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Revision 1.94 by root, Tue Mar 25 07:46:15 2008 UTC

1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2
3=encoding utf-8
2 4
3JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast 5JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast
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)
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
42overriden) with no overhead due to emulation (by inheritign constructor
43and methods). If JSON::XS is not available, it will fall back to the
44compatible JSON::PP module as backend, so using JSON instead of JSON::XS
45gives you a portable JSON API that can be fast when you need and doesn't
46require a C compiler when that is a problem.
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 datatypes 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 objetc
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
84 103
85package JSON::XS; 104package JSON::XS;
86 105
87use strict; 106use strict;
88 107
89our $VERSION = '2.0'; 108our $VERSION = '2.1';
90our @ISA = qw(Exporter); 109our @ISA = qw(Exporter);
91 110
92our @EXPORT = qw(to_json from_json); 111our @EXPORT = qw(encode_json decode_json to_json from_json);
112
113sub to_json($) {
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 $json_text
116 145
117The opposite of C<to_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries 146The opposite of C<encode_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries
118to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting 147to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting
119reference. Croaks on error. 148reference. Croaks on error.
120 149
121This function call is functionally identical to: 150This function call is functionally identical to:
122 151
148This enables you to store Unicode characters as single characters in a 177This enables you to store Unicode characters as single characters in a
149Perl string - very natural. 178Perl string - very natural.
150 179
151=item 2. Perl does I<not> associate an encoding with your strings. 180=item 2. Perl does I<not> associate an encoding with your strings.
152 181
153Unless you force it to, e.g. when matching it against a regex, or printing 182... until you force it to, e.g. when matching it against a regex, or
154the scalar to a file, in which case Perl either interprets your string as 183printing the scalar to a file, in which case Perl either interprets your
155locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode, depending on various 184string as locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode, depending
156settings. In no case is an encoding stored together with your data, it is 185on various settings. In no case is an encoding stored together with your
157I<use> that decides encoding, not any magical metadata. 186data, it is I<use> that decides encoding, not any magical meta data.
158 187
159=item 3. The internal utf-8 flag has no meaning with regards to the 188=item 3. The internal utf-8 flag has no meaning with regards to the
160encoding of your string. 189encoding of your string.
161 190
162Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written in 191Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written in
216 245
217If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 246If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
218characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results 247characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results
219in a faster and more compact format. 248in a faster and more compact format.
220 249
250See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
251document.
252
221The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be 253The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be
222transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not 254transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not
223contain any 8 bit characters. 255contain any 8 bit characters.
224 256
225 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401]) 257 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401])
236will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default 268will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default
237expects Unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1. 269expects Unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1.
238 270
239If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 271If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
240characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. 272characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags.
273
274See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
275document.
241 276
242The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON 277The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON
243text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded 278text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded
244size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded 279size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded
245in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and 280in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and
264 299
265If C<$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
266string 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
267Unicode 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
268to 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.
269 307
270Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON: 308Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON:
271 309
272 use Encode; 310 use Encode;
273 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object); 311 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object);
432=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_blessed 470=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_blessed
433 471
434If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not 472If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
435barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the 473barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the
436B<convert_blessed> option will decide whether C<null> (C<convert_blessed> 474B<convert_blessed> option will decide whether C<null> (C<convert_blessed>
437disabled or no C<to_json> method found) or a representation of the 475disabled or no C<TO_JSON> method found) or a representation of the
438object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<to_json> method found) is being 476object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<TO_JSON> method found) is being
439encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>. 477encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>.
440 478
441If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an 479If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
442exception when it encounters a blessed object. 480exception when it encounters a blessed object.
443 481
455The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON> 493The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON>
456returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same 494returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same
457way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle 495way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle
458(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other 496(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other
459methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are 497methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are
460usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with the C<to_json> 498usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with any C<to_json>
461function. 499function or method.
462 500
463This setting does not yet influence C<decode> in any way, but in the 501This setting does not yet influence C<decode> in any way, but in the
464future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are 502future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are
465enabled by this setting. 503enabled by this setting.
