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Revision 1.21 by root, Sun Mar 25 02:32:40 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.86 by root, Wed Mar 19 03:17:38 2008 UTC

1=encoding utf-8
2
1=head1 NAME 3=head1 NAME
2 4
3JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast 5JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast
4 6
7JSON::XS - 正しくて高速な JSON シリアライザ/デシリアライザ
8 (http://fleur.hio.jp/perldoc/mix/lib/JSON/XS.html)
9
5=head1 SYNOPSIS 10=head1 SYNOPSIS
6 11
7 use JSON::XS; 12 use JSON::XS;
8 13
9 # exported functions, croak on error 14 # exported functions, they croak on error
15 # and expect/generate UTF-8
10 16
11 $utf8_encoded_json_text = to_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref; 17 $utf8_encoded_json_text = encode_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref;
12 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = from_json $utf8_encoded_json_text; 18 $perl_hash_or_arrayref = decode_json $utf8_encoded_json_text;
13 19
14 # objToJson and jsonToObj are exported for JSON
15 # compatibility, but should not be used in new code.
16
17 # oo-interface 20 # OO-interface
18 21
19 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref; 22 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref;
20 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar); 23 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar);
21 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text); 24 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text);
22 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
23=head1 DESCRIPTION 34=head1 DESCRIPTION
24 35
25This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its 36This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its
26primary 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
27I<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.
28 47
29As 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
30to 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
31modules, 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
32their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug 51their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug
39 58
40=head2 FEATURES 59=head2 FEATURES
41 60
42=over 4 61=over 4
43 62
44=item * correct unicode handling 63=item * correct Unicode handling
45 64
46This 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
47it does so. 66so, and even documents what "correct" means.
48 67
49=item * round-trip integrity 68=item * round-trip integrity
50 69
51When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported 70When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported
52by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level. 71by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level.
53(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
54like a number). 73like a number). There minor I<are> exceptions to this, read the MAPPING
74section below to learn about those.
55 75
56=item * strict checking of JSON correctness 76=item * strict checking of JSON correctness
57 77
58There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default, 78There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default,
59and 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
60feature). 80feature).
61 81
62=item * fast 82=item * fast
63 83
64Compared to other JSON modules, this module compares favourably in terms 84Compared to other JSON modules and other serialisers such as Storable,
65of speed, too. 85this module usually compares favourably in terms of speed, too.
66 86
67=item * simple to use 87=item * simple to use
68 88
69This 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
70interface. 90oriented interface interface.
71 91
72=item * reasonably versatile output formats 92=item * reasonably versatile output formats
73 93
74You can choose between the most compact guarenteed single-line format 94You can choose between the most compact guaranteed-single-line format
75possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format 95possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format
76(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
77unicode 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
78stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like. 98stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like.
79 99
80=back 100=back
81 101
82=cut 102=cut
83 103
84package JSON::XS; 104package JSON::XS;
85 105
86use strict; 106use strict;
87 107
88BEGIN {
89 our $VERSION = '0.8'; 108our $VERSION = '2.01';
90 our @ISA = qw(Exporter); 109our @ISA = qw(Exporter);
91 110
92 our @EXPORT = qw(to_json from_json objToJson jsonToObj); 111our @EXPORT = qw(encode_json decode_json to_json from_json);
93 require Exporter;
94 112
113sub to_json($) {
95 require XSLoader; 114 require Carp;
96 XSLoader::load JSON::XS::, $VERSION; 115 Carp::croak ("JSON::XS::to_json has been renamed to encode_json, either downgrade to pre-2.0 versions of JSON::XS or rename the call");
97} 116}
98 117
118sub from_json($) {
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}
122
123use Exporter;
124use XSLoader;
125
99=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE 126=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE
100 127
101The following convinience methods are provided by this module. They are 128The following convenience methods are provided by this module. They are
102exported by default: 129exported by default:
103 130
104=over 4 131=over 4
105 132
106=item $json_text = to_json $perl_scalar 133=item $json_text = encode_json $perl_scalar
107 134
108Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference to 135Converts the given Perl data structure to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string
109a hash or array) to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string (that is, the string contains 136(that is, the string contains octets only). Croaks on error.
110octets only). Croaks on error.
111 137
112This function call is functionally identical to: 138This function call is functionally identical to:
113 139
114 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar) 140 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar)
115 141
116except being faster. 142except being faster.
117 143
118=item $perl_scalar = from_json $json_text 144=item $perl_scalar = decode_json $json_text
119 145
120The opposite of C<to_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries to 146The opposite of C<encode_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries
121parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting simple 147to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting
122scalar or reference. Croaks on error. 148reference. Croaks on error.
123 149
124This function call is functionally identical to: 150This function call is functionally identical to:
125 151
126 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text) 152 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text)
127 153
128except being faster. 154except being faster.
129 155
156=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar
157
158Returns true if the passed scalar represents either JSON::XS::true or
159JSON::XS::false, two constants that act like C<1> and C<0>, respectively
160and are used to represent JSON C<true> and C<false> values in Perl.
161
162See MAPPING, below, for more information on how JSON values are mapped to
163Perl.
164
130=back 165=back
166
167
168=head1 A FEW NOTES ON UNICODE AND PERL
169
170Since this often leads to confusion, here are a few very clear words on
171how Unicode works in Perl, modulo bugs.
172
173=over 4
174
175=item 1. Perl strings can store characters with ordinal values > 255.
176
177This enables you to store Unicode characters as single characters in a
178Perl string - very natural.
