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1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast
4
3=encoding utf-8 5=encoding utf-8
4
5JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast
6 6
7JSON::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
8 (http://fleur.hio.jp/perldoc/mix/lib/JSON/XS.html) 8 (http://fleur.hio.jp/perldoc/mix/lib/JSON/XS.html)
9 9
10=head1 SYNOPSIS 10=head1 SYNOPSIS
37primary 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
38I<fast>. To reach the latter goal it was written in C. 38I<fast>. To reach the latter goal it was written in C.
39 39
40Beginning with version 2.0 of the JSON module, when both JSON and 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 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 42overridden) with no overhead due to emulation (by inheriting constructor
43and methods). If JSON::XS is not available, it will fall back to the 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 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 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. 46require a C compiler when that is a problem.
47 47
49to 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
50modules, 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
51their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug 51their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug
52reports for other reasons. 52reports for other reasons.
53 53
54See COMPARISON, below, for a comparison to some other JSON modules.
55
56See MAPPING, below, on how JSON::XS maps perl values to JSON values and 54See MAPPING, below, on how JSON::XS maps perl values to JSON values and
57vice versa. 55vice versa.
58 56
59=head2 FEATURES 57=head2 FEATURES
60 58
65This module knows how to handle Unicode, documents how and when it does 63This module knows how to handle Unicode, documents how and when it does
66so, and even documents what "correct" means. 64so, and even documents what "correct" means.
67 65
68=item * round-trip integrity 66=item * round-trip integrity
69 67
70When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported 68When you serialise a perl data structure using only data types supported
71by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level. 69by JSON and Perl, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl
72(e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because it looks 70level. (e.g. the string "2.0" doesn't suddenly become "2" just because
73like a number). There minor I<are> exceptions to this, read the MAPPING 71it looks like a number). There I<are> minor exceptions to this, read the
74section below to learn about those. 72MAPPING section below to learn about those.
75 73
76=item * strict checking of JSON correctness 74=item * strict checking of JSON correctness
77 75
78There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default, 76There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default,
79and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security 77and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security
84Compared to other JSON modules and other serialisers such as Storable, 82Compared to other JSON modules and other serialisers such as Storable,
85this module usually compares favourably in terms of speed, too. 83this module usually compares favourably in terms of speed, too.
86 84
87=item * simple to use 85=item * simple to use
88 86
89This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an objetc 87This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an object
90oriented interface interface. 88oriented interface.
91 89
92=item * reasonably versatile output formats 90=item * reasonably versatile output formats
93 91
94You can choose between the most compact guaranteed-single-line format 92You can choose between the most compact guaranteed-single-line format
95possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format 93possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ASCII format
96(for when your transport is not 8-bit clean, still supports the whole 94(for when your transport is not 8-bit clean, still supports the whole
97Unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that 95Unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that
98stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like. 96stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like.
99 97
100=back 98=back
101 99
102=cut 100=cut
103 101
104package JSON::XS; 102package JSON::XS;
105 103
106use strict; 104use common::sense;
107 105
108our $VERSION = '2.1'; 106our $VERSION = 2.34;
109our @ISA = qw(Exporter); 107our @ISA = qw(Exporter);
110 108
111our @EXPORT = qw(encode_json decode_json to_json from_json); 109our @EXPORT = qw(encode_json decode_json);
112
113sub to_json($) {
114 require Carp;
115 Carp::croak ("JSON::XS::to_json has been renamed to encode_json, either downgrade to pre-2.0 versions of JSON::XS or rename the call");
116}
117
118sub from_json($) {
119 require Carp;
120 Carp::croak ("JSON::XS::from_json has been renamed to decode_json, either downgrade to pre-2.0 versions of JSON::XS or rename the call");
121}
122 110
123use Exporter; 111use Exporter;
124use XSLoader; 112use XSLoader;
125 113
126=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE 114=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE
137 125
138This function call is functionally identical to: 126This function call is functionally identical to:
139 127
140 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar) 128 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar)
141 129
142except being faster. 130Except being faster.
143 131
144=item $perl_scalar = decode_json $json_text 132=item $perl_scalar = decode_json $json_text
145 133
146The opposite of C<encode_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries 134The opposite of C<encode_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries
147to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting 135to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting
149 137
150This function call is functionally identical to: 138This function call is functionally identical to:
151 139
152 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text) 140 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text)
153 141
154except being faster. 142Except being faster.
155 143
156=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar 144=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar
157 145
158Returns true if the passed scalar represents either JSON::XS::true or 146Returns true if the passed scalar represents either JSON::XS::true or
159JSON::XS::false, two constants that act like C<1> and C<0>, respectively 147JSON::XS::false, two constants that act like C<1> and C<0>, respectively
197 185
198If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it doesn't 186If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it doesn't
199exist. 187exist.