466 504
643 => ([], 3) 681 => ([], 3)
644 682
645=back 683=back
646 684
647 685
686=head1 INCREMENTAL PARSING
687
688[This section is still EXPERIMENTAL]
689
690In some cases, there is the need for incremental parsing of JSON
691texts. While this module always has to keep both JSON text and resulting
692Perl data structure in memory at one time, it does allow you to parse a
693JSON stream incrementally. It does so by accumulating text until it has
694a full JSON object, which it then can decode. This process is similar to
695using C<decode_prefix> to see if a full JSON object is available, but is
696much more efficient (JSON::XS will only attempt to parse the JSON text
697once it is sure it has enough text to get a decisive result, using a very
698simple but truly incremental parser).
699
700The following two methods deal with this.
701
702=over 4
703
704=item [void, scalar or list context] = $json->incr_parse ([$string])
705
706This is the central parsing function. It can both append new text and
707extract objects from the stream accumulated so far (both of these
708functions are optional).
709
710If C<$string> is given, then this string is appended to the already
711existing JSON fragment stored in the C<$json> object.
712
713After that, if the function is called in void context, it will simply
714return without doing anything further. This can be used to add more text
715in as many chunks as you want.
716
717If the method is called in scalar context, then it will try to extract
718exactly I<one> JSON object. If that is successful, it will return this
719object, otherwise it will return C<undef>. This is the most common way of
720using the method.
721
722And finally, in list context, it will try to extract as many objects
723from the stream as it can find and return them, or the empty list
724otherwise. For this to work, there must be no separators between the JSON
725objects or arrays, instead they must be concatenated back-to-back.
726
727=item $lvalue_string = $json->incr_text
728
729This method returns the currently stored JSON fragment as an lvalue, that
730is, you can manipulate it. This I<only> works when a preceding call to
731C<incr_parse> in I<scalar context> successfully returned an object. Under
732all other circumstances you must not call this function (I mean it.
733although in simple tests it might actually work, it I<will> fail under
734real world conditions). As a special exception, you can also call this
735method before having parsed anything.
736
737This function is useful in two cases: a) finding the trailing text after a
738JSON object or b) parsing multiple JSON objects separated by non-JSON text
739(such as commas).
740
741=back
742
743=head2 LIMITATIONS
744
745All options that affect decoding are supported, except
746C<allow_nonref>. The reason for this is that it cannot be made to
747work sensibly: JSON objects and arrays are self-delimited, i.e. you can concatenate
748them back to back and still decode them perfectly. This does not hold true
749for JSON numbers, however.
750
751For example, is the string C<1> a single JSON number, or is it simply the
752start of C<12>? Or is C<12> a single JSON number, or the concatenation
753of C<1> and C<2>? In neither case you can tell, and this is why JSON::XS
754takes the conservative route and disallows this case.
755
756=head2 EXAMPLES
757
758Some examples will make all this clearer. First, a simple example that
759works similarly to C<decode_prefix>: We want to decode the JSON object at
760the start of a string and identify the portion after the JSON object:
761
762 my $text = "[1,2,3] hello";
763
764 my $json = new JSON::XS;
765
766 my $obj = $json->incr_parse ($text)
767 or die "expected JSON object or array at beginning of string";
768
769 my $tail = $json->incr_text;
770 # $tail now contains " hello"
771
772Easy, isn't it?
773
774Now for a more complicated example: Imagine a hypothetical protocol where
775you read some requests from a TCP stream, and each request is a JSON
776array, without any separation between them (in fact, it is often useful to
777use newlines as "separators", as these get interpreted as whitespace at
778the start of the JSON text, which makes it possible to test said protocol
779with C<telnet>...).
780
781Here is how you'd do it (it is trivial to write this in an event-based
782manner):
783
784 my $json = new JSON::XS;
785
786 # read some data from the socket
787 while (sysread $socket, my $buf, 4096) {
788
789 # split and decode as many requests as possible
790 for my $request ($json->incr_parse ($buf)) {
791 # act on the $request
792 }
793 }
794
795Another complicated example: Assume you have a string with JSON objects
796or arrays, all separated by (optional) comma characters (e.g. C<[1],[2],
797[3]>). To parse them, we have to skip the commas between the JSON texts,
798and here is where the lvalue-ness of C<incr_text> comes in useful:
799
800 my $text = "[1],[2], [3]";
801 my $json = new JSON::XS;
802
803 # void context, so no parsing done
804 $json->incr_parse ($text);
805
806 # now extract as many objects as possible. note the
807 # use of scalar context so incr_text can be called.
