267latin1-encoded JSON text or a native Unicode string. The C<decode> method
232will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default 268will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default
233expects Unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1. 269expects Unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1.
234 270
235If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 271If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
236characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. 272characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags.
273
274See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
275document.
237 276
238The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON 277The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON
239text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded 278text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded
240size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded 279size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded
241in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and 280in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and
246 JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"] 285 JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"]
247 => ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not) 286 => ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not)
248 287
249=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable]) 288=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable])
250 289
290=item $enabled = $json->get_utf8
291
251If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode 292If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
252the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the 293the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the
253C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please 294C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please
254note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the 295note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the
255range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future 296range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future
258 299
259If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON 300If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON
260string as a (non-encoded) Unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a 301string as a (non-encoded) Unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a
261Unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs 302Unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs
262to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module. 303to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module.
304
305See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
306document.
263 307
264Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON: 308Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON:
265 309
266 use Encode; 310 use Encode;
267 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object); 311 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object);
288 ] 332 ]
289 } 333 }
290 334
291=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable]) 335=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable])
292 336
337=item $enabled = $json->get_indent
338
293If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline 339If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline
294format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair 340format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair
295into its own line, indenting them properly. 341into its own line, indenting them properly.
296 342
297If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the 343If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the
299 345
300This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 346This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
301 347
302=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable]) 348=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable])
303 349
350=item $enabled = $json->get_space_before
351
304If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 352If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
305optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects. 353optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects.
306 354
307If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra 355If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra
308space at those places. 356space at those places.
313Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled: 361Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled:
314 362
315 {"key" :"value"} 363 {"key" :"value"}
316 364
317=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable]) 365=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable])
366
367=item $enabled = $json->get_space_after
318 368
319If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 369If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
320optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects 370optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects
321and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array 371and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array
322members. 372members.
329Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled: 379Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled:
330 380
331 {"key": "value"} 381 {"key": "value"}
332 382
333=item $json = $json->relaxed ([$enable]) 383=item $json = $json->relaxed ([$enable])
384
385=item $enabled = $json->get_relaxed
334 386
335If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<decode> will accept some 387If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<decode> will accept some
336extensions to normal JSON syntax (see below). C<encode> will not be 388extensions to normal JSON syntax (see below). C<encode> will not be
337affected in anyway. I<Be aware that this option makes you accept invalid 389affected in anyway. I<Be aware that this option makes you accept invalid
338JSON texts as if they were valid!>. I suggest only to use this option to 390JSON texts as if they were valid!>. I suggest only to use this option to
375 427
376=back 428=back
377 429
378=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable]) 430=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable])
379 431
432=item $enabled = $json->get_canonical
433
380If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects 434If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects
381by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead. 435by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead.
382 436
383If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value 437If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value
384pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs 438pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs
391 445
392This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 446This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
393 447
394=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable]) 448=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable])
395 449
450=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_nonref
451
396If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a 452If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a
397non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value, 453non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value,
398which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON 454which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON
399values instead of croaking. 455values instead of croaking.
400 456
407resulting in an invalid JSON text: 463resulting in an invalid JSON text:
408 464
409 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!") 465 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!")
410 => "Hello, World!" 466 => "Hello, World!"
411 467
468=item $json = $json->allow_unknown ([$enable])
469
470=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_unknown
471
472If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode> will I<not> throw an
473exception when it encounters values it cannot represent in JSON (for
474example, filehandles) but instead will encode a JSON C<null> value. Note
475that blessed objects are not included here and are handled separately by
476c<allow_nonref>.
477
478If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
479exception when it encounters anything it cannot encode as JSON.
480
481This option does not affect C<decode> in any way, and it is recommended to
482leave it off unless you know your communications partner.
483
412=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable]) 484=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable])
485
486=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_blessed
413 487
414If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not 488If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
415barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the 489barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the
416B<convert_blessed> option will decide whether C<null> (C<convert_blessed> 490B<convert_blessed> option will decide whether C<null> (C<convert_blessed>
417disabled or no C<to_json> method found) or a representation of the 491disabled or no C<TO_JSON> method found) or a representation of the
418object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<to_json> method found) is being 492object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<TO_JSON> method found) is being
419encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>. 493encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>.