200 188
201=item 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be 189=item 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be
202validly interpreted as a Unicode codepoint. 190validly interpreted as a Unicode code point.
203 191
204If you have UTF-8 encoded data, it is no longer a Unicode string, but a 192If you have UTF-8 encoded data, it is no longer a Unicode string, but a
205Unicode string encoded in UTF-8, giving you a binary string. 193Unicode string encoded in UTF-8, giving you a binary string.
206 194
207=item 5. A string containing "high" (> 255) character values is I<not> a UTF-8 string. 195=item 5. A string containing "high" (> 255) character values is I<not> a UTF-8 string.
434If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects 422If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects
435by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead. 423by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead.
436 424
437If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value 425If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value
438pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs 426pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs
439of the same script). 427of the same script, and can change even within the same run from 5.18
428onwards).
440 429
441This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as 430This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as
442the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled, 431the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled,
443the same hash might be encoded differently even if contains the same data, 432the same hash might be encoded differently even if contains the same data,
444as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl. 433as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl.
445 434
446This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 435This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
447 436
437This setting has currently no effect on tied hashes.
438
448=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable]) 439=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable])
449 440
450=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_nonref 441=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_nonref
451 442
452If C<$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
462Example, encode a Perl scalar as JSON value with enabled C<allow_nonref>, 453Example, encode a Perl scalar as JSON value with enabled C<allow_nonref>,
463resulting in an invalid JSON text: 454resulting in an invalid JSON text:
464 455
465 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!") 456 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!")
466 => "Hello, World!" 457 => "Hello, World!"
458
459=item $json = $json->allow_unknown ([$enable])
460
461=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_unknown
462
463If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode> will I<not> throw an
464exception when it encounters values it cannot represent in JSON (for
465example, filehandles) but instead will encode a JSON C<null> value. Note
466that blessed objects are not included here and are handled separately by
467c<allow_nonref>.
468
469If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
470exception when it encounters anything it cannot encode as JSON.
471
472This option does not affect C<decode> in any way, and it is recommended to
473leave it off unless you know your communications partner.
467 474
468=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable]) 475=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable])
469 476
470=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_blessed 477=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_blessed
471 478
612=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth]) 619=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])
613 620
614=item $max_depth = $json->get_max_depth 621=item $max_depth = $json->get_max_depth
615 622
616Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding 623Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding
617or decoding. If the JSON text or Perl data structure has an equal or 624or decoding. If a higher nesting level is detected in JSON text or a Perl
618higher nesting level then this limit, then the encoder and decoder will 625data structure, then the encoder and decoder will stop and croak at that
619stop and croak at that point. 626point.
620 627
621Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder 628Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder
622needs to traverse to reach a given point or the number of C<{> or C<[> 629needs to traverse to reach a given point or the number of C<{> or C<[>
623characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a 630characters without their matching closing parenthesis crossed to reach a
624given character in a string. 631given character in a string.
625 632
626Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures 633Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures
627that the object is only a single hash/object or array. 634that the object is only a single hash/object or array.
628 635
629The argument to C<max_depth> will be rounded up to the next highest power
630of two. If no argument is given, the highest possible setting will be 636If no argument is given, the highest possible setting will be used, which
631used, which is rarely useful. 637is rarely useful.
638
639Note that nesting is implemented by recursion in C. The default value has
640been chosen to be as large as typical operating systems allow without
641crashing.
632 642
633See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful. 643See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
634 644
635=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size]) 645=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size])
636 646
637=item $max_size = $json->get_max_size 647=item $max_size = $json->get_max_size
638 648
639Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where decoding is 649Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where decoding is
640being attempted. The default is C<0>, meaning no limit. When C<decode> 650being attempted. The default is C<0>, meaning no limit. When C<decode>
641is called on a string longer then this number of characters it will not 651is called on a string that is longer then this many bytes, it will not
642attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no 652attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no
643effect on C<encode> (yet). 653effect on C<encode> (yet).
644 654
645The argument to C<max_size> will be rounded up to the next B<highest> 655If no argument is given, the limit check will be deactivated (same as when
646power of two (so may be more than requested). If no argument is given, the 656C<0> is specified).
647limit check will be deactivated (same as when C<0> is specified).
648 657
649See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful. 658See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
650 659
651=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar) 660=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar)
652 661
653Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference 662Converts the given Perl value or data structure to its JSON
654to a hash or array) to its JSON representation. Simple scalars will be 663representation. Croaks on error.
655converted into JSON string or number sequences, while references to arrays
656become JSON arrays and references to hashes become JSON objects. Undefined
657Perl values (e.g. C<undef>) become JSON C<null> values. Neither C<true>
658nor C<false> values will be generated.
659 664
660=item $perl_scalar = $json->decode ($json_text) 665=item $perl_scalar = $json->decode ($json_text)
661 666
662The opposite of C<encode>: expects a JSON text and tries to parse it, 667The opposite of C<encode>: expects a JSON text and tries to parse it,
663returning the resulting simple scalar or reference. Croaks on error. 668returning the resulting simple scalar or reference. Croaks on error.