808 while (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
809 # do something with $obj
810
811 # now skip the optional comma
812 $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* , //x;
813 }
814
815Now lets go for a very complex example: Assume that you have a gigantic
816JSON array-of-objects, many gigabytes in size, and you want to parse it,
817but you cannot load it into memory fully (this has actually happened in
818the real world :).
819
820Well, you lost, you have to implement your own JSON parser. But JSON::XS
821can still help you: You implement a (very simple) array parser and let
822JSON decode the array elements, which are all full JSON objects on their
823own (this wouldn't work if the array elements could be JSON numbers, for
824example):
825
826 my $json = new JSON::XS;
827
828 # open the monster
829 open my $fh, "<bigfile.json"
830 or die "bigfile: $!";
831
832 # first parse the initial "["
833 for (;;) {
834 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
835 or die "read error: $!";
836 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
837
838 # Exit the loop once we found and removed(!) the initial "[".
839 # In essence, we are (ab-)using the $json object as a simple scalar
840 # we append data to.
841 last if $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* \[ //x;
842 }
843
844 # now we have the skipped the initial "[", so continue
845 # parsing all the elements.
846 for (;;) {
847 # in this loop we read data until we got a single JSON object
848 for (;;) {
849 if (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
850 # do something with $obj
851 last;
852 }
853
854 # add more data
855 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
856 or die "read error: $!";
857 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
858 }
859
860 # in this loop we read data until we either found and parsed the
861 # separating "," between elements, or the final "]"
862 for (;;) {
863 # first skip whitespace
864 $json->incr_text =~ s/^\s*//;
865
866 # if we find "]", we are done
867 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^\]//) {
868 print "finished.\n";
869 exit;
870 }
871
872 # if we find ",", we can continue with the next element
873 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^,//) {
874 last;
875 }
876
877 # if we find anything else, we have a parse error!
878 if (length $json->incr_text) {
879 die "parse error near ", $json->incr_text;
880 }
881
882 # else add more data
883 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
884 or die "read error: $!";
885 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
886 }
887
888This is a complex example, but most of the complexity comes from the fact
889that we are trying to be correct (bear with me if I am wrong, I never ran
890the above example :).
891
892
893
648=head1 MAPPING 894=head1 MAPPING
649 895
650This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and 896This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and
651vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most 897vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most
652circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics 898circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics
680 926
681A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or 927A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or
682string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On 928string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On
683the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all 929the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all
684the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and 930the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and
685might represent more values exactly than (floating point) numbers. 931might represent more values exactly than floating point numbers.
686 932
687If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent 933If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent
688it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as 934it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as
689a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of 935a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of
690precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value. 936precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value (in
937which case you lose roundtripping ability, as the JSON number will be
938re-encoded toa JSON string).
691 939
692Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be 940Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be
693represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of 941represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of
694precision. 942precision (in which case you might lose perfect roundtripping ability, but
695 943the JSON number will still be re-encoded as a JSON number).
696This might create round-tripping problems as numbers might become strings,
697but as Perl is typeless there is no other way to do it.
698 944
699=item true, false 945=item true, false
700 946
701These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>, 947These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>,
702respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers 948respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers
739Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an 985Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an
740exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and 986exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and
741C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can 987C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can
742also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability. 988also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability.
743 989
744 to_json [\0,JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true] 990 encode_json [\0,JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true]
745 991
746=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false 992=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false
747 993
748These special values become JSON true and JSON false values, 994These special values become JSON true and JSON false values,
749respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want. 995respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want.
750 996
751=item blessed objects 997=item blessed objects
752 998
753Blessed objects are not allowed. JSON::XS currently tries to encode their 999Blessed objects are not directly representable in JSON. See the
754underlying representation (hash- or arrayref), but this behaviour might 1000C<allow_blessed> and C<convert_blessed> methods on various options on
755change in future versions. 1001how to deal with this: basically, you can choose between throwing an
1002exception, encoding the reference as if it weren't blessed, or provide
1003your own serialiser method.
