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Revision 1.80 by root, Sat Dec 29 17:22:39 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.97 by root, Wed Mar 26 01:43:14 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)
58 60
59=over 4 61=over 4
60 62
61=item * correct Unicode handling 63=item * correct Unicode handling
62 64
63This 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
64it does so. 66so, and even documents what "correct" means.
65 67
66=item * round-trip integrity 68=item * round-trip integrity
67 69
68When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported 70When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported
69by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level. 71by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level.
70(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
71like a number). 73like a number). There minor I<are> exceptions to this, read the MAPPING
74section below to learn about those.
72 75
73=item * strict checking of JSON correctness 76=item * strict checking of JSON correctness
74 77
75There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default, 78There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default,
76and 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
77feature). 80feature).
78 81
79=item * fast 82=item * fast
80 83
81Compared to other JSON modules, this module compares favourably in terms 84Compared to other JSON modules and other serialisers such as Storable,
82of speed, too. 85this module usually compares favourably in terms of speed, too.
83 86
84=item * simple to use 87=item * simple to use
85 88
86This 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
87interface. 90oriented interface interface.
88 91
89=item * reasonably versatile output formats 92=item * reasonably versatile output formats
90 93
91You can choose between the most compact guaranteed single-line format 94You can choose between the most compact guaranteed-single-line format
92possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format 95possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format
93(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
94Unicode 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
95stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like. 98stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like.
96 99
100 103
101package JSON::XS; 104package JSON::XS;
102 105
103use strict; 106use strict;
104 107
105our $VERSION = '2.01'; 108our $VERSION = '2.1';
106our @ISA = qw(Exporter); 109our @ISA = qw(Exporter);
107 110
108our @EXPORT = qw(encode_json decode_json to_json from_json); 111our @EXPORT = qw(encode_json decode_json to_json from_json);
109 112
110sub to_json($) { 113sub to_json($) {
174This enables you to store Unicode characters as single characters in a 177This enables you to store Unicode characters as single characters in a
175Perl string - very natural. 178Perl string - very natural.
176 179
177=item 2. Perl does I<not> associate an encoding with your strings. 180=item 2. Perl does I<not> associate an encoding with your strings.
178 181
179Unless you force it to, e.g. when matching it against a regex, or printing 182... until you force it to, e.g. when matching it against a regex, or
180the scalar to a file, in which case Perl either interprets your string as 183printing the scalar to a file, in which case Perl either interprets your
181locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode, depending on various 184string as locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode, depending
182settings. In no case is an encoding stored together with your data, it is 185on various settings. In no case is an encoding stored together with your
183I<use> that decides encoding, not any magical metadata. 186data, it is I<use> that decides encoding, not any magical meta data.
184 187
185=item 3. The internal utf-8 flag has no meaning with regards to the 188=item 3. The internal utf-8 flag has no meaning with regards to the
186encoding of your string. 189encoding of your string.
187 190
188Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written in 191Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written in
242 245
243If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 246If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
244characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results 247characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results
245in a faster and more compact format. 248in a faster and more compact format.
246 249
250See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
251document.
252
247The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be 253The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be
248transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not 254transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not
249contain any 8 bit characters. 255contain any 8 bit characters.
250 256
251 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401]) 257 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401])
262will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default 268will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default
263expects Unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1. 269expects Unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1.
264 270
265If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 271If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
266characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. 272characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags.
273
274See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
275document.
267 276
268The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON 277The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON
269text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded 278text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded
270size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded 279size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded
271in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and 280in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and
290 299
291If C<$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
292string 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
293Unicode 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
294to 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.
295 307
296Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON: 308Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON:
297 309
298 use Encode; 310 use Encode;
299 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object); 311 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object);
669 => ([], 3) 681 => ([], 3)
670 682
671=back 683=back
672 684
673 685
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>. If there is a parse error,
720this method will croak just as C<decode> would do (one can then use
721C<incr_skip> to skip the errornous part). This is the most common way of
722using the method.
723
724And finally, in list context, it will try to extract as many objects
725from the stream as it can find and return them, or the empty list
726otherwise. For this to work, there must be no separators between the JSON
727objects or arrays, instead they must be concatenated back-to-back. If
728an error occurs, an exception will be raised as in the scalar context
729case. Note that in this case, any previously-parsed JSON texts will be
730lost.