664
665JSON numbers and strings become simple Perl scalars. JSON arrays become
666Perl arrayrefs and JSON objects become Perl hashrefs. C<true> becomes
667C<1>, C<false> becomes C<0> and C<null> becomes C<undef>.
668 669
669=item ($perl_scalar, $characters) = $json->decode_prefix ($json_text) 670=item ($perl_scalar, $characters) = $json->decode_prefix ($json_text)
670 671
671This works like the C<decode> method, but instead of raising an exception 672This works like the C<decode> method, but instead of raising an exception
672when there is trailing garbage after the first JSON object, it will 673when there is trailing garbage after the first JSON object, it will
673silently stop parsing there and return the number of characters consumed 674silently stop parsing there and return the number of characters consumed
674so far. 675so far.
675 676
676This is useful if your JSON texts are not delimited by an outer protocol 677This is useful if your JSON texts are not delimited by an outer protocol
677(which is not the brightest thing to do in the first place) and you need
678to know where the JSON text ends. 678and you need to know where the JSON text ends.
679 679
680 JSON::XS->new->decode_prefix ("[1] the tail") 680 JSON::XS->new->decode_prefix ("[1] the tail")
681 => ([], 3) 681 => ([], 3)
682 682
683=back 683=back
684
685
686=head1 INCREMENTAL PARSING
687
688In some cases, there is the need for incremental parsing of JSON
689texts. While this module always has to keep both JSON text and resulting
690Perl data structure in memory at one time, it does allow you to parse a
691JSON stream incrementally. It does so by accumulating text until it has
692a full JSON object, which it then can decode. This process is similar to
693using C<decode_prefix> to see if a full JSON object is available, but
694is much more efficient (and can be implemented with a minimum of method
695calls).
696
697JSON::XS will only attempt to parse the JSON text once it is sure it
698has enough text to get a decisive result, using a very simple but
699truly incremental parser. This means that it sometimes won't stop as
700early as the full parser, for example, it doesn't detect mismatched
701parentheses. The only thing it guarantees is that it starts decoding as
702soon as a syntactically valid JSON text has been seen. This means you need
703to set resource limits (e.g. C<max_size>) to ensure the parser will stop
704parsing in the presence if syntax errors.
705
706The following methods implement this incremental parser.
707
708=over 4
709
710=item [void, scalar or list context] = $json->incr_parse ([$string])
711
712This is the central parsing function. It can both append new text and
713extract objects from the stream accumulated so far (both of these
714functions are optional).
715
716If C<$string> is given, then this string is appended to the already
717existing JSON fragment stored in the C<$json> object.
718
719After that, if the function is called in void context, it will simply
720return without doing anything further. This can be used to add more text
721in as many chunks as you want.
722
723If the method is called in scalar context, then it will try to extract
724exactly I<one> JSON object. If that is successful, it will return this
725object, otherwise it will return C<undef>. If there is a parse error,
726this method will croak just as C<decode> would do (one can then use
727C<incr_skip> to skip the erroneous part). This is the most common way of
728using the method.
729
730And finally, in list context, it will try to extract as many objects
731from the stream as it can find and return them, or the empty list
732otherwise. For this to work, there must be no separators between the JSON
733objects or arrays, instead they must be concatenated back-to-back. If
734an error occurs, an exception will be raised as in the scalar context
735case. Note that in this case, any previously-parsed JSON texts will be
736lost.
737
738Example: Parse some JSON arrays/objects in a given string and return
739them.
740
741 my @objs = JSON::XS->new->incr_parse ("[5][7][1,2]");
742
743=item $lvalue_string = $json->incr_text
744
745This method returns the currently stored JSON fragment as an lvalue, that
746is, you can manipulate it. This I<only> works when a preceding call to
747C<incr_parse> in I<scalar context> successfully returned an object. Under
748all other circumstances you must not call this function (I mean it.
749although in simple tests it might actually work, it I<will> fail under
750real world conditions). As a special exception, you can also call this
751method before having parsed anything.
752
753This function is useful in two cases: a) finding the trailing text after a
754JSON object or b) parsing multiple JSON objects separated by non-JSON text
755(such as commas).
756
757=item $json->incr_skip
758
759This will reset the state of the incremental parser and will remove
760the parsed text from the input buffer so far. This is useful after
761C<incr_parse> died, in which case the input buffer and incremental parser
762state is left unchanged, to skip the text parsed so far and to reset the
763parse state.
764
765The difference to C<incr_reset> is that only text until the parse error
766occurred is removed.
767
768=item $json->incr_reset
769
770This completely resets the incremental parser, that is, after this call,
771it will be as if the parser had never parsed anything.
772
773This is useful if you want to repeatedly parse JSON objects and want to
774ignore any trailing data, which means you have to reset the parser after
775each successful decode.
