[ViewVC] Diff of: cvs/JSON-XS/XS.pm

Comparing JSON-XS/XS.pm (file contents):
Revision 1.61 by root, Wed Sep 12 17:42:36 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.94 by root, Tue Mar 25 07:46:15 2008 UTC

…		…
1	=head1 NAME	1	=head1 NAME
2		2
		3	=encoding utf-8
		4
3	JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast	5	JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast
		6
		7	JSON::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)
4		9
5	=head1 SYNOPSIS	10	=head1 SYNOPSIS
6		11
7	use JSON::XS;	12	use JSON::XS;
8		13
9	# exported functions, they croak on error	14	# exported functions, they croak on error
10	# and expect/generate UTF-8	15	# and expect/generate UTF-8
11		16
12	$utf8_encoded_json_text = to_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref;	17	$utf8_encoded_json_text = encode_json $perl_hash_or_arrayref;
13	$perl_hash_or_arrayref = from_json $utf8_encoded_json_text;	18	$perl_hash_or_arrayref = decode_json $utf8_encoded_json_text;
14		19
15	# OO-interface	20	# OO-interface
16		21
17	$coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref;	22	$coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref;
18	$pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar);	23	$pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar);
19	$perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text);	24	$perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text);
20		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
21	=head1 DESCRIPTION	34	=head1 DESCRIPTION
22		35
23	This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its	36	This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its
24	primary goal is to be I<correct> and its secondary goal is to be	37	primary goal is to be I<correct> and its secondary goal is to be
25	I<fast>. To reach the latter goal it was written in C.	38	I<fast>. To reach the latter goal it was written in C.
		39
		40	Beginning with version 2.0 of the JSON module, when both JSON and
		41	JSON::XS are installed, then JSON will fall back on JSON::XS (this can be
		42	overriden) with no overhead due to emulation (by inheritign constructor
		43	and methods). If JSON::XS is not available, it will fall back to the
		44	compatible JSON::PP module as backend, so using JSON instead of JSON::XS
		45	gives you a portable JSON API that can be fast when you need and doesn't
		46	require a C compiler when that is a problem.
26		47
27	As this is the n-th-something JSON module on CPAN, what was the reason	48	As this is the n-th-something JSON module on CPAN, what was the reason
28	to write yet another JSON module? While it seems there are many JSON	49	to write yet another JSON module? While it seems there are many JSON
29	modules, none of them correctly handle all corner cases, and in most cases	50	modules, none of them correctly handle all corner cases, and in most cases
30	their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug	51	their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug
37		58
38	=head2 FEATURES	59	=head2 FEATURES
39		60
40	=over 4	61	=over 4
41		62
42	=item * correct unicode handling	63	=item * correct Unicode handling
43		64
44	This module knows how to handle Unicode, and even documents how and when	65	This module knows how to handle Unicode, documents how and when it does
45	it does so.	66	so, and even documents what "correct" means.
46		67
47	=item * round-trip integrity	68	=item * round-trip integrity
48		69
49	When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported	70	When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported
50	by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level.	71	by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level.
51	(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
52	like a number).	73	like a number). There minor I<are> exceptions to this, read the MAPPING
		74	section below to learn about those.
53		75
54	=item * strict checking of JSON correctness	76	=item * strict checking of JSON correctness
55		77
56	There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default,	78	There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default,
57	and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security	79	and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security
58	feature).	80	feature).
59		81
60	=item * fast	82	=item * fast
61		83
62	Compared to other JSON modules, this module compares favourably in terms	84	Compared to other JSON modules and other serialisers such as Storable,
63	of speed, too.	85	this module usually compares favourably in terms of speed, too.
64		86
65	=item * simple to use	87	=item * simple to use
66		88
67	This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an OO	89	This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an objetc
68	interface.	90	oriented interface interface.
69		91
70	=item * reasonably versatile output formats	92	=item * reasonably versatile output formats
71		93
72	You can choose between the most compact guarenteed single-line format	94	You can choose between the most compact guaranteed-single-line format
73	possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format	95	possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format
74	(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
75	unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that	97	Unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that
76	stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like.	98	stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like.