420 494
421If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an 495If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
422exception when it encounters a blessed object. 496exception when it encounters a blessed object.
423 497
424=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable]) 498=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable])
499
500=item $enabled = $json->get_convert_blessed
425 501
426If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a 502If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a
427blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<TO_JSON> method 503blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<TO_JSON> method
428on the object's class. If found, it will be called in scalar context 504on the object's class. If found, it will be called in scalar context
429and the resulting scalar will be encoded instead of the object. If no 505and the resulting scalar will be encoded instead of the object. If no
433The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON> 509The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON>
434returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same 510returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same
435way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle 511way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle
436(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other 512(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other
437methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are 513methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are
438usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with the C<to_json> 514usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with any C<to_json>
439function. 515function or method.
440 516
441This setting does not yet influence C<decode> in any way, but in the 517This setting does not yet influence C<decode> in any way, but in the
442future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are 518future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are
443enabled by this setting. 519enabled by this setting.
444 520
520 596
521 { __widget__ => $self->{id} } 597 { __widget__ => $self->{id} }
522 } 598 }
523 599
524=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable]) 600=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable])
601
602=item $enabled = $json->get_shrink
525 603
526Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for 604Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for
527strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either 605strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either
528C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save 606C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save
529memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many 607memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many
547strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats 625strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats
548internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space. 626internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space.
549 627
550=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth]) 628=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])
551 629
630=item $max_depth = $json->get_max_depth
631
552Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding 632Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding
553or decoding. If the JSON text or Perl data structure has an equal or 633or decoding. If a higher nesting level is detected in JSON text or a Perl
554higher nesting level then this limit, then the encoder and decoder will 634data structure, then the encoder and decoder will stop and croak at that
555stop and croak at that point. 635point.
556 636
557Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder 637Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder
558needs to traverse to reach a given point or the number of C<{> or C<[> 638needs to traverse to reach a given point or the number of C<{> or C<[>
559characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a 639characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a
560given character in a string. 640given character in a string.
561 641
562Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures 642Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures
563that the object is only a single hash/object or array. 643that the object is only a single hash/object or array.
564 644
565The argument to C<max_depth> will be rounded up to the next highest power
566of two. If no argument is given, the highest possible setting will be 645If no argument is given, the highest possible setting will be used, which
567used, which is rarely useful. 646is rarely useful.
647
648Note that nesting is implemented by recursion in C. The default value has
649been chosen to be as large as typical operating systems allow without
650crashing.
568 651
569See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful. 652See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
570 653
571=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size]) 654=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size])
655
656=item $max_size = $json->get_max_size
572 657
573Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where decoding is 658Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where decoding is
574being attempted. The default is C<0>, meaning no limit. When C<decode> 659being attempted. The default is C<0>, meaning no limit. When C<decode>
575is called on a string longer then this number of characters it will not 660is called on a string that is longer then this many bytes, it will not
576attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no 661attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no
577effect on C<encode> (yet). 662effect on C<encode> (yet).
578 663
579The argument to C<max_size> will be rounded up to the next B<highest> 664If no argument is given, the limit check will be deactivated (same as when
580power of two (so may be more than requested). If no argument is given, the 665C<0> is specified).
581limit check will be deactivated (same as when C<0> is specified).
582 666
583See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful. 667See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
584 668
585=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar) 669=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar)
586 670
615 => ([], 3) 699 => ([], 3)
616 700
617=back 701=back
618 702
619 703
704=head1 INCREMENTAL PARSING
705
706In some cases, there is the need for incremental parsing of JSON
707texts. While this module always has to keep both JSON text and resulting
708Perl data structure in memory at one time, it does allow you to parse a
709JSON stream incrementally. It does so by accumulating text until it has
710a full JSON object, which it then can decode. This process is similar to
711using C<decode_prefix> to see if a full JSON object is available, but
712is much more efficient (and can be implemented with a minimum of method
713calls).
714
715JSON::XS will only attempt to parse the JSON text once it is sure it
716has enough text to get a decisive result, using a very simple but
717truly incremental parser. This means that it sometimes won't stop as
718early as the full parser, for example, it doesn't detect parenthese
719mismatches. The only thing it guarantees is that it starts decoding as
720soon as a syntactically valid JSON text has been seen. This means you need
721to set resource limits (e.g. C<max_size>) to ensure the parser will stop
722parsing in the presence if syntax errors.