731
732=item $lvalue_string = $json->incr_text
733
734This method returns the currently stored JSON fragment as an lvalue, that
735is, you can manipulate it. This I<only> works when a preceding call to
736C<incr_parse> in I<scalar context> successfully returned an object. Under
737all other circumstances you must not call this function (I mean it.
738although in simple tests it might actually work, it I<will> fail under
739real world conditions). As a special exception, you can also call this
740method before having parsed anything.
741
742This function is useful in two cases: a) finding the trailing text after a
743JSON object or b) parsing multiple JSON objects separated by non-JSON text
744(such as commas).
745
746=item $json->incr_skip
747
748This will reset the state of the incremental parser and will remove the
749parsed text from the input buffer. This is useful after C<incr_parse>
750died, in which case the input buffer and incremental parser state is left
751unchanged, to skip the text parsed so far and to reset the parse state.
752
753=back
754
755=head2 LIMITATIONS
756
757All options that affect decoding are supported, except
758C<allow_nonref>. The reason for this is that it cannot be made to
759work sensibly: JSON objects and arrays are self-delimited, i.e. you can concatenate
760them back to back and still decode them perfectly. This does not hold true
761for JSON numbers, however.
762
763For example, is the string C<1> a single JSON number, or is it simply the
764start of C<12>? Or is C<12> a single JSON number, or the concatenation
765of C<1> and C<2>? In neither case you can tell, and this is why JSON::XS
766takes the conservative route and disallows this case.
767
768=head2 EXAMPLES
769
770Some examples will make all this clearer. First, a simple example that
771works similarly to C<decode_prefix>: We want to decode the JSON object at
772the start of a string and identify the portion after the JSON object:
773
774 my $text = "[1,2,3] hello";
775
776 my $json = new JSON::XS;
777
778 my $obj = $json->incr_parse ($text)
779 or die "expected JSON object or array at beginning of string";
780
781 my $tail = $json->incr_text;
782 # $tail now contains " hello"
783
784Easy, isn't it?
785
786Now for a more complicated example: Imagine a hypothetical protocol where
787you read some requests from a TCP stream, and each request is a JSON
788array, without any separation between them (in fact, it is often useful to
789use newlines as "separators", as these get interpreted as whitespace at
790the start of the JSON text, which makes it possible to test said protocol
791with C<telnet>...).
792
793Here is how you'd do it (it is trivial to write this in an event-based
794manner):
795
796 my $json = new JSON::XS;
797
798 # read some data from the socket
799 while (sysread $socket, my $buf, 4096) {
800
801 # split and decode as many requests as possible
802 for my $request ($json->incr_parse ($buf)) {
803 # act on the $request
804 }
805 }
806
807Another complicated example: Assume you have a string with JSON objects
808or arrays, all separated by (optional) comma characters (e.g. C<[1],[2],
809[3]>). To parse them, we have to skip the commas between the JSON texts,
810and here is where the lvalue-ness of C<incr_text> comes in useful:
811
812 my $text = "[1],[2], [3]";
813 my $json = new JSON::XS;
814
815 # void context, so no parsing done
816 $json->incr_parse ($text);
817
818 # now extract as many objects as possible. note the
819 # use of scalar context so incr_text can be called.
820 while (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
821 # do something with $obj
822
823 # now skip the optional comma
824 $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* , //x;
825 }
826
827Now lets go for a very complex example: Assume that you have a gigantic
828JSON array-of-objects, many gigabytes in size, and you want to parse it,
829but you cannot load it into memory fully (this has actually happened in
830the real world :).
831
832Well, you lost, you have to implement your own JSON parser. But JSON::XS
833can still help you: You implement a (very simple) array parser and let
834JSON decode the array elements, which are all full JSON objects on their
835own (this wouldn't work if the array elements could be JSON numbers, for
836example):
837
838 my $json = new JSON::XS;
839
840 # open the monster
841 open my $fh, "<bigfile.json"
842 or die "bigfile: $!";
843
844 # first parse the initial "["
845 for (;;) {
846 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
847 or die "read error: $!";
848 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
849
850 # Exit the loop once we found and removed(!) the initial "[".
851 # In essence, we are (ab-)using the $json object as a simple scalar
852 # we append data to.