179
180=item 2. Perl does I<not> associate an encoding with your strings.
181
182... until you force it to, e.g. when matching it against a regex, or
183printing the scalar to a file, in which case Perl either interprets your
184string as locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode, depending
185on various settings. In no case is an encoding stored together with your
186data, it is I<use> that decides encoding, not any magical meta data.
187
188=item 3. The internal utf-8 flag has no meaning with regards to the
189encoding of your string.
190
191Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written in
192XS or want to dive into the internals of perl. Otherwise it will only
193confuse you, as, despite the name, it says nothing about how your string
194is encoded. You can have Unicode strings with that flag set, with that
195flag clear, and you can have binary data with that flag set and that flag
196clear. Other possibilities exist, too.
197
198If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it doesn't
199exist.
200
201=item 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be
202validly interpreted as a Unicode codepoint.
203
204If you have UTF-8 encoded data, it is no longer a Unicode string, but a
205Unicode string encoded in UTF-8, giving you a binary string.
206
207=item 5. A string containing "high" (> 255) character values is I<not> a UTF-8 string.
208
209It's a fact. Learn to live with it.
210
211=back
212
213I hope this helps :)
214
131 215
132=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE 216=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE
133 217
134The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or 218The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or
135decoding style, within the limits of supported formats. 219decoding style, within the limits of supported formats.
147 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]})
148 => {"a": [1, 2]} 232 => {"a": [1, 2]}
149 233
150=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable]) 234=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable])
151 235
236=item $enabled = $json->get_ascii
237
152If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not 238If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
153generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any 239generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any
154unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a 240Unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a
155single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence, 241single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence,
156as per RFC4627. 242as per RFC4627. The resulting encoded JSON text can be treated as a native
243Unicode string, an ascii-encoded, latin1-encoded or UTF-8 encoded string,
244or any other superset of ASCII.
157 245
158If C<$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
159characters unless required by the JSON syntax. This results in a faster 247characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results
160and more compact format. 248in a faster and more compact format.
249
250The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be
251transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not
252contain any 8 bit characters.
161 253
162 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401]) 254 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401])
163 => ["\ud801\udc01"] 255 => ["\ud801\udc01"]
164 256
257=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable])
258
259=item $enabled = $json->get_latin1
260
261If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
262the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters
263outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a
264latin1-encoded JSON text or a native Unicode string. The C<decode> method
265will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default
266expects Unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1.
267
268If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
269characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags.
270
271The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON
272text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded
273size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded
274in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and
275transferring), a rare encoding for JSON. It is therefore most useful when
276you want to store data structures known to contain binary data efficiently
277in files or databases, not when talking to other JSON encoders/decoders.
278
279 JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"]
280 => ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not)
281
165=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable]) 282=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable])
283
284=item $enabled = $json->get_utf8
166 285
167If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode 286If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
168the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the 287the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the
169C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please 288C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please
170note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the 289note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the
171range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future 290range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future
172versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16 291versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16
173and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627. 292and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627.
174 293
175If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON 294If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON
176string as a (non-encoded) unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a 295string as a (non-encoded) Unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a
177unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs 296Unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs
178to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module. 297to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module.
179 298
180Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON: 299Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON:
181 300
182 use Encode; 301 use Encode;
204 ] 323 ]
205 } 324 }
206 325
207=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable]) 326=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable])
208 327
328=item $enabled = $json->get_indent
329
209If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline 330If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline
210format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair 331format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair
211into its own line, identing them properly. 332into its own line, indenting them properly.
212 333
213If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the 334If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the
214resulting JSON text is guarenteed not to contain any C<newlines>. 335resulting JSON text is guaranteed not to contain any C<newlines>.
215 336
216This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 337This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
217 338
218=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable]) 339=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable])
340
341=item $enabled = $json->get_space_before
219 342
220If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 343If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
221optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects. 344optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects.
222 345
223If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra 346If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra
229Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled: 352Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled:
230 353
231 {"key" :"value"} 354 {"key" :"value"}
232 355
233=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable]) 356=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable])
357
358=item $enabled = $json->get_space_after
234 359
235If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 360If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
236optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects 361optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects
237and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array 362and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array
238members. 363members.
244 369
245Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled: 370Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled:
246 371
247 {"key": "value"} 372 {"key": "value"}
248 373
374=item $json = $json->relaxed ([$enable])
375
376=item $enabled = $json->get_relaxed
377
378If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<decode> will accept some
379extensions to normal JSON syntax (see below). C<encode> will not be
380affected in anyway. I<Be aware that this option makes you accept invalid
381JSON texts as if they were valid!>. I suggest only to use this option to
382parse application-specific files written by humans (configuration files,
383resource files etc.)
384
385If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<decode> will only accept
386valid JSON texts.
387
388Currently accepted extensions are:
389
390=over 4
391
392=item * list items can have an end-comma
393
394JSON I<separates> array elements and key-value pairs with commas. This
395can be annoying if you write JSON texts manually and want to be able to
396quickly append elements, so this extension accepts comma at the end of
397such items not just between them:
398
399 [
400 1,
401 2, <- this comma not normally allowed
402 ]
403 {
404 "k1": "v1",
405 "k2": "v2", <- this comma not normally allowed
406 }
407
408=item * shell-style '#'-comments
409
410Whenever JSON allows whitespace, shell-style comments are additionally
411allowed. They are terminated by the first carriage-return or line-feed
412character, after which more white-space and comments are allowed.
413
414 [
415 1, # this comment not allowed in JSON
416 # neither this one...