756 1004
757=item simple scalars 1005=item simple scalars
758 1006
759Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most 1007Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most
760difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as 1008difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as
761JSON null value, scalars that have last been used in a string context 1009JSON C<null> values, scalars that have last been used in a string context
762before encoding as JSON strings and anything else as number value: 1010before encoding as JSON strings, and anything else as number value:
763 1011
764 # dump as number 1012 # dump as number
765 to_json [2] # yields [2] 1013 encode_json [2] # yields [2]
766 to_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17] 1014 encode_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17]
767 my $value = 5; to_json [$value] # yields [5] 1015 my $value = 5; encode_json [$value] # yields [5]
768 1016
769 # used as string, so dump as string 1017 # used as string, so dump as string
770 print $value; 1018 print $value;
771 to_json [$value] # yields ["5"] 1019 encode_json [$value] # yields ["5"]
772 1020
773 # undef becomes null 1021 # undef becomes null
774 to_json [undef] # yields [null] 1022 encode_json [undef] # yields [null]
775 1023
776You can force the type to be a JSON string by stringifying it: 1024You can force the type to be a JSON string by stringifying it:
777 1025
778 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number 1026 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number
779 "$x"; # stringified 1027 "$x"; # stringified
785 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string 1033 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string
786 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number 1034 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number
787 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours. 1035 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours.
788 1036
789You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me 1037You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me
790if you need this capability. 1038if you need this capability (but don't forget to explain why it's needed
1039:).
1040
1041=back
1042
1043
1044=head1 ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES
1045
1046The interested reader might have seen a number of flags that signify
1047encodings or codesets - C<utf8>, C<latin1> and C<ascii>. There seems to be
1048some confusion on what these do, so here is a short comparison:
1049
1050C<utf8> controls whether the JSON text created by C<encode> (and expected
1051by C<decode>) is UTF-8 encoded or not, while C<latin1> and C<ascii> only
1052control whether C<encode> escapes character values outside their respective
1053codeset range. Neither of these flags conflict with each other, although
1054some combinations make less sense than others.
1055
1056Care has been taken to make all flags symmetrical with respect to
1057C<encode> and C<decode>, that is, texts encoded with any combination of
1058these flag values will be correctly decoded when the same flags are used
1059- in general, if you use different flag settings while encoding vs. when
1060decoding you likely have a bug somewhere.
1061
1062Below comes a verbose discussion of these flags. Note that a "codeset" is
1063simply an abstract set of character-codepoint pairs, while an encoding
1064takes those codepoint numbers and I<encodes> them, in our case into
1065octets. Unicode is (among other things) a codeset, UTF-8 is an encoding,
1066and ISO-8859-1 (= latin 1) and ASCII are both codesets I<and> encodings at
1067the same time, which can be confusing.
1068
1069=over 4
1070
1071=item C<utf8> flag disabled
1072
1073When C<utf8> is disabled (the default), then C<encode>/C<decode> generate
1074and expect Unicode strings, that is, characters with high ordinal Unicode
1075values (> 255) will be encoded as such characters, and likewise such
1076characters are decoded as-is, no canges to them will be done, except
1077"(re-)interpreting" them as Unicode codepoints or Unicode characters,
1078respectively (to Perl, these are the same thing in strings unless you do
1079funny/weird/dumb stuff).
1080
1081This is useful when you want to do the encoding yourself (e.g. when you
1082want to have UTF-16 encoded JSON texts) or when some other layer does
1083the encoding for you (for example, when printing to a terminal using a
1084filehandle that transparently encodes to UTF-8 you certainly do NOT want
1085to UTF-8 encode your data first and have Perl encode it another time).
1086
1087=item C<utf8> flag enabled
1088
1089If the C<utf8>-flag is enabled, C<encode>/C<decode> will encode all
1090characters using the corresponding UTF-8 multi-byte sequence, and will
1091expect your input strings to be encoded as UTF-8, that is, no "character"
1092of the input string must have any value > 255, as UTF-8 does not allow
1093that.
1094
1095The C<utf8> flag therefore switches between two modes: disabled means you
1096will get a Unicode string in Perl, enabled means you get an UTF-8 encoded
1097octet/binary string in Perl.
1098
1099=item C<latin1> or C<ascii> flags enabled
1100
1101With C<latin1> (or C<ascii>) enabled, C<encode> will escape characters
1102with ordinal values > 255 (> 127 with C<ascii>) and encode the remaining
1103characters as specified by the C<utf8> flag.
1104
1105If C<utf8> is disabled, then the result is also correctly encoded in those
1106character sets (as both are proper subsets of Unicode, meaning that a
1107Unicode string with all character values < 256 is the same thing as a
1108ISO-8859-1 string, and a Unicode string with all character values < 128 is
1109the same thing as an ASCII string in Perl).
1110
1111If C<utf8> is enabled, you still get a correct UTF-8-encoded string,
1112regardless of these flags, just some more characters will be escaped using
1113C<\uXXXX> then before.