853 last if $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* \[ //x;
854 }
855
856 # now we have the skipped the initial "[", so continue
857 # parsing all the elements.
858 for (;;) {
859 # in this loop we read data until we got a single JSON object
860 for (;;) {
861 if (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
862 # do something with $obj
863 last;
864 }
865
866 # add more data
867 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
868 or die "read error: $!";
869 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
870 }
871
872 # in this loop we read data until we either found and parsed the
873 # separating "," between elements, or the final "]"
874 for (;;) {
875 # first skip whitespace
876 $json->incr_text =~ s/^\s*//;
877
878 # if we find "]", we are done
879 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^\]//) {
880 print "finished.\n";
881 exit;
882 }
883
884 # if we find ",", we can continue with the next element
885 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^,//) {
886 last;
887 }
888
889 # if we find anything else, we have a parse error!
890 if (length $json->incr_text) {
891 die "parse error near ", $json->incr_text;
892 }
893
894 # else add more data
895 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
896 or die "read error: $!";
897 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
898 }
899
900This is a complex example, but most of the complexity comes from the fact
901that we are trying to be correct (bear with me if I am wrong, I never ran
902the above example :).
903
904
905
674=head1 MAPPING 906=head1 MAPPING
675 907
676This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and 908This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and
677vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most 909vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most
678circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics 910circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics
706 938
707A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or 939A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or
708string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On 940string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On
709the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all 941the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all
710the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and 942the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and
711might represent more values exactly than (floating point) numbers. 943might represent more values exactly than floating point numbers.
712 944
713If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent 945If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent
714it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as 946it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as
715a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of 947a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of
716precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value. 948precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value (in
949which case you lose roundtripping ability, as the JSON number will be
950re-encoded toa JSON string).
717 951
718Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be 952Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be
719represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of 953represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of
720precision. 954precision (in which case you might lose perfect roundtripping ability, but
721 955the JSON number will still be re-encoded as a JSON number).
722This might create round-tripping problems as numbers might become strings,
723but as Perl is typeless there is no other way to do it.
724 956
725=item true, false 957=item true, false
726 958
727These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>, 959These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>,
728respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers 960respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers
774These special values become JSON true and JSON false values, 1006These special values become JSON true and JSON false values,
775respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want. 1007respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want.
776 1008
777=item blessed objects 1009=item blessed objects
778 1010
779Blessed objects are not allowed. JSON::XS currently tries to encode their 1011Blessed objects are not directly representable in JSON. See the
780underlying representation (hash- or arrayref), but this behaviour might 1012C<allow_blessed> and C<convert_blessed> methods on various options on
781change in future versions. 1013how to deal with this: basically, you can choose between throwing an
1014exception, encoding the reference as if it weren't blessed, or provide
1015your own serialiser method.
782 1016
783=item simple scalars 1017=item simple scalars
784 1018
785Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most 1019Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most
786difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as 1020difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as
787JSON null value, scalars that have last been used in a string context 1021JSON C<null> values, scalars that have last been used in a string context
788before encoding as JSON strings and anything else as number value: 1022before encoding as JSON strings, and anything else as number value:
789 1023
790 # dump as number 1024 # dump as number
791 encode_json [2] # yields [2] 1025 encode_json [2] # yields [2]
792 encode_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17] 1026 encode_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17]
793 my $value = 5; encode_json [$value] # yields [5] 1027 my $value = 5; encode_json [$value] # yields [5]
811 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string 1045 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string
812 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number 1046 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number
813 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours. 1047 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours.
814 1048
815You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me 1049You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me
816if you need this capability. 1050if you need this capability (but don't forget to explain why it's needed
1051:).
817 1052
818=back 1053=back
819 1054
820 1055
821=head1 COMPARISON 1056=head1 ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES
822 1057
823As already mentioned, this module was created because none of the existing 1058The interested reader might have seen a number of flags that signify
824JSON modules could be made to work correctly. First I will describe the 1059encodings or codesets - C<utf8>, C<latin1> and C<ascii>. There seems to be
825problems (or pleasures) I encountered with various existing JSON modules, 1060some confusion on what these do, so here is a short comparison:
826followed by some benchmark values. JSON::XS was designed not to suffer 1061
827from any of these problems or limitations. 1062C<utf8> controls whether the JSON text created by C<encode> (and expected
1063by C<decode>) is UTF-8 encoded or not, while C<latin1> and C<ascii> only
1064control whether C<encode> escapes character values outside their respective
1065codeset range. Neither of these flags conflict with each other, although
1066some combinations make less sense than others.