417 ]
418
419=back
420
249=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable]) 421=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable])
422
423=item $enabled = $json->get_canonical
250 424
251If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects 425If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects
252by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead. 426by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead.
253 427
254If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value 428If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value
255pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs 429pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs
256of the same script). 430of the same script).
257 431
258This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as 432This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as
259the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled, 433the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled,
260the same hash migh be encoded differently even if contains the same data, 434the same hash might be encoded differently even if contains the same data,
261as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl. 435as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl.
262 436
263This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 437This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
264 438
265=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable]) 439=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable])
440
441=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_nonref
266 442
267If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a 443If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a
268non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value, 444non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value,
269which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON 445which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON
270values instead of croaking. 446values instead of croaking.
278resulting in an invalid JSON text: 454resulting in an invalid JSON text:
279 455
280 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!") 456 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!")
281 => "Hello, World!" 457 => "Hello, World!"
282 458
459=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable])
460
461=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_blessed
462
463If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
464barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the
465B<convert_blessed> option will decide whether C<null> (C<convert_blessed>
466disabled or no C<TO_JSON> method found) or a representation of the
467object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<TO_JSON> method found) is being
468encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>.
469
470If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
471exception when it encounters a blessed object.
472
473=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable])
474
475=item $enabled = $json->get_convert_blessed
476
477If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a
478blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<TO_JSON> method
479on the object's class. If found, it will be called in scalar context
480and the resulting scalar will be encoded instead of the object. If no
481C<TO_JSON> method is found, the value of C<allow_blessed> will decide what
482to do.
483
484The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON>
485returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same
486way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle
487(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other
488methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are
489usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with any C<to_json>
490function or method.
491
492This setting does not yet influence C<decode> in any way, but in the
493future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are
494enabled by this setting.
495
496If C<$enable> is false, then the C<allow_blessed> setting will decide what
497to do when a blessed object is found.
498
499=item $json = $json->filter_json_object ([$coderef->($hashref)])
500
501When C<$coderef> is specified, it will be called from C<decode> each
502time it decodes a JSON object. The only argument is a reference to the
503newly-created hash. If the code references returns a single scalar (which
504need not be a reference), this value (i.e. a copy of that scalar to avoid
505aliasing) is inserted into the deserialised data structure. If it returns
506an empty list (NOTE: I<not> C<undef>, which is a valid scalar), the
507original deserialised hash will be inserted. This setting can slow down
508decoding considerably.
509
510When C<$coderef> is omitted or undefined, any existing callback will
511be removed and C<decode> will not change the deserialised hash in any
512way.
513
514Example, convert all JSON objects into the integer 5:
515
516 my $js = JSON::XS->new->filter_json_object (sub { 5 });
517 # returns [5]
518 $js->decode ('[{}]')
519 # throw an exception because allow_nonref is not enabled
520 # so a lone 5 is not allowed.
521 $js->decode ('{"a":1, "b":2}');
522
523=item $json = $json->filter_json_single_key_object ($key [=> $coderef->($value)])
524
525Works remotely similar to C<filter_json_object>, but is only called for
526JSON objects having a single key named C<$key>.
527
528This C<$coderef> is called before the one specified via
529C<filter_json_object>, if any. It gets passed the single value in the JSON
530object. If it returns a single value, it will be inserted into the data
531structure. If it returns nothing (not even C<undef> but the empty list),
532the callback from C<filter_json_object> will be called next, as if no
533single-key callback were specified.
534
535If C<$coderef> is omitted or undefined, the corresponding callback will be
536disabled. There can only ever be one callback for a given key.
537
538As this callback gets called less often then the C<filter_json_object>
539one, decoding speed will not usually suffer as much. Therefore, single-key
540objects make excellent targets to serialise Perl objects into, especially
541as single-key JSON objects are as close to the type-tagged value concept
542as JSON gets (it's basically an ID/VALUE tuple). Of course, JSON does not
543support this in any way, so you need to make sure your data never looks
544like a serialised Perl hash.
545
546Typical names for the single object key are C<__class_whatever__>, or
547C<$__dollars_are_rarely_used__$> or C<}ugly_brace_placement>, or even
548things like C<__class_md5sum(classname)__>, to reduce the risk of clashing
549with real hashes.
550
551Example, decode JSON objects of the form C<< { "__widget__" => <id> } >>
552into the corresponding C<< $WIDGET{<id>} >> object:
553
554 # return whatever is in $WIDGET{5}:
555 JSON::XS
556 ->new
557 ->filter_json_single_key_object (__widget__ => sub {
558 $WIDGET{ $_[0] }
559 })
560 ->decode ('{"__widget__": 5')
561
562 # this can be used with a TO_JSON method in some "widget" class
563 # for serialisation to json:
564 sub WidgetBase::TO_JSON {
565 my ($self) = @_;
566
567 unless ($self->{id}) {
568 $self->{id} = ..get..some..id..;
569 $WIDGET{$self->{id}} = $self;
570 }
571
572 { __widget__ => $self->{id} }
573 }
574
283=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable]) 575=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable])
284 576
577=item $enabled = $json->get_shrink
578
285Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for 579Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for
286strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either 580strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either
287C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save 581C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save
288memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many 582memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many
289short strings. It will also try to downgrade any strings to octet-form 583short strings. It will also try to downgrade any strings to octet-form
290if possible: perl stores strings internally either in an encoding called 584if possible: perl stores strings internally either in an encoding called
291UTF-X or in octet-form. The latter cannot store everything but uses less 585UTF-X or in octet-form. The latter cannot store everything but uses less
292space in general. 586space in general (and some buggy Perl or C code might even rely on that
587internal representation being used).