77		99
78	=back	100	=back
79		101
80	=cut	102	=cut
81		103
82	package JSON::XS;	104	package JSON::XS;
83		105
84	use strict;	106	use strict;
85		107
86	our $VERSION = '1.5';	108	our $VERSION = '2.1';
87	our @ISA = qw(Exporter);	109	our @ISA = qw(Exporter);
88		110
89	our @EXPORT = qw(to_json from_json);	111	our @EXPORT = qw(encode_json decode_json to_json from_json);
		112
		113	sub to_json($) {
		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
		118	sub 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	}
90		122
91	use Exporter;	123	use Exporter;
92	use XSLoader;	124	use XSLoader;
93		125
94	=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE	126	=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE
95		127
96	The following convinience methods are provided by this module. They are	128	The following convenience methods are provided by this module. They are
97	exported by default:	129	exported by default:
98		130
99	=over 4	131	=over 4
100		132
101	=item $json_text = to_json $perl_scalar	133	=item $json_text = encode_json $perl_scalar
102		134
103	Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference to	135	Converts the given Perl data structure to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string
104	a 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.
105	octets only). Croaks on error.
106		137
107	This function call is functionally identical to:	138	This function call is functionally identical to:
108		139
109	$json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar)	140	$json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar)
110		141
111	except being faster.	142	except being faster.
112		143
113	=item $perl_scalar = from_json $json_text	144	=item $perl_scalar = decode_json $json_text
114		145
115	The opposite of C<to_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries to	146	The opposite of C<encode_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries
116	parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting simple	147	to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting
117	scalar or reference. Croaks on error.	148	reference. Croaks on error.
118		149
119	This function call is functionally identical to:	150	This function call is functionally identical to:
120		151
121	$perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text)	152	$perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text)
122		153
…		…
132	Perl.	163	Perl.
133		164
134	=back	165	=back
135		166
136		167
		168	=head1 A FEW NOTES ON UNICODE AND PERL
		169
		170	Since this often leads to confusion, here are a few very clear words on
		171	how Unicode works in Perl, modulo bugs.
		172
		173	=over 4
		174
		175	=item 1. Perl strings can store characters with ordinal values > 255.
		176
		177	This enables you to store Unicode characters as single characters in a
		178	Perl 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
		183	printing the scalar to a file, in which case Perl either interprets your
		184	string as locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode, depending
		185	on various settings. In no case is an encoding stored together with your
		186	data, 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
		189	encoding of your string.
		190
		191	Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written in
		192	XS or want to dive into the internals of perl. Otherwise it will only
		193	confuse you, as, despite the name, it says nothing about how your string
		194	is encoded. You can have Unicode strings with that flag set, with that
		195	flag clear, and you can have binary data with that flag set and that flag
		196	clear. Other possibilities exist, too.
		197
		198	If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it doesn't
		199	exist.
		200
		201	=item 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be
		202	validly interpreted as a Unicode codepoint.
		203
		204	If you have UTF-8 encoded data, it is no longer a Unicode string, but a
		205	Unicode 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
		209	It's a fact. Learn to live with it.
		210
		211	=back
		212
		213	I hope this helps :)
		214
		215
137	=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE	216	=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE
138		217
139	The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or	218	The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or
140	decoding style, within the limits of supported formats.	219	decoding style, within the limits of supported formats.
141		220
…		…
152	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]})
153	=> {"a": [1, 2]}	232	=> {"a": [1, 2]}
154		233
155	=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable])	234	=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable])
156		235
		236	=item $enabled = $json->get_ascii
		237
157	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not	238	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
158	generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any	239	generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any
159	unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a	240	Unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a
160	single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence,	241	single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence,
161	as per RFC4627. The resulting encoded JSON text can be treated as a native	242	as per RFC4627. The resulting encoded JSON text can be treated as a native
162	unicode string, an ascii-encoded, latin1-encoded or UTF-8 encoded string,	243	Unicode string, an ascii-encoded, latin1-encoded or UTF-8 encoded string,
163	or any other superset of ASCII.	244	or any other superset of ASCII.
164		245
165	If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode	246	If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
166	characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results	247	characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results
167	in a faster and more compact format.	248	in a faster and more compact format.
168		249
		250	See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
		251	document.
		252
169	The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be	253	The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be
170	transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not	254	transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not
171	contain any 8 bit characters.	255	contain any 8 bit characters.