723
724The following methods implement this incremental parser.
725
726=over 4
727
728=item [void, scalar or list context] = $json->incr_parse ([$string])
729
730This is the central parsing function. It can both append new text and
731extract objects from the stream accumulated so far (both of these
732functions are optional).
733
734If C<$string> is given, then this string is appended to the already
735existing JSON fragment stored in the C<$json> object.
736
737After that, if the function is called in void context, it will simply
738return without doing anything further. This can be used to add more text
739in as many chunks as you want.
740
741If the method is called in scalar context, then it will try to extract
742exactly I<one> JSON object. If that is successful, it will return this
743object, otherwise it will return C<undef>. If there is a parse error,
744this method will croak just as C<decode> would do (one can then use
745C<incr_skip> to skip the errornous part). This is the most common way of
746using the method.
747
748And finally, in list context, it will try to extract as many objects
749from the stream as it can find and return them, or the empty list
750otherwise. For this to work, there must be no separators between the JSON
751objects or arrays, instead they must be concatenated back-to-back. If
752an error occurs, an exception will be raised as in the scalar context
753case. Note that in this case, any previously-parsed JSON texts will be
754lost.
755
756=item $lvalue_string = $json->incr_text
757
758This method returns the currently stored JSON fragment as an lvalue, that
759is, you can manipulate it. This I<only> works when a preceding call to
760C<incr_parse> in I<scalar context> successfully returned an object. Under
761all other circumstances you must not call this function (I mean it.
762although in simple tests it might actually work, it I<will> fail under
763real world conditions). As a special exception, you can also call this
764method before having parsed anything.
765
766This function is useful in two cases: a) finding the trailing text after a
767JSON object or b) parsing multiple JSON objects separated by non-JSON text
768(such as commas).
769
770=item $json->incr_skip
771
772This will reset the state of the incremental parser and will remove the
773parsed text from the input buffer. This is useful after C<incr_parse>
774died, in which case the input buffer and incremental parser state is left
775unchanged, to skip the text parsed so far and to reset the parse state.
776
777=item $json->incr_reset
778
779This completely resets the incremental parser, that is, after this call,
780it will be as if the parser had never parsed anything.
781
782This is useful if you want ot repeatedly parse JSON objects and want to
783ignore any trailing data, which means you have to reset the parser after
784each successful decode.
785
786=back
787
788=head2 LIMITATIONS
789
790All options that affect decoding are supported, except
791C<allow_nonref>. The reason for this is that it cannot be made to
792work sensibly: JSON objects and arrays are self-delimited, i.e. you can concatenate
793them back to back and still decode them perfectly. This does not hold true
794for JSON numbers, however.
795
796For example, is the string C<1> a single JSON number, or is it simply the
797start of C<12>? Or is C<12> a single JSON number, or the concatenation
798of C<1> and C<2>? In neither case you can tell, and this is why JSON::XS
799takes the conservative route and disallows this case.
800
801=head2 EXAMPLES
802
803Some examples will make all this clearer. First, a simple example that
804works similarly to C<decode_prefix>: We want to decode the JSON object at
805the start of a string and identify the portion after the JSON object:
806
807 my $text = "[1,2,3] hello";
808
809 my $json = new JSON::XS;
810
811 my $obj = $json->incr_parse ($text)
812 or die "expected JSON object or array at beginning of string";
813
814 my $tail = $json->incr_text;
815 # $tail now contains " hello"
816
817Easy, isn't it?
818
819Now for a more complicated example: Imagine a hypothetical protocol where
820you read some requests from a TCP stream, and each request is a JSON
821array, without any separation between them (in fact, it is often useful to
822use newlines as "separators", as these get interpreted as whitespace at
823the start of the JSON text, which makes it possible to test said protocol
824with C<telnet>...).