293 588
589The actual definition of what shrink does might change in future versions,
590but it will always try to save space at the expense of time.
591
294If C<$enable> is true (or missing), the string returned by C<encode> will be shrunk-to-fit, 592If C<$enable> is true (or missing), the string returned by C<encode> will
295while all strings generated by C<decode> will also be shrunk-to-fit. 593be shrunk-to-fit, while all strings generated by C<decode> will also be
594shrunk-to-fit.
296 595
297If C<$enable> is false, then the normal perl allocation algorithms are used. 596If C<$enable> is false, then the normal perl allocation algorithms are used.
298If you work with your data, then this is likely to be faster. 597If you work with your data, then this is likely to be faster.
299 598
300In the future, this setting might control other things, such as converting 599In the future, this setting might control other things, such as converting
301strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats 600strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats
302internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space. 601internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space.
602
603=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])
604
605=item $max_depth = $json->get_max_depth
606
607Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding
608or decoding. If the JSON text or Perl data structure has an equal or
609higher nesting level then this limit, then the encoder and decoder will
610stop and croak at that point.
611
612Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder
613needs to traverse to reach a given point or the number of C<{> or C<[>
614characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a
615given character in a string.
616
617Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures
618that the object is only a single hash/object or array.
619
620The argument to C<max_depth> will be rounded up to the next highest power
621of two. If no argument is given, the highest possible setting will be
622used, which is rarely useful.
623
624See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
625
626=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size])
627
628=item $max_size = $json->get_max_size
629
630Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where decoding is
631being attempted. The default is C<0>, meaning no limit. When C<decode>
632is called on a string longer then this number of characters it will not
633attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no
634effect on C<encode> (yet).
635
636The argument to C<max_size> will be rounded up to the next B<highest>
637power of two (so may be more than requested). If no argument is given, the
638limit check will be deactivated (same as when C<0> is specified).
639
640See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
303 641
304=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar) 642=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar)
305 643
306Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference 644Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference
307to a hash or array) to its JSON representation. Simple scalars will be 645to a hash or array) to its JSON representation. Simple scalars will be
317 655
318JSON numbers and strings become simple Perl scalars. JSON arrays become 656JSON numbers and strings become simple Perl scalars. JSON arrays become
319Perl arrayrefs and JSON objects become Perl hashrefs. C<true> becomes 657Perl arrayrefs and JSON objects become Perl hashrefs. C<true> becomes
320C<1>, C<false> becomes C<0> and C<null> becomes C<undef>. 658C<1>, C<false> becomes C<0> and C<null> becomes C<undef>.
321 659
660=item ($perl_scalar, $characters) = $json->decode_prefix ($json_text)
661
662This works like the C<decode> method, but instead of raising an exception
663when there is trailing garbage after the first JSON object, it will
664silently stop parsing there and return the number of characters consumed
665so far.
666
667This is useful if your JSON texts are not delimited by an outer protocol
668(which is not the brightest thing to do in the first place) and you need
669to know where the JSON text ends.
670
671 JSON::XS->new->decode_prefix ("[1] the tail")
672 => ([], 3)
673
322=back 674=back
675
323 676
324=head1 MAPPING 677=head1 MAPPING
325 678
326This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and 679This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and
327vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most 680vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most
328circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics 681circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics
329(what you put in comes out as something equivalent). 682(what you put in comes out as something equivalent).
330 683
331For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions, 684For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions,
332lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppcercase I<Perl> 685lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppercase I<Perl>
333refers to the abstract Perl language itself. 686refers to the abstract Perl language itself.
334 687
688
335=head2 JSON -> PERL 689=head2 JSON -> PERL
336 690
337=over 4 691=over 4
338 692
339=item object 693=item object
340 694
341A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object 695A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object
342keys is preserved (JSON does not preserver object key ordering itself). 696keys is preserved (JSON does not preserve object key ordering itself).
343 697
344=item array 698=item array
345 699
346A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl. 700A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl.
347 701
351are represented by the same codepoints in the Perl string, so no manual 705are represented by the same codepoints in the Perl string, so no manual
352decoding is necessary. 706decoding is necessary.
353 707
354=item number 708=item number
355 709
356A JSON number becomes either an integer or numeric (floating point) 710A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or
357scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On the 711string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On
358Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all the 712the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all
359conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and might 713the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and
360represent more values exactly than (floating point) numbers. 714might represent more values exactly than floating point numbers.
715
716If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent
717it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as
718a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of
719precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value (in
720which case you lose roundtripping ability, as the JSON number will be
721re-encoded toa JSON string).
722
723Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be
724represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of
725precision (in which case you might lose perfect roundtripping ability, but
726the JSON number will still be re-encoded as a JSON number).
361 727
362=item true, false 728=item true, false
363 729
364These JSON atoms become C<0>, C<1>, respectively. Information is lost in 730These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>,
365this process. Future versions might represent those values differently, 731respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers
366but they will be guarenteed to act like these integers would normally in 732C<1> and C<0>. You can check whether a scalar is a JSON boolean by using
367Perl. 733the C<JSON::XS::is_bool> function.
368 734
369=item null 735=item null
370 736
371A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl. 737A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl.