172		256
173	JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401])	257	JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401])
174	=> ["\ud801\udc01"]	258	=> ["\ud801\udc01"]
175		259
176	=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable])	260	=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable])
177		261
		262	=item $enabled = $json->get_latin1
		263
178	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode	264	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
179	the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters	265	the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters
180	outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a	266	outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a
181	latin1-encoded JSON text or a native unicode string. The C<decode> method	267	latin1-encoded JSON text or a native Unicode string. The C<decode> method
182	will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default	268	will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default
183	expects unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1.	269	expects Unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1.
184		270
185	If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode	271	If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
186	characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags.	272	characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags.
		273
		274	See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
		275	document.
187		276
188	The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON	277	The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON
189	text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded	278	text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded
190	size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded	279	size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded
191	in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and	280	in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and
192	transfering), a rare encoding for JSON. It is therefore most useful when	281	transferring), a rare encoding for JSON. It is therefore most useful when
193	you want to store data structures known to contain binary data efficiently	282	you want to store data structures known to contain binary data efficiently
194	in files or databases, not when talking to other JSON encoders/decoders.	283	in files or databases, not when talking to other JSON encoders/decoders.
195		284
196	JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"]	285	JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"]
197	=> ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not)	286	=> ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not)
198		287
199	=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable])	288	=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable])
		289
		290	=item $enabled = $json->get_utf8
200		291
201	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode	292	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
202	the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the	293	the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the
203	C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please	294	C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please
204	note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the	295	note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the
205	range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future	296	range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future
206	versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16	297	versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16
207	and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627.	298	and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627.
208		299
209	If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON	300	If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON
210	string as a (non-encoded) unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a	301	string as a (non-encoded) Unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a
211	unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs	302	Unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs
212	to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module.	303	to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module.
		304
		305	See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
		306	document.
213		307
214	Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON:	308	Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON:
215		309
216	use Encode;	310	use Encode;
217	$jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object);	311	$jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object);
…		…
238	]	332	]
239	}	333	}
240		334
241	=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable])	335	=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable])
242		336
		337	=item $enabled = $json->get_indent
		338
243	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline	339	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline
244	format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair	340	format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair
245	into its own line, identing them properly.	341	into its own line, indenting them properly.
246		342
247	If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the	343	If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the
248	resulting JSON text is guarenteed not to contain any C<newlines>.	344	resulting JSON text is guaranteed not to contain any C<newlines>.
249		345
250	This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.	346	This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
251		347
252	=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable])	348	=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable])
		349
		350	=item $enabled = $json->get_space_before
253		351
254	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra	352	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
255	optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects.	353	optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects.
256		354
257	If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra	355	If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra
…		…
263	Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled:	361	Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled:
264		362
265	{"key" :"value"}	363	{"key" :"value"}
266		364
267	=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable])	365	=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable])
		366
		367	=item $enabled = $json->get_space_after
268		368
269	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra	369	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
270	optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects	370	optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects
271	and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array	371	and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array
272	members.	372	members.
…		…
279	Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled:	379	Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled:
280		380
281	{"key": "value"}	381	{"key": "value"}
282		382
283	=item $json = $json->relaxed ([$enable])	383	=item $json = $json->relaxed ([$enable])
		384
		385	=item $enabled = $json->get_relaxed
284		386
285	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<decode> will accept some	387	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<decode> will accept some
286	extensions to normal JSON syntax (see below). C<encode> will not be	388	extensions to normal JSON syntax (see below). C<encode> will not be
287	affected in anyway. I<Be aware that this option makes you accept invalid	389	affected in anyway. I<Be aware that this option makes you accept invalid
288	JSON texts as if they were valid!>. I suggest only to use this option to	390	JSON texts as if they were valid!>. I suggest only to use this option to
…		…
325		427
326	=back	428	=back
327		429
328	=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable])	430	=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable])
329		431
		432	=item $enabled = $json->get_canonical
		433
330	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects	434	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects
331	by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead.	435	by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead.
332		436
333	If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value	437	If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value
334	pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs	438	pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs
335	of the same script).	439	of the same script).
336		440
337	This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as	441	This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as
338	the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled,	442	the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled,
339	the same hash migh be encoded differently even if contains the same data,	443	the same hash might be encoded differently even if contains the same data,
340	as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl.	444	as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl.