776
777=back
778
779=head2 LIMITATIONS
780
781All options that affect decoding are supported, except
782C<allow_nonref>. The reason for this is that it cannot be made to work
783sensibly: JSON objects and arrays are self-delimited, i.e. you can
784concatenate them back to back and still decode them perfectly. This does
785not hold true for JSON numbers, however.
786
787For example, is the string C<1> a single JSON number, or is it simply the
788start of C<12>? Or is C<12> a single JSON number, or the concatenation
789of C<1> and C<2>? In neither case you can tell, and this is why JSON::XS
790takes the conservative route and disallows this case.
791
792=head2 EXAMPLES
793
794Some examples will make all this clearer. First, a simple example that
795works similarly to C<decode_prefix>: We want to decode the JSON object at
796the start of a string and identify the portion after the JSON object:
797
798 my $text = "[1,2,3] hello";
799
800 my $json = new JSON::XS;
801
802 my $obj = $json->incr_parse ($text)
803 or die "expected JSON object or array at beginning of string";
804
805 my $tail = $json->incr_text;
806 # $tail now contains " hello"
807
808Easy, isn't it?
809
810Now for a more complicated example: Imagine a hypothetical protocol where
811you read some requests from a TCP stream, and each request is a JSON
812array, without any separation between them (in fact, it is often useful to
813use newlines as "separators", as these get interpreted as whitespace at
814the start of the JSON text, which makes it possible to test said protocol
815with C<telnet>...).
816
817Here is how you'd do it (it is trivial to write this in an event-based
818manner):
819
820 my $json = new JSON::XS;
821
822 # read some data from the socket
823 while (sysread $socket, my $buf, 4096) {
824
825 # split and decode as many requests as possible
826 for my $request ($json->incr_parse ($buf)) {
827 # act on the $request
828 }
829 }
830
831Another complicated example: Assume you have a string with JSON objects
832or arrays, all separated by (optional) comma characters (e.g. C<[1],[2],
833[3]>). To parse them, we have to skip the commas between the JSON texts,
834and here is where the lvalue-ness of C<incr_text> comes in useful:
835
836 my $text = "[1],[2], [3]";
837 my $json = new JSON::XS;
838
839 # void context, so no parsing done
840 $json->incr_parse ($text);
841
842 # now extract as many objects as possible. note the
843 # use of scalar context so incr_text can be called.
844 while (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
845 # do something with $obj
846
847 # now skip the optional comma
848 $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* , //x;
849 }
850
851Now lets go for a very complex example: Assume that you have a gigantic
852JSON array-of-objects, many gigabytes in size, and you want to parse it,
853but you cannot load it into memory fully (this has actually happened in
854the real world :).
855
856Well, you lost, you have to implement your own JSON parser. But JSON::XS
857can still help you: You implement a (very simple) array parser and let
858JSON decode the array elements, which are all full JSON objects on their
859own (this wouldn't work if the array elements could be JSON numbers, for
860example):
861
862 my $json = new JSON::XS;
863
864 # open the monster
865 open my $fh, "<bigfile.json"
866 or die "bigfile: $!";
867
868 # first parse the initial "["
869 for (;;) {
870 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
871 or die "read error: $!";
872 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
873
874 # Exit the loop once we found and removed(!) the initial "[".
875 # In essence, we are (ab-)using the $json object as a simple scalar
876 # we append data to.
877 last if $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* \[ //x;
878 }
879
880 # now we have the skipped the initial "[", so continue
881 # parsing all the elements.
882 for (;;) {
883 # in this loop we read data until we got a single JSON object
884 for (;;) {
885 if (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
886 # do something with $obj
887 last;
888 }
889
890 # add more data
891 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
892 or die "read error: $!";
893 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
894 }
895
896 # in this loop we read data until we either found and parsed the
897 # separating "," between elements, or the final "]"
898 for (;;) {
899 # first skip whitespace
900 $json->incr_text =~ s/^\s*//;
901
902 # if we find "]", we are done
903 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^\]//) {
904 print "finished.\n";
905 exit;
906 }
907
908 # if we find ",", we can continue with the next element
909 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^,//) {
910 last;
911 }
912
913 # if we find anything else, we have a parse error!
914 if (length $json->incr_text) {
915 die "parse error near ", $json->incr_text;
916 }
917
918 # else add more data
919 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
920 or die "read error: $!";
921 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
922 }
923
924This is a complex example, but most of the complexity comes from the fact
925that we are trying to be correct (bear with me if I am wrong, I never ran
926the above example :).
927
684 928
685 929
686=head1 MAPPING 930=head1 MAPPING
687 931
688This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and 932This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and
725If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent 969If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent
726it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as 970it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as
727a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of 971a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of
728precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value (in 972precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value (in
729which case you lose roundtripping ability, as the JSON number will be 973which case you lose roundtripping ability, as the JSON number will be
730re-encoded toa JSON string). 974re-encoded to a JSON string).