372 738
373=back 739=back
740
374 741
375=head2 PERL -> JSON 742=head2 PERL -> JSON
376 743
377The mapping from Perl to JSON is slightly more difficult, as Perl is a 744The mapping from Perl to JSON is slightly more difficult, as Perl is a
378truly typeless language, so we can only guess which JSON type is meant by 745truly typeless language, so we can only guess which JSON type is meant by
381=over 4 748=over 4
382 749
383=item hash references 750=item hash references
384 751
385Perl hash references become JSON objects. As there is no inherent ordering 752Perl hash references become JSON objects. As there is no inherent ordering
386in hash keys, they will usually be encoded in a pseudo-random order that 753in hash keys (or JSON objects), they will usually be encoded in a
387can change between runs of the same program but stays generally the same 754pseudo-random order that can change between runs of the same program but
388within a single run of a program. JSON::XS can optionally sort the hash 755stays generally the same within a single run of a program. JSON::XS can
389keys (determined by the I<canonical> flag), so the same datastructure 756optionally sort the hash keys (determined by the I<canonical> flag), so
390will serialise to the same JSON text (given same settings and version of 757the same datastructure will serialise to the same JSON text (given same
391JSON::XS), but this incurs a runtime overhead. 758settings and version of JSON::XS), but this incurs a runtime overhead
759and is only rarely useful, e.g. when you want to compare some JSON text
760against another for equality.
392 761
393=item array references 762=item array references
394 763
395Perl array references become JSON arrays. 764Perl array references become JSON arrays.
396 765
766=item other references
767
768Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an
769exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and
770C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can
771also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability.
772
773 encode_json [\0,JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true]
774
775=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false
776
777These special values become JSON true and JSON false values,
778respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want.
779
397=item blessed objects 780=item blessed objects
398 781
399Blessed objects are not allowed. JSON::XS currently tries to encode their 782Blessed objects are not directly representable in JSON. See the
400underlying representation (hash- or arrayref), but this behaviour might 783C<allow_blessed> and C<convert_blessed> methods on various options on
401change in future versions. 784how to deal with this: basically, you can choose between throwing an
785exception, encoding the reference as if it weren't blessed, or provide
786your own serialiser method.
402 787
403=item simple scalars 788=item simple scalars
404 789
405Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most 790Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most
406difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as 791difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as
407JSON null value, scalars that have last been used in a string context 792JSON C<null> values, scalars that have last been used in a string context
408before encoding as JSON strings and anything else as number value: 793before encoding as JSON strings, and anything else as number value:
409 794
410 # dump as number 795 # dump as number
411 to_json [2] # yields [2] 796 encode_json [2] # yields [2]
412 to_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17] 797 encode_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17]
413 my $value = 5; to_json [$value] # yields [5] 798 my $value = 5; encode_json [$value] # yields [5]
414 799
415 # used as string, so dump as string 800 # used as string, so dump as string
416 print $value; 801 print $value;
417 to_json [$value] # yields ["5"] 802 encode_json [$value] # yields ["5"]
418 803
419 # undef becomes null 804 # undef becomes null
420 to_json [undef] # yields [null] 805 encode_json [undef] # yields [null]
421 806
422You can force the type to be a string by stringifying it: 807You can force the type to be a JSON string by stringifying it:
423 808
424 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number 809 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number
425 "$x"; # stringified 810 "$x"; # stringified
426 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify 811 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify
427 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often 812 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often
428 813
429You can force the type to be a number by numifying it: 814You can force the type to be a JSON number by numifying it:
430 815
431 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string 816 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string
432 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number 817 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number
433 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choise is yours. 818 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours.
434 819
435You can not currently output JSON booleans or force the type in other, 820You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me
436less obscure, ways. Tell me if you need this capability. 821if you need this capability (but don't forget to explain why its needed
437 822:).
438=item circular data structures
439
440Those will be encoded until memory or stackspace runs out.
441 823
442=back 824=back
825
826
827=head1 ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES
828
829The interested reader might have seen a number of flags that signify
830encodings or codesets - C<utf8>, C<latin1> and C<ascii>. There seems to be
831some confusion on what these do, so here is a short comparison:
832
833C<utf8> controls wether the JSON text created by C<encode> (and expected
834by C<decode>) is UTF-8 encoded or not, while C<latin1> and C<ascii> only
835control wether C<encode> escapes character values outside their respective
836codeset range. Neither of these flags conflict with each other, although
837some combinations make less sense than others.
838
839Care has been taken to make all flags symmetrical with respect to
840C<encode> and C<decode>, that is, texts encoded with any combination of
841these flag values will be correctly decoded when the same flags are used
842- in general, if you use different flag settings while encoding vs. when
843decoding you likely have a bug somewhere.
844
845Below comes a verbose discussion of these flags. Note that a "codeset" is
846simply an abstract set of character-codepoint pairs, while an encoding
847takes those codepoint numbers and I<encodes> them, in our case into
848octets. Unicode is (among other things) a codeset, UTF-8 is an encoding,
849and ISO-8859-1 (= latin 1) and ASCII are both codesets I<and> encodings at
850the same time, which can be confusing.
851
852=over 4
853
854=item C<utf8> flag disabled
855
856When C<utf8> is disabled (the default), then C<encode>/C<decode> generate
857and expect Unicode strings, that is, characters with high ordinal Unicode
858values (> 255) will be encoded as such characters, and likewise such
859characters are decoded as-is, no canges to them will be done, except
860"(re-)interpreting" them as Unicode codepoints or Unicode characters,
861respectively (to Perl, these are the same thing in strings unless you do
862funny/weird/dumb stuff).
863
864This is useful when you want to do the encoding yourself (e.g. when you
865want to have UTF-16 encoded JSON texts) or when some other layer does
866the encoding for you (for example, when printing to a terminal using a
867filehandle that transparently encodes to UTF-8 you certainly do NOT want
868to UTF-8 encode your data first and have Perl encode it another time).