825
826Here is how you'd do it (it is trivial to write this in an event-based
827manner):
828
829 my $json = new JSON::XS;
830
831 # read some data from the socket
832 while (sysread $socket, my $buf, 4096) {
833
834 # split and decode as many requests as possible
835 for my $request ($json->incr_parse ($buf)) {
836 # act on the $request
837 }
838 }
839
840Another complicated example: Assume you have a string with JSON objects
841or arrays, all separated by (optional) comma characters (e.g. C<[1],[2],
842[3]>). To parse them, we have to skip the commas between the JSON texts,
843and here is where the lvalue-ness of C<incr_text> comes in useful:
844
845 my $text = "[1],[2], [3]";
846 my $json = new JSON::XS;
847
848 # void context, so no parsing done
849 $json->incr_parse ($text);
850
851 # now extract as many objects as possible. note the
852 # use of scalar context so incr_text can be called.
853 while (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
854 # do something with $obj
855
856 # now skip the optional comma
857 $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* , //x;
858 }
859
860Now lets go for a very complex example: Assume that you have a gigantic
861JSON array-of-objects, many gigabytes in size, and you want to parse it,
862but you cannot load it into memory fully (this has actually happened in
863the real world :).
864
865Well, you lost, you have to implement your own JSON parser. But JSON::XS
866can still help you: You implement a (very simple) array parser and let
867JSON decode the array elements, which are all full JSON objects on their
868own (this wouldn't work if the array elements could be JSON numbers, for
869example):
870
871 my $json = new JSON::XS;
872
873 # open the monster
874 open my $fh, "<bigfile.json"
875 or die "bigfile: $!";
876
877 # first parse the initial "["
878 for (;;) {
879 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
880 or die "read error: $!";
881 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
882
883 # Exit the loop once we found and removed(!) the initial "[".
884 # In essence, we are (ab-)using the $json object as a simple scalar
885 # we append data to.
886 last if $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* \[ //x;
887 }
888
889 # now we have the skipped the initial "[", so continue
890 # parsing all the elements.
891 for (;;) {
892 # in this loop we read data until we got a single JSON object
893 for (;;) {
894 if (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
895 # do something with $obj
896 last;
897 }
898
899 # add more data
900 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
901 or die "read error: $!";
902 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
903 }
904
905 # in this loop we read data until we either found and parsed the
906 # separating "," between elements, or the final "]"
907 for (;;) {
908 # first skip whitespace
909 $json->incr_text =~ s/^\s*//;
910
911 # if we find "]", we are done
912 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^\]//) {
913 print "finished.\n";
914 exit;
915 }
916
917 # if we find ",", we can continue with the next element
918 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^,//) {
919 last;
920 }
921
922 # if we find anything else, we have a parse error!
923 if (length $json->incr_text) {
924 die "parse error near ", $json->incr_text;
925 }
926
927 # else add more data
928 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
929 or die "read error: $!";
930 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
931 }
932
933This is a complex example, but most of the complexity comes from the fact
934that we are trying to be correct (bear with me if I am wrong, I never ran
935the above example :).
936
937
938
620=head1 MAPPING 939=head1 MAPPING
621 940
622This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and 941This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and
623vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most 942vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most
624circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics 943circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics
652 971
653A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or 972A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or
654string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On 973string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On
655the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all 974the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all
656the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and 975the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and
657might represent more values exactly than (floating point) numbers. 976might represent more values exactly than floating point numbers.
658 977
659If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent 978If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent
660it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as 979it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as
661a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of 980a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of
662precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value. 981precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value (in
982which case you lose roundtripping ability, as the JSON number will be
983re-encoded toa JSON string).
663 984
664Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be 985Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be
665represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of 986represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of
666precision. 987precision (in which case you might lose perfect roundtripping ability, but
667 988the JSON number will still be re-encoded as a JSON number).
668This might create round-tripping problems as numbers might become strings,
669but as Perl is typeless there is no other way to do it.
670 989
671=item true, false 990=item true, false
672 991
673These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>, 992These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>,
674respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers 993respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers
711Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an 1030Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an
712exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and 1031exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and
713C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can 1032C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can
714also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability. 1033also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability.
715 1034
716 to_json [\0,JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true] 1035 encode_json [\0, JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true]
717 1036
718=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false 1037=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false
719 1038
720These special values become JSON true and JSON false values, 1039These special values become JSON true and JSON false values,
721respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want. 1040respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want.