731 975
732Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be 976Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be
733represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of 977represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of
734precision (in which case you might lose perfect roundtripping ability, but 978precision (in which case you might lose perfect roundtripping ability, but
735the JSON number will still be re-encoded as a JSON number). 979the JSON number will still be re-encoded as a JSON number).
736 980
981Note that precision is not accuracy - binary floating point values cannot
982represent most decimal fractions exactly, and when converting from and to
983floating point, JSON::XS only guarantees precision up to but not including
984the least significant bit.
985
737=item true, false 986=item true, false
738 987
739These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>, 988These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>,
740respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers 989respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers
741C<1> and C<0>. You can check whether a scalar is a JSON boolean by using 990C<1> and C<0>. You can check whether a scalar is a JSON boolean by using
756 1005
757=over 4 1006=over 4
758 1007
759=item hash references 1008=item hash references
760 1009
761Perl hash references become JSON objects. As there is no inherent ordering 1010Perl hash references become JSON objects. As there is no inherent
762in hash keys (or JSON objects), they will usually be encoded in a 1011ordering in hash keys (or JSON objects), they will usually be encoded
763pseudo-random order that can change between runs of the same program but 1012in a pseudo-random order. JSON::XS can optionally sort the hash keys
764stays generally the same within a single run of a program. JSON::XS can 1013(determined by the I<canonical> flag), so the same datastructure will
765optionally sort the hash keys (determined by the I<canonical> flag), so 1014serialise to the same JSON text (given same settings and version of
766the same datastructure will serialise to the same JSON text (given same 1015JSON::XS), but this incurs a runtime overhead and is only rarely useful,
767settings and version of JSON::XS), but this incurs a runtime overhead 1016e.g. when you want to compare some JSON text against another for equality.
768and is only rarely useful, e.g. when you want to compare some JSON text
769against another for equality.
770 1017
771=item array references 1018=item array references
772 1019
773Perl array references become JSON arrays. 1020Perl array references become JSON arrays.
774 1021
777Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an 1024Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an
778exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and 1025exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and
779C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can 1026C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can
780also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability. 1027also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability.
781 1028
782 encode_json [\0,JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true] 1029 encode_json [\0, JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true]
783 1030
784=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false 1031=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false
785 1032
786These special values become JSON true and JSON false values, 1033These special values become JSON true and JSON false values,
787respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want. 1034respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want.
827 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours. 1074 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours.
828 1075
829You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me 1076You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me
830if you need this capability (but don't forget to explain why it's needed 1077if you need this capability (but don't forget to explain why it's needed
831:). 1078:).
1079
1080Note that numerical precision has the same meaning as under Perl (so
1081binary to decimal conversion follows the same rules as in Perl, which
1082can differ to other languages). Also, your perl interpreter might expose
1083extensions to the floating point numbers of your platform, such as
1084infinities or NaN's - these cannot be represented in JSON, and it is an
1085error to pass those in.
832 1086
833=back 1087=back
834 1088
835 1089
836=head1 ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES 1090=head1 ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES
863=item C<utf8> flag disabled 1117=item C<utf8> flag disabled
864 1118
865When C<utf8> is disabled (the default), then C<encode>/C<decode> generate 1119When C<utf8> is disabled (the default), then C<encode>/C<decode> generate
866and expect Unicode strings, that is, characters with high ordinal Unicode 1120and expect Unicode strings, that is, characters with high ordinal Unicode
867values (> 255) will be encoded as such characters, and likewise such 1121values (> 255) will be encoded as such characters, and likewise such
868characters are decoded as-is, no canges to them will be done, except 1122characters are decoded as-is, no changes to them will be done, except
869"(re-)interpreting" them as Unicode codepoints or Unicode characters, 1123"(re-)interpreting" them as Unicode codepoints or Unicode characters,
870respectively (to Perl, these are the same thing in strings unless you do 1124respectively (to Perl, these are the same thing in strings unless you do
871funny/weird/dumb stuff). 1125funny/weird/dumb stuff).
872 1126
873This is useful when you want to do the encoding yourself (e.g. when you 1127This is useful when you want to do the encoding yourself (e.g. when you
929proper subset of most 8-bit and multibyte encodings in use in the world. 1183proper subset of most 8-bit and multibyte encodings in use in the world.
930 1184
931=back 1185=back
932 1186
933 1187
934=head1 COMPARISON 1188=head2 JSON and ECMAscript
935 1189
936As already mentioned, this module was created because none of the existing 1190JSON syntax is based on how literals are represented in javascript (the
937JSON modules could be made to work correctly. First I will describe the 1191not-standardised predecessor of ECMAscript) which is presumably why it is
938problems (or pleasures) I encountered with various existing JSON modules, 1192called "JavaScript Object Notation".