869
870=item C<utf8> flag enabled
871
872If the C<utf8>-flag is enabled, C<encode>/C<decode> will encode all
873characters using the corresponding UTF-8 multi-byte sequence, and will
874expect your input strings to be encoded as UTF-8, that is, no "character"
875of the input string must have any value > 255, as UTF-8 does not allow
876that.
877
878The C<utf8> flag therefore switches between two modes: disabled means you
879will get a Unicode string in Perl, enabled means you get an UTF-8 encoded
880octet/binary string in Perl.
881
882=item C<latin1> or C<ascii> flags enabled
883
884With C<latin1> (or C<ascii>) enabled, C<encode> will escape characters
885with ordinal values > 255 (> 127 with C<ascii>) and encode the remaining
886characters as specified by the C<utf8> flag.
887
888If C<utf8> is disabled, then the result is also correctly encoded in those
889character sets (as both are proper subsets of Unicode, meaning that a
890Unicode string with all character values < 256 is the same thing as a
891ISO-8859-1 string, and a Unicode string with all character values < 128 is
892the same thing as an ASCII string in Perl).
893
894If C<utf8> is enabled, you still get a correct UTF-8-encoded string,
895regardless of these flags, just some more characters will be escaped using
896C<\uXXXX> then before.
897
898Note that ISO-8859-1-I<encoded> strings are not compatible with UTF-8
899encoding, while ASCII-encoded strings are. That is because the ISO-8859-1
900encoding is NOT a subset of UTF-8 (despite the ISO-8859-1 I<codeset> being
901a subset of Unicode), while ASCII is.
902
903Surprisingly, C<decode> will ignore these flags and so treat all input
904values as governed by the C<utf8> flag. If it is disabled, this allows you
905to decode ISO-8859-1- and ASCII-encoded strings, as both strict subsets of
906Unicode. If it is enabled, you can correctly decode UTF-8 encoded strings.
907
908So neither C<latin1> nor C<ascii> are incompatible with the C<utf8> flag -
909they only govern when the JSON output engine escapes a character or not.
910
911The main use for C<latin1> is to relatively efficiently store binary data
912as JSON, at the expense of breaking compatibility with most JSON decoders.
913
914The main use for C<ascii> is to force the output to not contain characters
915with values > 127, which means you can interpret the resulting string
916as UTF-8, ISO-8859-1, ASCII, KOI8-R or most about any character set and
9178-bit-encoding, and still get the same data structure back. This is useful
918when your channel for JSON transfer is not 8-bit clean or the encoding
919might be mangled in between (e.g. in mail), and works because ASCII is a
920proper subset of most 8-bit and multibyte encodings in use in the world.
921
922=back
923
443 924
444=head1 COMPARISON 925=head1 COMPARISON
445 926
446As already mentioned, this module was created because none of the existing 927As already mentioned, this module was created because none of the existing
447JSON modules could be made to work correctly. First I will describe the 928JSON modules could be made to work correctly. First I will describe the
449followed by some benchmark values. JSON::XS was designed not to suffer 930followed by some benchmark values. JSON::XS was designed not to suffer
450from any of these problems or limitations. 931from any of these problems or limitations.
451 932
452=over 4 933=over 4
453 934
935=item JSON 2.xx
936
937A marvellous piece of engineering, this module either uses JSON::XS
938directly when available (so will be 100% compatible with it, including
939speed), or it uses JSON::PP, which is basically JSON::XS translated to
940Pure Perl, which should be 100% compatible with JSON::XS, just a bit
941slower.
942
943You cannot really lose by using this module, especially as it tries very
944hard to work even with ancient Perl versions, while JSON::XS does not.
945
454=item JSON 1.07 946=item JSON 1.07
455 947
456Slow (but very portable, as it is written in pure Perl). 948Slow (but very portable, as it is written in pure Perl).
457 949
458Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling (how JSON handles unicode values is 950Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling (how JSON handles Unicode values is
459undocumented. One can get far by feeding it unicode strings and doing 951undocumented. One can get far by feeding it Unicode strings and doing
460en-/decoding oneself, but unicode escapes are not working properly). 952en-/decoding oneself, but Unicode escapes are not working properly).
461 953
462No roundtripping (strings get clobbered if they look like numbers, e.g. 954No round-tripping (strings get clobbered if they look like numbers, e.g.
463the string C<2.0> will encode to C<2.0> instead of C<"2.0">, and that will 955the string C<2.0> will encode to C<2.0> instead of C<"2.0">, and that will
464decode into the number 2. 956decode into the number 2.
465 957
466=item JSON::PC 0.01 958=item JSON::PC 0.01
467 959
468Very fast. 960Very fast.
469 961
470Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling. 962Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling.
471 963
472No roundtripping. 964No round-tripping.
473 965
474Has problems handling many Perl values (e.g. regex results and other magic 966Has problems handling many Perl values (e.g. regex results and other magic
475values will make it croak). 967values will make it croak).
476 968
477Does not even generate valid JSON (C<{1,2}> gets converted to C<{1:2}> 969Does not even generate valid JSON (C<{1,2}> gets converted to C<{1:2}>
487Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty much 979Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty much
488undocumented. I need at least a format for easy reading by humans and a 980undocumented. I need at least a format for easy reading by humans and a
489single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and preferably a way to 981single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and preferably a way to
490generate ASCII-only JSON texts). 982generate ASCII-only JSON texts).