722 1041
723=item blessed objects 1042=item blessed objects
724 1043
725Blessed objects are not allowed. JSON::XS currently tries to encode their 1044Blessed objects are not directly representable in JSON. See the
726underlying representation (hash- or arrayref), but this behaviour might 1045C<allow_blessed> and C<convert_blessed> methods on various options on
727change in future versions. 1046how to deal with this: basically, you can choose between throwing an
1047exception, encoding the reference as if it weren't blessed, or provide
1048your own serialiser method.
728 1049
729=item simple scalars 1050=item simple scalars
730 1051
731Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most 1052Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most
732difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as 1053difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as
733JSON null value, scalars that have last been used in a string context 1054JSON C<null> values, scalars that have last been used in a string context
734before encoding as JSON strings and anything else as number value: 1055before encoding as JSON strings, and anything else as number value:
735 1056
736 # dump as number 1057 # dump as number
737 to_json [2] # yields [2] 1058 encode_json [2] # yields [2]
738 to_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17] 1059 encode_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17]
739 my $value = 5; to_json [$value] # yields [5] 1060 my $value = 5; encode_json [$value] # yields [5]
740 1061
741 # used as string, so dump as string 1062 # used as string, so dump as string
742 print $value; 1063 print $value;
743 to_json [$value] # yields ["5"] 1064 encode_json [$value] # yields ["5"]
744 1065
745 # undef becomes null 1066 # undef becomes null
746 to_json [undef] # yields [null] 1067 encode_json [undef] # yields [null]
747 1068
748You can force the type to be a JSON string by stringifying it: 1069You can force the type to be a JSON string by stringifying it:
749 1070
750 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number 1071 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number
751 "$x"; # stringified 1072 "$x"; # stringified
757 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string 1078 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string
758 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number 1079 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number
759 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours. 1080 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours.
760 1081
761You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me 1082You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me
762if you need this capability. 1083if you need this capability (but don't forget to explain why it's needed
1084:).
763 1085
764=back 1086=back
765 1087
766 1088
767=head1 COMPARISON 1089=head1 ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES
768 1090
769As already mentioned, this module was created because none of the existing 1091The interested reader might have seen a number of flags that signify
770JSON modules could be made to work correctly. First I will describe the 1092encodings or codesets - C<utf8>, C<latin1> and C<ascii>. There seems to be
771problems (or pleasures) I encountered with various existing JSON modules, 1093some confusion on what these do, so here is a short comparison:
772followed by some benchmark values. JSON::XS was designed not to suffer 1094
773from any of these problems or limitations. 1095C<utf8> controls whether the JSON text created by C<encode> (and expected
1096by C<decode>) is UTF-8 encoded or not, while C<latin1> and C<ascii> only
1097control whether C<encode> escapes character values outside their respective
1098codeset range. Neither of these flags conflict with each other, although
1099some combinations make less sense than others.
1100
1101Care has been taken to make all flags symmetrical with respect to
1102C<encode> and C<decode>, that is, texts encoded with any combination of
1103these flag values will be correctly decoded when the same flags are used
1104- in general, if you use different flag settings while encoding vs. when
1105decoding you likely have a bug somewhere.
1106
1107Below comes a verbose discussion of these flags. Note that a "codeset" is
1108simply an abstract set of character-codepoint pairs, while an encoding
1109takes those codepoint numbers and I<encodes> them, in our case into
1110octets. Unicode is (among other things) a codeset, UTF-8 is an encoding,
1111and ISO-8859-1 (= latin 1) and ASCII are both codesets I<and> encodings at
1112the same time, which can be confusing.
774 1113
775=over 4 1114=over 4
776 1115
777=item JSON 1.07 1116=item C<utf8> flag disabled
778 1117
779Slow (but very portable, as it is written in pure Perl). 1118When C<utf8> is disabled (the default), then C<encode>/C<decode> generate
1119and expect Unicode strings, that is, characters with high ordinal Unicode
1120values (> 255) will be encoded as such characters, and likewise such
1121characters are decoded as-is, no canges to them will be done, except
1122"(re-)interpreting" them as Unicode codepoints or Unicode characters,
1123respectively (to Perl, these are the same thing in strings unless you do
1124funny/weird/dumb stuff).