1067
1068Care has been taken to make all flags symmetrical with respect to
1069C<encode> and C<decode>, that is, texts encoded with any combination of
1070these flag values will be correctly decoded when the same flags are used
1071- in general, if you use different flag settings while encoding vs. when
1072decoding you likely have a bug somewhere.
1073
1074Below comes a verbose discussion of these flags. Note that a "codeset" is
1075simply an abstract set of character-codepoint pairs, while an encoding
1076takes those codepoint numbers and I<encodes> them, in our case into
1077octets. Unicode is (among other things) a codeset, UTF-8 is an encoding,
1078and ISO-8859-1 (= latin 1) and ASCII are both codesets I<and> encodings at
1079the same time, which can be confusing.
828 1080
829=over 4 1081=over 4
830 1082
831=item JSON 1.07 1083=item C<utf8> flag disabled
832 1084
833Slow (but very portable, as it is written in pure Perl). 1085When C<utf8> is disabled (the default), then C<encode>/C<decode> generate
1086and expect Unicode strings, that is, characters with high ordinal Unicode
1087values (> 255) will be encoded as such characters, and likewise such
1088characters are decoded as-is, no canges to them will be done, except
1089"(re-)interpreting" them as Unicode codepoints or Unicode characters,
1090respectively (to Perl, these are the same thing in strings unless you do
1091funny/weird/dumb stuff).
834 1092
835Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling (how JSON handles Unicode values is 1093This is useful when you want to do the encoding yourself (e.g. when you
836undocumented. One can get far by feeding it Unicode strings and doing 1094want to have UTF-16 encoded JSON texts) or when some other layer does
837en-/decoding oneself, but Unicode escapes are not working properly). 1095the encoding for you (for example, when printing to a terminal using a
1096filehandle that transparently encodes to UTF-8 you certainly do NOT want
1097to UTF-8 encode your data first and have Perl encode it another time).
838 1098
839No round-tripping (strings get clobbered if they look like numbers, e.g. 1099=item C<utf8> flag enabled
840the string C<2.0> will encode to C<2.0> instead of C<"2.0">, and that will
841decode into the number 2.
842 1100
843=item JSON::PC 0.01 1101If the C<utf8>-flag is enabled, C<encode>/C<decode> will encode all
1102characters using the corresponding UTF-8 multi-byte sequence, and will
1103expect your input strings to be encoded as UTF-8, that is, no "character"
1104of the input string must have any value > 255, as UTF-8 does not allow
1105that.
844 1106
845Very fast. 1107The C<utf8> flag therefore switches between two modes: disabled means you
1108will get a Unicode string in Perl, enabled means you get an UTF-8 encoded
1109octet/binary string in Perl.
846 1110
847Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling. 1111=item C<latin1> or C<ascii> flags enabled
848 1112
849No round-tripping. 1113With C<latin1> (or C<ascii>) enabled, C<encode> will escape characters
1114with ordinal values > 255 (> 127 with C<ascii>) and encode the remaining
1115characters as specified by the C<utf8> flag.
850 1116
851Has problems handling many Perl values (e.g. regex results and other magic 1117If C<utf8> is disabled, then the result is also correctly encoded in those
852values will make it croak). 1118character sets (as both are proper subsets of Unicode, meaning that a
1119Unicode string with all character values < 256 is the same thing as a
1120ISO-8859-1 string, and a Unicode string with all character values < 128 is
1121the same thing as an ASCII string in Perl).
853 1122
854Does not even generate valid JSON (C<{1,2}> gets converted to C<{1:2}> 1123If C<utf8> is enabled, you still get a correct UTF-8-encoded string,
855which is not a valid JSON text. 1124regardless of these flags, just some more characters will be escaped using
1125C<\uXXXX> then before.
856 1126
857Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not 1127Note that ISO-8859-1-I<encoded> strings are not compatible with UTF-8
858getting fixed). 1128encoding, while ASCII-encoded strings are. That is because the ISO-8859-1
1129encoding is NOT a subset of UTF-8 (despite the ISO-8859-1 I<codeset> being
1130a subset of Unicode), while ASCII is.