491 983
492Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling (unicode 984Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling (Unicode
493escapes are not working properly, you need to set ImplicitUnicode to 985escapes are not working properly, you need to set ImplicitUnicode to
494I<different> values on en- and decoding to get symmetric behaviour). 986I<different> values on en- and decoding to get symmetric behaviour).
495 987
496No roundtripping (simple cases work, but this depends on wether the scalar 988No round-tripping (simple cases work, but this depends on whether the scalar
497value was used in a numeric context or not). 989value was used in a numeric context or not).
498 990
499Dumping hashes may skip hash values depending on iterator state. 991Dumping hashes may skip hash values depending on iterator state.
500 992
501Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not 993Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not
502getting fixed). 994getting fixed).
503 995
504Does not check input for validity (i.e. will accept non-JSON input and 996Does not check input for validity (i.e. will accept non-JSON input and
505return "something" instead of raising an exception. This is a security 997return "something" instead of raising an exception. This is a security
506issue: imagine two banks transfering money between each other using 998issue: imagine two banks transferring money between each other using
507JSON. One bank might parse a given non-JSON request and deduct money, 999JSON. One bank might parse a given non-JSON request and deduct money,
508while the other might reject the transaction with a syntax error. While a 1000while the other might reject the transaction with a syntax error. While a
509good protocol will at least recover, that is extra unnecessary work and 1001good protocol will at least recover, that is extra unnecessary work and
510the transaction will still not succeed). 1002the transaction will still not succeed).
511 1003
512=item JSON::DWIW 0.04 1004=item JSON::DWIW 0.04
513 1005
514Very fast. Very natural. Very nice. 1006Very fast. Very natural. Very nice.
515 1007
516Undocumented unicode handling (but the best of the pack. Unicode escapes 1008Undocumented Unicode handling (but the best of the pack. Unicode escapes
517still don't get parsed properly). 1009still don't get parsed properly).
518 1010
519Very inflexible. 1011Very inflexible.
520 1012
521No roundtripping. 1013No round-tripping.
522 1014
523Does not generate valid JSON texts (key strings are often unquoted, empty keys 1015Does not generate valid JSON texts (key strings are often unquoted, empty keys
524result in nothing being output) 1016result in nothing being output)
525 1017
526Does not check input for validity. 1018Does not check input for validity.
527 1019
528=back 1020=back
1021
1022
1023=head2 JSON and YAML
1024
1025You often hear that JSON is a subset of YAML. This is, however, a mass
1026hysteria(*) and very far from the truth. In general, there is no way to
1027configure JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML that works for
1028all cases.
1029
1030If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this
1031algorithm (subject to change in future versions):
1032
1033 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1);
1034 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n";
1035
1036This will I<usually> generate JSON texts that also parse as valid
1037YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key
1038lengths that JSON doesn't have and also has different and incompatible
1039unicode handling, so you should make sure that your hash keys are
1040noticeably shorter than the 1024 "stream characters" YAML allows and that
1041you do not have codepoints with values outside the Unicode BMP (basic
1042multilingual page). YAML also does not allow C<\/> sequences in strings
1043(which JSON::XS does not I<currently> generate).
1044
1045There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of (or the YAML
1046specification has been changed yet again - it does so quite often). In
1047general you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice
1048versa, or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are
1049high that you will run into severe interoperability problems when you
1050least expect it.
1051
1052=over 4
1053
1054=item (*)
1055
1056This is spread actively by the YAML team, however. For many years now they
1057claim YAML were a superset of JSON, even when proven otherwise.
1058
1059Even the author of this manpage was at some point accused of providing
1060"incorrect" information, despite the evidence presented (claims ranged
1061from "your documentation contains inaccurate and negative statements about
1062YAML" (the only negative comment is this footnote, and it didn't exist
1063back then; the question on which claims were inaccurate was never answered
1064etc.) to "the YAML spec is not up-to-date" (the *real* and supposedly
1065JSON-compatible spec is apparently not currently publicly available)
1066to actual requests to replace this section by *incorrect* information,
1067suppressing information about the real problem).
1068
1069So whenever you are told that YAML was a superset of JSON, first check
1070wether it is really true (it might be when you check it, but it certainly
1071was not true when this was written). I would much prefer if the YAML team
1072would spent their time on actually making JSON compatibility a truth
1073(JSON, after all, has a very small and simple specification) instead of
1074trying to lobby/force people into reporting untruths.
1075
1076=back
1077
529 1078
530=head2 SPEED 1079=head2 SPEED
531 1080
532It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following 1081It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following
533tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program 1082tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program
534in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own 1083in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own
535system. 1084system.
536 1085
537First comes a comparison between various modules using a very short JSON 1086First comes a comparison between various modules using a very short
538string: 1087single-line JSON string:
539 1088
540 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], "id": null} 1089 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], \
1090 "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7, true, false]}
541 1091
542It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses the 1092It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses
543functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface with 1093the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface
544pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled). Higher is better: 1094with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables
1095shrink). Higher is better:
545 1096
546 module | encode | decode | 1097 module | encode | decode |
547 -----------|------------|------------| 1098 -----------|------------|------------|
548 JSON | 11488.516 | 7823.035 | 1099 JSON 1.x | 4990.842 | 4088.813 |
549 JSON::DWIW | 94708.054 | 129094.260 | 1100 JSON::DWIW | 51653.990 | 71575.154 |
550 JSON::PC | 63884.157 | 128528.212 | 1101 JSON::PC | 65948.176 | 74631.744 |
551 JSON::Syck | 34898.677 | 42096.911 | 1102 JSON::PP | 8931.652 | 3817.168 |
552 JSON::XS | 654027.064 | 396423.669 | 1103 JSON::Syck | 24877.248 | 27776.848 |
553 JSON::XS/2 | 371564.190 | 371725.613 | 1104 JSON::XS | 388361.481 | 227951.304 |
1105 JSON::XS/2 | 227951.304 | 218453.333 |
1106 JSON::XS/3 | 338250.323 | 218453.333 |
1107 Storable | 16500.016 | 135300.129 |
554 -----------+------------+------------+ 1108 -----------+------------+------------+
555 1109
556That is, JSON::XS is more than six times faster than JSON::DWIW on 1110That is, JSON::XS is about five times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding,
557encoding, more than three times faster on decoding, and about thirty times 1111about three times faster on decoding, and over forty times faster
558faster than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. 1112than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares
1113favourably to Storable for small amounts of data.