780 1125
781Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling (how JSON handles Unicode values is 1126This is useful when you want to do the encoding yourself (e.g. when you
782undocumented. One can get far by feeding it Unicode strings and doing 1127want to have UTF-16 encoded JSON texts) or when some other layer does
783en-/decoding oneself, but Unicode escapes are not working properly). 1128the encoding for you (for example, when printing to a terminal using a
1129filehandle that transparently encodes to UTF-8 you certainly do NOT want
1130to UTF-8 encode your data first and have Perl encode it another time).
784 1131
785No roundtripping (strings get clobbered if they look like numbers, e.g. 1132=item C<utf8> flag enabled
786the string C<2.0> will encode to C<2.0> instead of C<"2.0">, and that will
787decode into the number 2.
788 1133
789=item JSON::PC 0.01 1134If the C<utf8>-flag is enabled, C<encode>/C<decode> will encode all
1135characters using the corresponding UTF-8 multi-byte sequence, and will
1136expect your input strings to be encoded as UTF-8, that is, no "character"
1137of the input string must have any value > 255, as UTF-8 does not allow
1138that.
790 1139
791Very fast. 1140The C<utf8> flag therefore switches between two modes: disabled means you
1141will get a Unicode string in Perl, enabled means you get an UTF-8 encoded
1142octet/binary string in Perl.
792 1143
793Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling. 1144=item C<latin1> or C<ascii> flags enabled
794 1145
795No roundtripping. 1146With C<latin1> (or C<ascii>) enabled, C<encode> will escape characters
1147with ordinal values > 255 (> 127 with C<ascii>) and encode the remaining
1148characters as specified by the C<utf8> flag.
796 1149
797Has problems handling many Perl values (e.g. regex results and other magic 1150If C<utf8> is disabled, then the result is also correctly encoded in those
798values will make it croak). 1151character sets (as both are proper subsets of Unicode, meaning that a
1152Unicode string with all character values < 256 is the same thing as a
1153ISO-8859-1 string, and a Unicode string with all character values < 128 is
1154the same thing as an ASCII string in Perl).
799 1155
800Does not even generate valid JSON (C<{1,2}> gets converted to C<{1:2}> 1156If C<utf8> is enabled, you still get a correct UTF-8-encoded string,
801which is not a valid JSON text. 1157regardless of these flags, just some more characters will be escaped using
1158C<\uXXXX> then before.
802 1159
803Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not 1160Note that ISO-8859-1-I<encoded> strings are not compatible with UTF-8
804getting fixed). 1161encoding, while ASCII-encoded strings are. That is because the ISO-8859-1
1162encoding is NOT a subset of UTF-8 (despite the ISO-8859-1 I<codeset> being
1163a subset of Unicode), while ASCII is.
805 1164
806=item JSON::Syck 0.21 1165Surprisingly, C<decode> will ignore these flags and so treat all input
1166values as governed by the C<utf8> flag. If it is disabled, this allows you
1167to decode ISO-8859-1- and ASCII-encoded strings, as both strict subsets of
1168Unicode. If it is enabled, you can correctly decode UTF-8 encoded strings.
807 1169
808Very buggy (often crashes). 1170So neither C<latin1> nor C<ascii> are incompatible with the C<utf8> flag -
1171they only govern when the JSON output engine escapes a character or not.
809 1172
810Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty much 1173The main use for C<latin1> is to relatively efficiently store binary data
811undocumented. I need at least a format for easy reading by humans and a 1174as JSON, at the expense of breaking compatibility with most JSON decoders.
812single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and preferably a way to
813generate ASCII-only JSON texts).
814 1175
815Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling (Unicode 1176The main use for C<ascii> is to force the output to not contain characters
816escapes are not working properly, you need to set ImplicitUnicode to 1177with values > 127, which means you can interpret the resulting string
817I<different> values on en- and decoding to get symmetric behaviour). 1178as UTF-8, ISO-8859-1, ASCII, KOI8-R or most about any character set and
818 11798-bit-encoding, and still get the same data structure back. This is useful
819No roundtripping (simple cases work, but this depends on whether the scalar 1180when your channel for JSON transfer is not 8-bit clean or the encoding
820value was used in a numeric context or not). 1181might be mangled in between (e.g. in mail), and works because ASCII is a
821 1182proper subset of most 8-bit and multibyte encodings in use in the world.
822Dumping hashes may skip hash values depending on iterator state.
823
824Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not
825getting fixed).