859 1131
860=item JSON::Syck 0.21 1132Surprisingly, C<decode> will ignore these flags and so treat all input
1133values as governed by the C<utf8> flag. If it is disabled, this allows you
1134to decode ISO-8859-1- and ASCII-encoded strings, as both strict subsets of
1135Unicode. If it is enabled, you can correctly decode UTF-8 encoded strings.
861 1136
862Very buggy (often crashes). 1137So neither C<latin1> nor C<ascii> are incompatible with the C<utf8> flag -
1138they only govern when the JSON output engine escapes a character or not.
863 1139
864Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty much 1140The main use for C<latin1> is to relatively efficiently store binary data
865undocumented. I need at least a format for easy reading by humans and a 1141as JSON, at the expense of breaking compatibility with most JSON decoders.
866single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and preferably a way to
867generate ASCII-only JSON texts).
868 1142
869Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling (Unicode 1143The main use for C<ascii> is to force the output to not contain characters
870escapes are not working properly, you need to set ImplicitUnicode to 1144with values > 127, which means you can interpret the resulting string
871I<different> values on en- and decoding to get symmetric behaviour). 1145as UTF-8, ISO-8859-1, ASCII, KOI8-R or most about any character set and
872 11468-bit-encoding, and still get the same data structure back. This is useful
873No round-tripping (simple cases work, but this depends on whether the scalar 1147when your channel for JSON transfer is not 8-bit clean or the encoding
874value was used in a numeric context or not). 1148might be mangled in between (e.g. in mail), and works because ASCII is a
875 1149proper subset of most 8-bit and multibyte encodings in use in the world.
876Dumping hashes may skip hash values depending on iterator state.
877
878Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not
879getting fixed).
880
881Does not check input for validity (i.e. will accept non-JSON input and
882return "something" instead of raising an exception. This is a security
883issue: imagine two banks transferring money between each other using
884JSON. One bank might parse a given non-JSON request and deduct money,
885while the other might reject the transaction with a syntax error. While a
886good protocol will at least recover, that is extra unnecessary work and
887the transaction will still not succeed).
888
889=item JSON::DWIW 0.04
890
891Very fast. Very natural. Very nice.
892
893Undocumented Unicode handling (but the best of the pack. Unicode escapes
894still don't get parsed properly).
895
896Very inflexible.
897
898No round-tripping.
899
900Does not generate valid JSON texts (key strings are often unquoted, empty keys
901result in nothing being output)
902
903Does not check input for validity.
904 1150
905=back 1151=back
906 1152
907 1153
908=head2 JSON and YAML 1154=head2 JSON and YAML
909 1155
910You often hear that JSON is a subset of YAML. This is, however, a mass 1156You often hear that JSON is a subset of YAML. This is, however, a mass
911hysteria and very far from the truth. In general, there is no way to 1157hysteria(*) and very far from the truth (as of the time of this writing),
1158so let me state it clearly: I<in general, there is no way to configure
912configure JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML that works for 1159JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML> that works in all
913all cases. 1160cases.
914 1161
915If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this 1162If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this
916algorithm (subject to change in future versions): 1163algorithm (subject to change in future versions):
917 1164
918 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1); 1165 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1);
919 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n"; 1166 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n";
920 1167
921This will usually generate JSON texts that also parse as valid 1168This will I<usually> generate JSON texts that also parse as valid
922YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key 1169YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key
923lengths that JSON doesn't have and also has different and incompatible 1170lengths that JSON doesn't have and also has different and incompatible
924unicode handling, so you should make sure that your hash keys are 1171unicode handling, so you should make sure that your hash keys are
925noticeably shorter than the 1024 "stream characters" YAML allows and that 1172noticeably shorter than the 1024 "stream characters" YAML allows and that
926you do not have codepoints with values outside the Unicode BMP (basic 1173you do not have characters with codepoint values outside the Unicode BMP
927multilingual page). 1174(basic multilingual page). YAML also does not allow C<\/> sequences in
1175strings (which JSON::XS does not I<currently> generate, but other JSON
1176generators might).