1114
1115Note that ISO-8859-1-I<encoded> strings are not compatible with UTF-8
1116encoding, while ASCII-encoded strings are. That is because the ISO-8859-1
1117encoding is NOT a subset of UTF-8 (despite the ISO-8859-1 I<codeset> being
1118a subset of Unicode), while ASCII is.
1119
1120Surprisingly, C<decode> will ignore these flags and so treat all input
1121values as governed by the C<utf8> flag. If it is disabled, this allows you
1122to decode ISO-8859-1- and ASCII-encoded strings, as both strict subsets of
1123Unicode. If it is enabled, you can correctly decode UTF-8 encoded strings.
1124
1125So neither C<latin1> nor C<ascii> are incompatible with the C<utf8> flag -
1126they only govern when the JSON output engine escapes a character or not.
1127
1128The main use for C<latin1> is to relatively efficiently store binary data
1129as JSON, at the expense of breaking compatibility with most JSON decoders.
1130
1131The main use for C<ascii> is to force the output to not contain characters
1132with values > 127, which means you can interpret the resulting string
1133as UTF-8, ISO-8859-1, ASCII, KOI8-R or most about any character set and
11348-bit-encoding, and still get the same data structure back. This is useful
1135when your channel for JSON transfer is not 8-bit clean or the encoding
1136might be mangled in between (e.g. in mail), and works because ASCII is a
1137proper subset of most 8-bit and multibyte encodings in use in the world.
791 1138
792=back 1139=back
793 1140
794 1141
795=head1 COMPARISON 1142=head1 COMPARISON
799problems (or pleasures) I encountered with various existing JSON modules, 1146problems (or pleasures) I encountered with various existing JSON modules,
800followed by some benchmark values. JSON::XS was designed not to suffer 1147followed by some benchmark values. JSON::XS was designed not to suffer
801from any of these problems or limitations. 1148from any of these problems or limitations.
802 1149
803=over 4 1150=over 4
1151
1152=item JSON 2.xx
1153
1154A marvellous piece of engineering, this module either uses JSON::XS
1155directly when available (so will be 100% compatible with it, including
1156speed), or it uses JSON::PP, which is basically JSON::XS translated to
1157Pure Perl, which should be 100% compatible with JSON::XS, just a bit
1158slower.
1159
1160You cannot really lose by using this module, especially as it tries very
1161hard to work even with ancient Perl versions, while JSON::XS does not.
804 1162
805=item JSON 1.07 1163=item JSON 1.07
806 1164
807Slow (but very portable, as it is written in pure Perl). 1165Slow (but very portable, as it is written in pure Perl).
808 1166
879=back 1237=back
880 1238
881 1239
882=head2 JSON and YAML 1240=head2 JSON and YAML
883 1241
884You often hear that JSON is a subset (or a close subset) of YAML. This is, 1242You often hear that JSON is a subset of YAML. This is, however, a mass
885however, a mass hysteria and very far from the truth. In general, there is 1243hysteria(*) and very far from the truth (as of the time of this writing),
886no way to configure JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML. 1244so let me state it clearly: I<in general, there is no way to configure
1245JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML> that works in all
1246cases.
887 1247
888If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this 1248If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this
889algorithm (subject to change in future versions): 1249algorithm (subject to change in future versions):
890 1250
891 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1); 1251 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1);
892 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n"; 1252 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n";
893 1253
894This will usually generate JSON texts that also parse as valid 1254This will I<usually> generate JSON texts that also parse as valid
895YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key 1255YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key
896lengths that JSON doesn't have, so you should make sure that your hash 1256lengths that JSON doesn't have and also has different and incompatible
1257unicode handling, so you should make sure that your hash keys are
897keys are noticeably shorter than the 1024 characters YAML allows. 1258noticeably shorter than the 1024 "stream characters" YAML allows and that
1259you do not have characters with codepoint values outside the Unicode BMP
1260(basic multilingual page). YAML also does not allow C<\/> sequences in
1261strings (which JSON::XS does not I<currently> generate, but other JSON
1262generators might).
898 1263
899There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of. In general 1264There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of (or the YAML
1265specification has been changed yet again - it does so quite often). In
900you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice versa, 1266general you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice
901or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are high 1267versa, or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are
902that you will run into severe interoperability problems. 1268high that you will run into severe interoperability problems when you
1269least expect it.