826
827Does not check input for validity (i.e. will accept non-JSON input and
828return "something" instead of raising an exception. This is a security
829issue: imagine two banks transferring money between each other using
830JSON. One bank might parse a given non-JSON request and deduct money,
831while the other might reject the transaction with a syntax error. While a
832good protocol will at least recover, that is extra unnecessary work and
833the transaction will still not succeed).
834
835=item JSON::DWIW 0.04
836
837Very fast. Very natural. Very nice.
838
839Undocumented Unicode handling (but the best of the pack. Unicode escapes
840still don't get parsed properly).
841
842Very inflexible.
843
844No roundtripping.
845
846Does not generate valid JSON texts (key strings are often unquoted, empty keys
847result in nothing being output)
848
849Does not check input for validity.
850 1183
851=back 1184=back
852 1185
853 1186
854=head2 JSON and YAML 1187=head2 JSON and YAML
855 1188
856You often hear that JSON is a subset (or a close subset) of YAML. This is, 1189You often hear that JSON is a subset of YAML. This is, however, a mass
857however, a mass hysteria and very far from the truth. In general, there is 1190hysteria(*) and very far from the truth (as of the time of this writing),
858no way to configure JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML. 1191so let me state it clearly: I<in general, there is no way to configure
1192JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML> that works in all
1193cases.
859 1194
860If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this 1195If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this
861algorithm (subject to change in future versions): 1196algorithm (subject to change in future versions):
862 1197
863 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1); 1198 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1);
864 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n"; 1199 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n";
865 1200
866This will usually generate JSON texts that also parse as valid 1201This will I<usually> generate JSON texts that also parse as valid
867YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key 1202YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key
868lengths that JSON doesn't have, so you should make sure that your hash 1203lengths that JSON doesn't have and also has different and incompatible
1204unicode handling, so you should make sure that your hash keys are
869keys are noticeably shorter than the 1024 characters YAML allows. 1205noticeably shorter than the 1024 "stream characters" YAML allows and that
1206you do not have characters with codepoint values outside the Unicode BMP
1207(basic multilingual page). YAML also does not allow C<\/> sequences in
1208strings (which JSON::XS does not I<currently> generate, but other JSON
1209generators might).
870 1210
871There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of. In general 1211There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of (or the YAML
1212specification has been changed yet again - it does so quite often). In
872you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice versa, 1213general you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice
873or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are high 1214versa, or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are
874that you will run into severe interoperability problems. 1215high that you will run into severe interoperability problems when you
1216least expect it.
1217
1218=over 4
1219
1220=item (*)
1221
1222I have been pressured multiple times by Brian Ingerson (one of the
1223authors of the YAML specification) to remove this paragraph, despite him
1224acknowledging that the actual incompatibilities exist. As I was personally
1225bitten by this "JSON is YAML" lie, I refused and said I will continue to
1226educate people about these issues, so others do not run into the same
1227problem again and again. After this, Brian called me a (quote)I<complete
1228and worthless idiot>(unquote).
1229
1230In my opinion, instead of pressuring and insulting people who actually
1231clarify issues with YAML and the wrong statements of some of its
1232proponents, I would kindly suggest reading the JSON spec (which is not
1233that difficult or long) and finally make YAML compatible to it, and
1234educating users about the changes, instead of spreading lies about the
1235real compatibility for many I<years> and trying to silence people who
1236point out that it isn't true.
1237
1238=back
875 1239
876 1240
877=head2 SPEED 1241=head2 SPEED
878 1242
879It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following 1243It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following
880tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program 1244tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program
881in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own 1245in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own
882system. 1246system.
883 1247
884First comes a comparison between various modules using a very short 1248First comes a comparison between various modules using
885single-line JSON string: 1249a very short single-line JSON string (also available at
1250L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/short.json>).