928 1177
929There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of. In general 1178There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of (or the YAML
1179specification has been changed yet again - it does so quite often). In
930you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice versa, 1180general you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice
931or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are high 1181versa, or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are
932that you will run into severe interoperability problems when you least 1182high that you will run into severe interoperability problems when you
933expect it. 1183least expect it.
1184
1185=over 4
1186
1187=item (*)
1188
1189I have been pressured multiple times by Brian Ingerson (one of the
1190authors of the YAML specification) to remove this paragraph, despite him
1191acknowledging that the actual incompatibilities exist. As I was personally
1192bitten by this "JSON is YAML" lie, I refused and said I will continue to
1193educate people about these issues, so others do not run into the same
1194problem again and again. After this, Brian called me a (quote)I<complete
1195and worthless idiot>(unquote).
1196
1197In my opinion, instead of pressuring and insulting people who actually
1198clarify issues with YAML and the wrong statements of some of its
1199proponents, I would kindly suggest reading the JSON spec (which is not
1200that difficult or long) and finally make YAML compatible to it, and
1201educating users about the changes, instead of spreading lies about the
1202real compatibility for many I<years> and trying to silence people who
1203point out that it isn't true.
1204
1205=back
934 1206
935 1207
936=head2 SPEED 1208=head2 SPEED
937 1209
938It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following 1210It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following
939tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program 1211tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program
940in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own 1212in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own
941system. 1213system.
942 1214
943First comes a comparison between various modules using a very short 1215First comes a comparison between various modules using
944single-line JSON string: 1216a very short single-line JSON string (also available at
1217L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/short.json>).
945 1218
946 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], \ 1219 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], \
947 "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7, true, false]} 1220 "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7, true, false]}
948 1221
949It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses 1222It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses
968about three times faster on decoding, and over forty times faster 1241about three times faster on decoding, and over forty times faster
969than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares 1242than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares
970favourably to Storable for small amounts of data. 1243favourably to Storable for small amounts of data.
971 1244
972Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals 1245Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals
973search API (http://nanoref.com/yahooapis/mgPdGg): 1246search API (L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/long.json>).
974 1247
975 module | encode | decode | 1248 module | encode | decode |
976 -----------|------------|------------| 1249 -----------|------------|------------|
977 JSON 1.x | 55.260 | 34.971 | 1250 JSON 1.x | 55.260 | 34.971 |
978 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 | 1251 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 |
1020to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. To be 1293to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. To be
1021conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process 1294conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process
1022has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the 1295has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the
1023C<max_depth> method. 1296C<max_depth> method.
1024 1297
1025And last but least, something else could bomb you that I forgot to think 1298Something else could bomb you, too, that I forgot to think of. In that
1026of. In that case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, 1299case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, though...
1027though... 1300
1301Also keep in mind that JSON::XS might leak contents of your Perl data
1302structures in its error messages, so when you serialise sensitive
1303information you might want to make sure that exceptions thrown by JSON::XS
1304will not end up in front of untrusted eyes.
1028 1305
1029If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption 1306If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption
1030by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at 1307by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at
1031L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see whether 1308L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see whether
1032you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser 1309you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser
1038=head1 THREADS 1315=head1 THREADS
1039 1316
1040This module is I<not> guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no 1317This module is I<not> guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no
1041plans to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the 1318plans to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the
1042horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated 1319horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated
1043process simulations - use fork, its I<much> faster, cheaper, better). 1320process simulations - use fork, it's I<much> faster, cheaper, better).
1044 1321
1045(It might actually work, but you have been warned). 1322(It might actually work, but you have been warned).
1046 1323
1047 1324
1048=head1 BUGS 1325=head1 BUGS
1049 1326
1050While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does 1327While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does
1051not mean its bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is 1328not mean it's bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is
1052still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they 1329still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they
1053will be fixed swiftly, though. 1330will be fixed swiftly, though.
1054 1331
1055Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting 1332Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting
1056service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason. 1333service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason.
1078 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 }, 1355 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 },
1079 fallback => 1; 1356 fallback => 1;
1080 1357
10811; 13581;
1082 1359
1360=head1 SEE ALSO
1361
1362The F<json_xs> command line utility for quick experiments.
1363
1083=head1 AUTHOR 1364=head1 AUTHOR
1084 1365
1085 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 1366 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1086 http://home.schmorp.de/ 1367 http://home.schmorp.de/
1087 1368

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