1270
1271=over 4
1272
1273=item (*)
1274
1275I have been pressured multiple times by Brian Ingerson (one of the
1276authors of the YAML specification) to remove this paragraph, despite him
1277acknowledging that the actual incompatibilities exist. As I was personally
1278bitten by this "JSON is YAML" lie, I refused and said I will continue to
1279educate people about these issues, so others do not run into the same
1280problem again and again. After this, Brian called me a (quote)I<complete
1281and worthless idiot>(unquote).
1282
1283In my opinion, instead of pressuring and insulting people who actually
1284clarify issues with YAML and the wrong statements of some of its
1285proponents, I would kindly suggest reading the JSON spec (which is not
1286that difficult or long) and finally make YAML compatible to it, and
1287educating users about the changes, instead of spreading lies about the
1288real compatibility for many I<years> and trying to silence people who
1289point out that it isn't true.
1290
1291=back
903 1292
904 1293
905=head2 SPEED 1294=head2 SPEED
906 1295
907It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following 1296It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following
908tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program 1297tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program
909in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own 1298in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own
910system. 1299system.
911 1300
912First comes a comparison between various modules using a very short 1301First comes a comparison between various modules using
913single-line JSON string: 1302a very short single-line JSON string (also available at
1303L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/short.json>).
914 1304
915 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], \ 1305 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], \
916 "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7, true, false]} 1306 "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7, true, false]}
917 1307
918It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses 1308It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses
937about three times faster on decoding, and over forty times faster 1327about three times faster on decoding, and over forty times faster
938than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares 1328than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares
939favourably to Storable for small amounts of data. 1329favourably to Storable for small amounts of data.
940 1330
941Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals 1331Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals
942search API (http://nanoref.com/yahooapis/mgPdGg): 1332search API (L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/long.json>).
943 1333
944 module | encode | decode | 1334 module | encode | decode |
945 -----------|------------|------------| 1335 -----------|------------|------------|
946 JSON 1.x | 55.260 | 34.971 | 1336 JSON 1.x | 55.260 | 34.971 |
947 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 | 1337 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 |
984 1374
985Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and 1375Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and
986arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64 1376arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64
987machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but 1377machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but
988only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak 1378only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak
989to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. to be 1379to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. To be
990conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process 1380conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process
991has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the 1381has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the
992C<max_depth> method. 1382C<max_depth> method.
993 1383
994And last but least, something else could bomb you that I forgot to think 1384Something else could bomb you, too, that I forgot to think of. In that
995of. In that case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, 1385case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, though...
996though... 1386
1387Also keep in mind that JSON::XS might leak contents of your Perl data
1388structures in its error messages, so when you serialise sensitive
1389information you might want to make sure that exceptions thrown by JSON::XS
1390will not end up in front of untrusted eyes.
997 1391
998If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption 1392If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption
999by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at 1393by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at
1000L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see whether 1394L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see whether
1001you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser 1395you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser
1002design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it, as major 1396design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it, as major
1003browser developers care only for features, not about doing security 1397browser developers care only for features, not about getting security
1004right). 1398right).
1005 1399
1006 1400
1007=head1 THREADS 1401=head1 THREADS
1008 1402
1009This module is I<not> guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no 1403This module is I<not> guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no
1010plans to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the 1404plans to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the
1011horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated 1405horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated
1012process simulations - use fork, its I<much> faster, cheaper, better). 1406process simulations - use fork, it's I<much> faster, cheaper, better).
1013 1407
1014(It might actually work, but you have been warned). 1408(It might actually work, but you have been warned).
1015 1409
1016 1410
1017=head1 BUGS 1411=head1 BUGS
1018 1412
1019While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does 1413While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does
1020not mean its bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is 1414not mean it's bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is
1021still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they 1415still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they
1022will be fixed swiftly, though. 1416will be fixed swiftly, though.
1023 1417
1024Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting 1418Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting
1025service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason. 1419service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason.
1047 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 }, 1441 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 },
1048 fallback => 1; 1442 fallback => 1;
1049 1443
10501; 14441;
1051 1445
1446=head1 SEE ALSO
1447
1448The F<json_xs> command line utility for quick experiments.
1449
1052=head1 AUTHOR 1450=head1 AUTHOR
1053 1451
1054 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 1452 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1055 http://home.schmorp.de/ 1453 http://home.schmorp.de/
1056 1454

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