939followed by some benchmark values. JSON::XS was designed not to suffer
940from any of these problems or limitations.
941 1193
942=over 4 1194However, JSON is not a subset (and also not a superset of course) of
1195ECMAscript (the standard) or javascript (whatever browsers actually
1196implement).
943 1197
944=item JSON 2.xx 1198If you want to use javascript's C<eval> function to "parse" JSON, you
1199might run into parse errors for valid JSON texts, or the resulting data
1200structure might not be queryable:
945 1201
946A marvellous piece of engineering, this module either uses JSON::XS 1202One of the problems is that U+2028 and U+2029 are valid characters inside
947directly when available (so will be 100% compatible with it, including 1203JSON strings, but are not allowed in ECMAscript string literals, so the
948speed), or it uses JSON::PP, which is basically JSON::XS translated to 1204following Perl fragment will not output something that can be guaranteed
949Pure Perl, which should be 100% compatible with JSON::XS, just a bit 1205to be parsable by javascript's C<eval>:
950slower.
951 1206
952You cannot really lose by using this module, especially as it tries very 1207 use JSON::XS;
953hard to work even with ancient Perl versions, while JSON::XS does not.
954 1208
955=item JSON 1.07 1209 print encode_json [chr 0x2028];
956 1210
957Slow (but very portable, as it is written in pure Perl). 1211The right fix for this is to use a proper JSON parser in your javascript
1212programs, and not rely on C<eval> (see for example Douglas Crockford's
1213F<json2.js> parser).
958 1214
959Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling (how JSON handles Unicode values is 1215If this is not an option, you can, as a stop-gap measure, simply encode to
960undocumented. One can get far by feeding it Unicode strings and doing 1216ASCII-only JSON:
961en-/decoding oneself, but Unicode escapes are not working properly).
962 1217
963No round-tripping (strings get clobbered if they look like numbers, e.g. 1218 use JSON::XS;
964the string C<2.0> will encode to C<2.0> instead of C<"2.0">, and that will
965decode into the number 2.
966 1219
967=item JSON::PC 0.01 1220 print JSON::XS->new->ascii->encode ([chr 0x2028]);
968 1221
969Very fast. 1222Note that this will enlarge the resulting JSON text quite a bit if you
1223have many non-ASCII characters. You might be tempted to run some regexes
1224to only escape U+2028 and U+2029, e.g.:
970 1225
971Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling. 1226 # DO NOT USE THIS!
1227 my $json = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ([chr 0x2028]);
1228 $json =~ s/\xe2\x80\xa8/\\u2028/g; # escape U+2028
1229 $json =~ s/\xe2\x80\xa9/\\u2029/g; # escape U+2029
1230 print $json;
972 1231
973No round-tripping. 1232Note that I<this is a bad idea>: the above only works for U+2028 and
1233U+2029 and thus only for fully ECMAscript-compliant parsers. Many existing
1234javascript implementations, however, have issues with other characters as
1235well - using C<eval> naively simply I<will> cause problems.
974 1236
975Has problems handling many Perl values (e.g. regex results and other magic 1237Another problem is that some javascript implementations reserve
976values will make it croak). 1238some property names for their own purposes (which probably makes
1239them non-ECMAscript-compliant). For example, Iceweasel reserves the
1240C<__proto__> property name for its own purposes.
977 1241
978Does not even generate valid JSON (C<{1,2}> gets converted to C<{1:2}> 1242If that is a problem, you could parse try to filter the resulting JSON
979which is not a valid JSON text. 1243output for these property strings, e.g.:
980 1244
981Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not 1245 $json =~ s/"__proto__"\s*:/"__proto__renamed":/g;
982getting fixed).
983 1246
984=item JSON::Syck 0.21 1247This works because C<__proto__> is not valid outside of strings, so every
1248occurrence of C<"__proto__"\s*:> must be a string used as property name.
985 1249
986Very buggy (often crashes). 1250If you know of other incompatibilities, please let me know.
987
988Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty much
989undocumented. I need at least a format for easy reading by humans and a
990single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and preferably a way to
991generate ASCII-only JSON texts).
992
993Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling (Unicode
994escapes are not working properly, you need to set ImplicitUnicode to
995I<different> values on en- and decoding to get symmetric behaviour).
996
997No round-tripping (simple cases work, but this depends on whether the scalar
998value was used in a numeric context or not).
999
1000Dumping hashes may skip hash values depending on iterator state.
1001
1002Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not
1003getting fixed).
1004
1005Does not check input for validity (i.e. will accept non-JSON input and
1006return "something" instead of raising an exception. This is a security
1007issue: imagine two banks transferring money between each other using
1008JSON. One bank might parse a given non-JSON request and deduct money,
1009while the other might reject the transaction with a syntax error. While a
1010good protocol will at least recover, that is extra unnecessary work and
1011the transaction will still not succeed).