886 1251
887 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], \ 1252 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1",
888 "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7, true, false]} 1253 "we were just talking"], "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7,
1254 true, false]}
889 1255
890It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses 1256It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses
891the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface 1257the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface
892with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables 1258with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables
893shrink). Higher is better: 1259shrink). Higher is better:
894 1260
895 Storable | 15779.925 | 14169.946 |
896 -----------+------------+------------+
897 module | encode | decode | 1261 module | encode | decode |
898 -----------|------------|------------| 1262 -----------|------------|------------|
899 JSON | 4990.842 | 4088.813 | 1263 JSON 1.x | 4990.842 | 4088.813 |
900 JSON::DWIW | 51653.990 | 71575.154 | 1264 JSON::DWIW | 51653.990 | 71575.154 |
901 JSON::PC | 65948.176 | 74631.744 | 1265 JSON::PC | 65948.176 | 74631.744 |
902 JSON::PP | 8931.652 | 3817.168 | 1266 JSON::PP | 8931.652 | 3817.168 |
903 JSON::Syck | 24877.248 | 27776.848 | 1267 JSON::Syck | 24877.248 | 27776.848 |
904 JSON::XS | 388361.481 | 227951.304 | 1268 JSON::XS | 388361.481 | 227951.304 |
911about three times faster on decoding, and over forty times faster 1275about three times faster on decoding, and over forty times faster
912than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares 1276than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares
913favourably to Storable for small amounts of data. 1277favourably to Storable for small amounts of data.
914 1278
915Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals 1279Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals
916search API (http://nanoref.com/yahooapis/mgPdGg): 1280search API (L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/long.json>).
917 1281
918 module | encode | decode | 1282 module | encode | decode |
919 -----------|------------|------------| 1283 -----------|------------|------------|
920 JSON | 55.260 | 34.971 | 1284 JSON 1.x | 55.260 | 34.971 |
921 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 | 1285 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 |
922 JSON::PC | 3571.444 | 2394.829 | 1286 JSON::PC | 3571.444 | 2394.829 |
923 JSON::PP | 210.987 | 32.574 | 1287 JSON::PP | 210.987 | 32.574 |
924 JSON::Syck | 552.551 | 787.544 | 1288 JSON::Syck | 552.551 | 787.544 |
925 JSON::XS | 5780.463 | 4854.519 | 1289 JSON::XS | 5780.463 | 4854.519 |
958 1322
959Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and 1323Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and
960arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64 1324arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64
961machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but 1325machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but
962only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak 1326only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak
963to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. to be 1327to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. To be
964conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process 1328conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process
965has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the 1329has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the
966C<max_depth> method. 1330C<max_depth> method.
967 1331
968And last but least, something else could bomb you that I forgot to think 1332Something else could bomb you, too, that I forgot to think of. In that
969of. In that case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, 1333case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, though...
970though... 1334
1335Also keep in mind that JSON::XS might leak contents of your Perl data
1336structures in its error messages, so when you serialise sensitive
1337information you might want to make sure that exceptions thrown by JSON::XS
1338will not end up in front of untrusted eyes.
971 1339
972If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption 1340If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption
973by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at 1341by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at
974L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see whether 1342L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see whether
975you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser 1343you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser
976design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it, as major 1344design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it, as major
977browser developers care only for features, not about doing security 1345browser developers care only for features, not about getting security
978right). 1346right).
979 1347
980 1348
981=head1 THREADS 1349=head1 THREADS
982 1350
983This module is I<not> guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no 1351This module is I<not> guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no
984plans to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the 1352plans to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the
985horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated 1353horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated
986process simulations - use fork, its I<much> faster, cheaper, better). 1354process simulations - use fork, it's I<much> faster, cheaper, better).
987 1355
988(It might actually work, but you have been warned). 1356(It might actually work, but you have been warned).
989 1357
990 1358
991=head1 BUGS 1359=head1 BUGS
992 1360
993While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does 1361While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does
994not mean its bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is 1362not mean it's bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. If you
995still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they 1363keep reporting bugs they will be fixed swiftly, though.
996will be fixed swiftly, though.
997 1364
998Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting 1365Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting
999service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason. 1366service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason.
1000 1367
1001=cut 1368=cut
1021 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 }, 1388 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 },
1022 fallback => 1; 1389 fallback => 1;
1023 1390
10241; 13911;
1025 1392
1393=head1 SEE ALSO
1394
1395The F<json_xs> command line utility for quick experiments.
1396
1026=head1 AUTHOR 1397=head1 AUTHOR
1027 1398
1028 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 1399 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1029 http://home.schmorp.de/ 1400 http://home.schmorp.de/
1030 1401

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