559 1114
560Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals 1115Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals
561search API (http://nanoref.com/yahooapis/mgPdGg): 1116search API (http://nanoref.com/yahooapis/mgPdGg):
562 1117
563 module | encode | decode | 1118 module | encode | decode |
564 -----------|------------|------------| 1119 -----------|------------|------------|
565 JSON | 273.023 | 44.674 | 1120 JSON 1.x | 55.260 | 34.971 |
566 JSON::DWIW | 1089.383 | 1145.704 | 1121 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 |
567 JSON::PC | 3097.419 | 2393.921 | 1122 JSON::PC | 3571.444 | 2394.829 |
568 JSON::Syck | 514.060 | 843.053 | 1123 JSON::PP | 210.987 | 32.574 |
569 JSON::XS | 6479.668 | 3636.364 | 1124 JSON::Syck | 552.551 | 787.544 |
570 JSON::XS/2 | 3774.221 | 3599.124 | 1125 JSON::XS | 5780.463 | 4854.519 |
1126 JSON::XS/2 | 3869.998 | 4798.975 |
1127 JSON::XS/3 | 5862.880 | 4798.975 |
1128 Storable | 4445.002 | 5235.027 |
571 -----------+------------+------------+ 1129 -----------+------------+------------+
572 1130
573Again, JSON::XS leads by far. 1131Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly
1132decodes faster).
574 1133
575On large strings containing lots of high unicode characters, some modules 1134On large strings containing lots of high Unicode characters, some modules
576(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result 1135(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result
577will be broken due to missing (or wrong) unicode handling. Others refuse 1136will be broken due to missing (or wrong) Unicode handling. Others refuse
578to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair 1137to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair
579comparison table for that case. 1138comparison table for that case.
580 1139
581=head1 RESOURCE LIMITS
582 1140
583JSON::XS does not impose any limits on the size of JSON texts or Perl 1141=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
584values they represent - if your machine can handle it, JSON::XS will 1142
585encode or decode it. Future versions might optionally impose structure 1143When you are using JSON in a protocol, talking to untrusted potentially
586depth and memory use resource limits. 1144hostile creatures requires relatively few measures.
1145
1146First of all, your JSON decoder should be secure, that is, should not have
1147any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am
1148trying hard on making that true, but you never know.
1149
1150Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you should
1151limit the size of JSON texts you accept, or make sure then when your
1152resources run out, that's just fine (e.g. by using a separate process that
1153can crash safely). The size of a JSON text in octets or characters is
1154usually a good indication of the size of the resources required to decode
1155it into a Perl structure. While JSON::XS can check the size of the JSON
1156text, it might be too late when you already have it in memory, so you
1157might want to check the size before you accept the string.
1158
1159Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and
1160arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64
1161machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but
1162only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak
1163to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. To be
1164conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process
1165has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the
1166C<max_depth> method.
1167
1168Something else could bomb you, too, that I forgot to think of. In that
1169case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, though...
1170
1171Also keep in mind that JSON::XS might leak contents of your Perl data
1172structures in its error messages, so when you serialise sensitive
1173information you might want to make sure that exceptions thrown by JSON::XS
1174will not end up in front of untrusted eyes.
1175
1176If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption
1177by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at
1178L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see whether
1179you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser
1180design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it, as major
1181browser developers care only for features, not about getting security
1182right).
1183
1184
1185=head1 THREADS
1186
1187This module is I<not> guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no
1188plans to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the
1189horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated
1190process simulations - use fork, its I<much> faster, cheaper, better).
1191
1192(It might actually work, but you have been warned).
1193
587 1194
588=head1 BUGS 1195=head1 BUGS
589 1196
590While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does 1197While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does
591not mean its bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is 1198not mean its bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is
592still very young and not well-tested. If you keep reporting bugs they will 1199still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they
593be fixed swiftly, though. 1200will be fixed swiftly, though.
1201
1202Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting
1203service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason.
594 1204
595=cut 1205=cut
1206
1207our $true = do { bless \(my $dummy = 1), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
1208our $false = do { bless \(my $dummy = 0), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
1209
1210sub true() { $true }
1211sub false() { $false }
1212
1213sub is_bool($) {
1214 UNIVERSAL::isa $_[0], "JSON::XS::Boolean"
1215# or UNIVERSAL::isa $_[0], "JSON::Literal"
1216}
1217
1218XSLoader::load "JSON::XS", $VERSION;
1219
1220package JSON::XS::Boolean;
1221
1222use overload
1223 "0+" => sub { ${$_[0]} },
1224 "++" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} + 1 },
1225 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 },
1226 fallback => 1;
596 1227
5971; 12281;
598 1229
599=head1 AUTHOR 1230=head1 AUTHOR
600 1231

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