1012
1013=item JSON::DWIW 0.04
1014
1015Very fast. Very natural. Very nice.
1016
1017Undocumented Unicode handling (but the best of the pack. Unicode escapes
1018still don't get parsed properly).
1019
1020Very inflexible.
1021
1022No round-tripping.
1023
1024Does not generate valid JSON texts (key strings are often unquoted, empty keys
1025result in nothing being output)
1026
1027Does not check input for validity.
1028
1029=back
1030 1251
1031 1252
1032=head2 JSON and YAML 1253=head2 JSON and YAML
1033 1254
1034You often hear that JSON is a subset of YAML. This is, however, a mass 1255You often hear that JSON is a subset of YAML. This is, however, a mass
1044 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n"; 1265 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n";
1045 1266
1046This will I<usually> generate JSON texts that also parse as valid 1267This will I<usually> generate JSON texts that also parse as valid
1047YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key 1268YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key
1048lengths that JSON doesn't have and also has different and incompatible 1269lengths that JSON doesn't have and also has different and incompatible
1049unicode handling, so you should make sure that your hash keys are 1270unicode character escape syntax, so you should make sure that your hash
1050noticeably shorter than the 1024 "stream characters" YAML allows and that 1271keys are noticeably shorter than the 1024 "stream characters" YAML allows
1051you do not have characters with codepoint values outside the Unicode BMP 1272and that you do not have characters with codepoint values outside the
1052(basic multilingual page). YAML also does not allow C<\/> sequences in 1273Unicode BMP (basic multilingual page). YAML also does not allow C<\/>
1053strings (which JSON::XS does not I<currently> generate, but other JSON 1274sequences in strings (which JSON::XS does not I<currently> generate, but
1054generators might). 1275other JSON generators might).
1055 1276
1056There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of (or the YAML 1277There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of (or the YAML
1057specification has been changed yet again - it does so quite often). In 1278specification has been changed yet again - it does so quite often). In
1058general you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice 1279general you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice
1059versa, or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are 1280versa, or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are
1078that difficult or long) and finally make YAML compatible to it, and 1299that difficult or long) and finally make YAML compatible to it, and
1079educating users about the changes, instead of spreading lies about the 1300educating users about the changes, instead of spreading lies about the
1080real compatibility for many I<years> and trying to silence people who 1301real compatibility for many I<years> and trying to silence people who
1081point out that it isn't true. 1302point out that it isn't true.
1082 1303
1304Addendum/2009: the YAML 1.2 spec is still incompatible with JSON, even
1305though the incompatibilities have been documented (and are known to Brian)
1306for many years and the spec makes explicit claims that YAML is a superset
1307of JSON. It would be so easy to fix, but apparently, bullying people and
1308corrupting userdata is so much easier.
1309
1083=back 1310=back
1084 1311
1085 1312
1086=head2 SPEED 1313=head2 SPEED
1087 1314
1092 1319
1093First comes a comparison between various modules using 1320First comes a comparison between various modules using
1094a very short single-line JSON string (also available at 1321a very short single-line JSON string (also available at
1095L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/short.json>). 1322L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/short.json>).
1096 1323
1097 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], \ 1324 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1",
1098 "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7, true, false]} 1325 "we were just talking"], "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7,
1326 1, 0]}
1099 1327
1100It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses 1328It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses
1101the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface 1329the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface
1102with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables 1330with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables
1103shrink). Higher is better: 1331shrink. JSON::DWIW/DS uses the deserialise function, while JSON::DWIW::FJ
1332uses the from_json method). Higher is better:
1104 1333
1105 module | encode | decode | 1334 module | encode | decode |
1106 -----------|------------|------------| 1335 --------------|------------|------------|
1107 JSON 1.x | 4990.842 | 4088.813 | 1336 JSON::DWIW/DS | 86302.551 | 102300.098 |
1108 JSON::DWIW | 51653.990 | 71575.154 | 1337 JSON::DWIW/FJ | 86302.551 | 75983.768 |
1109 JSON::PC | 65948.176 | 74631.744 | 1338 JSON::PP | 15827.562 | 6638.658 |
1110 JSON::PP | 8931.652 | 3817.168 | 1339 JSON::Syck | 63358.066 | 47662.545 |
1111 JSON::Syck | 24877.248 | 27776.848 | 1340 JSON::XS | 511500.488 | 511500.488 |
1112 JSON::XS | 388361.481 | 227951.304 | 1341 JSON::XS/2 | 291271.111 | 388361.481 |
1113 JSON::XS/2 | 227951.304 | 218453.333 | 1342 JSON::XS/3 | 361577.931 | 361577.931 |
1114 JSON::XS/3 | 338250.323 | 218453.333 | 1343 Storable | 66788.280 | 265462.278 |
1115 Storable | 16500.016 | 135300.129 |
1116 -----------+------------+------------+ 1344 --------------+------------+------------+
1117 1345
1118That is, JSON::XS is about five times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding, 1346That is, JSON::XS is almost six times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding,
1119about three times faster on decoding, and over forty times faster 1347about five times faster on decoding, and over thirty to seventy times
1120than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares 1348faster than JSON's pure perl implementation. It also compares favourably
1121favourably to Storable for small amounts of data. 1349to Storable for small amounts of data.
1122 1350
1123Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals 1351Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals
1124search API (L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/long.json>). 1352search API (L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/long.json>).
1125 1353
1126 module | encode | decode | 1354 module | encode | decode |
1127 -----------|------------|------------| 1355 --------------|------------|------------|
1128 JSON 1.x | 55.260 | 34.971 | 1356 JSON::DWIW/DS | 1647.927 | 2673.916 |
1129 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 | 1357 JSON::DWIW/FJ | 1630.249 | 2596.128 |
1130 JSON::PC | 3571.444 | 2394.829 |
1131 JSON::PP | 210.987 | 32.574 | 1358 JSON::PP | 400.640 | 62.311 |
1132 JSON::Syck | 552.551 | 787.544 | 1359 JSON::Syck | 1481.040 | 1524.869 |
1133 JSON::XS | 5780.463 | 4854.519 | 1360 JSON::XS | 20661.596 | 9541.183 |
1134 JSON::XS/2 | 3869.998 | 4798.975 | 1361 JSON::XS/2 | 10683.403 | 9416.938 |
1135 JSON::XS/3 | 5862.880 | 4798.975 | 1362 JSON::XS/3 | 20661.596 | 9400.054 |
1136 Storable | 4445.002 | 5235.027 | 1363 Storable | 19765.806 | 10000.725 |
1137 -----------+------------+------------+ 1364 --------------+------------+------------+
1138 1365
1139Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly 1366Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly
1140decodes faster). 1367decodes a bit faster).
1141 1368
1142On large strings containing lots of high Unicode characters, some modules 1369On large strings containing lots of high Unicode characters, some modules
1143(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result 1370(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result
1144will be broken due to missing (or wrong) Unicode handling. Others refuse 1371will be broken due to missing (or wrong) Unicode handling. Others refuse
1145to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair 1372to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair
1181information you might want to make sure that exceptions thrown by JSON::XS 1408information you might want to make sure that exceptions thrown by JSON::XS
1182will not end up in front of untrusted eyes. 1409will not end up in front of untrusted eyes.
1183 1410
1184If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption 1411If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption
1185by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at 1412by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at
1186L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see whether 1413L<http://blog.archive.jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security/> to
1187you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser 1414see whether you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really
1188design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it, as major 1415are browser design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with
1189browser developers care only for features, not about getting security 1416it, as major browser developers care only for features, not about getting
1190right). 1417security right).
1191 1418
1192 1419
1193=head1 THREADS 1420=head1 THREADS
1194 1421
1195This module is I<not> guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no 1422This module is I<not> guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no
1198process simulations - use fork, it's I<much> faster, cheaper, better). 1425process simulations - use fork, it's I<much> faster, cheaper, better).
1199 1426
1200(It might actually work, but you have been warned). 1427(It might actually work, but you have been warned).
1201 1428
1202 1429
1430=head1 THE PERILS OF SETLOCALE
1431
1432Sometimes people avoid the Perl locale support and directly call the
1433system's setlocale function with C<LC_ALL>.
1434
1435This breaks both perl and modules such as JSON::XS, as stringification of
1436numbers no longer works correctly (e.g. C<$x = 0.1; print "$x"+1> might
1437print C<1>, and JSON::XS might output illegal JSON as JSON::XS relies on
1438perl to stringify numbers).
1439
1440The solution is simple: don't call C<setlocale>, or use it for only those
1441categories you need, such as C<LC_MESSAGES> or C<LC_CTYPE>.
1442
1443If you need C<LC_NUMERIC>, you should enable it only around the code that
1444actually needs it (avoiding stringification of numbers), and restore it
1445afterwards.
1446
1447
1203=head1 BUGS 1448=head1 BUGS
1204 1449
1205While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does 1450While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does
1206not mean it's bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is 1451not mean it's bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. If you
1207still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they 1452keep reporting bugs they will be fixed swiftly, though.
1208will be fixed swiftly, though.
1209 1453
1210Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting 1454Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting
1211service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason. 1455service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason.
1212 1456
1213=cut 1457=cut
1233 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 }, 1477 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 },
1234 fallback => 1; 1478 fallback => 1;
1235 1479
12361; 14801;
1237 1481
1482=head1 SEE ALSO
1483
1484The F<json_xs> command line utility for quick experiments.
1485
1238=head1 AUTHOR 1486=head1 AUTHOR
1239 1487
1240 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 1488 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
1241 http://home.schmorp.de/ 1489 http://home.schmorp.de/
1242 1490

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