341		445
342	This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.	446	This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
343		447
344	=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable])	448	=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable])
		449
		450	=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_nonref
345		451
346	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a	452	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a
347	non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value,	453	non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value,
348	which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON	454	which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON
349	values instead of croaking.	455	values instead of croaking.
…		…
359	JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!")	465	JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!")
360	=> "Hello, World!"	466	=> "Hello, World!"
361		467
362	=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable])	468	=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable])
363		469
		470	=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_blessed
		471
364	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not	472	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
365	barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the	473	barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the
366	B<convert_blessed> option will decide wether C<null> (C<convert_blessed>	474	B<convert_blessed> option will decide whether C<null> (C<convert_blessed>
367	disabled or no C<to_json> method found) or a representation of the	475	disabled or no C<TO_JSON> method found) or a representation of the
368	object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<to_json> method found) is being	476	object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<TO_JSON> method found) is being
369	encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>.	477	encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>.
370		478
371	If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an	479	If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
372	exception when it encounters a blessed object.	480	exception when it encounters a blessed object.
373		481
374	=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable])	482	=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable])
		483
		484	=item $enabled = $json->get_convert_blessed
375		485
376	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a	486	If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a
377	blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<TO_JSON> method	487	blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<TO_JSON> method
378	on the object's class. If found, it will be called in scalar context	488	on the object's class. If found, it will be called in scalar context
379	and the resulting scalar will be encoded instead of the object. If no	489	and the resulting scalar will be encoded instead of the object. If no
…		…
383	The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON>	493	The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON>
384	returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same	494	returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same
385	way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle	495	way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle
386	(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other	496	(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other
387	methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are	497	methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are
388	usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with the C<to_json>	498	usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with any C<to_json>
389	function.	499	function or method.
390		500
391	This setting does not yet influence C<decode> in any way, but in the	501	This setting does not yet influence C<decode> in any way, but in the
392	future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are	502	future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are
393	enabled by this setting.	503	enabled by this setting.
394		504
…		…
436		546
437	As this callback gets called less often then the C<filter_json_object>	547	As this callback gets called less often then the C<filter_json_object>
438	one, decoding speed will not usually suffer as much. Therefore, single-key	548	one, decoding speed will not usually suffer as much. Therefore, single-key
439	objects make excellent targets to serialise Perl objects into, especially	549	objects make excellent targets to serialise Perl objects into, especially
440	as single-key JSON objects are as close to the type-tagged value concept	550	as single-key JSON objects are as close to the type-tagged value concept
441	as JSON gets (its basically an ID/VALUE tuple). Of course, JSON does not	551	as JSON gets (it's basically an ID/VALUE tuple). Of course, JSON does not
442	support this in any way, so you need to make sure your data never looks	552	support this in any way, so you need to make sure your data never looks
443	like a serialised Perl hash.	553	like a serialised Perl hash.
444		554
445	Typical names for the single object key are C<__class_whatever__>, or	555	Typical names for the single object key are C<__class_whatever__>, or
446	C<$__dollars_are_rarely_used__$> or C<}ugly_brace_placement>, or even	556	C<$__dollars_are_rarely_used__$> or C<}ugly_brace_placement>, or even
…		…
470		580
471	{ __widget__ => $self->{id} }	581	{ __widget__ => $self->{id} }
472	}	582	}
473		583
474	=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable])	584	=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable])
		585
		586	=item $enabled = $json->get_shrink
475		587
476	Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for	588	Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for
477	strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either	589	strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either
478	C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save	590	C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save
479	memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many	591	memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many
…		…
497	strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats	609	strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats
498	internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space.	610	internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space.
499		611
500	=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])	612	=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])
501		613
		614	=item $max_depth = $json->get_max_depth
		615
502	Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding	616	Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding
503	or decoding. If the JSON text or Perl data structure has an equal or	617	or decoding. If the JSON text or Perl data structure has an equal or
504	higher nesting level then this limit, then the encoder and decoder will	618	higher nesting level then this limit, then the encoder and decoder will
505	stop and croak at that point.	619	stop and croak at that point.
506		620
…		…
517	used, which is rarely useful.	631	used, which is rarely useful.
518		632
519	See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.	633	See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
520		634
521	=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size])	635	=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size])
		636
		637	=item $max_size = $json->get_max_size
522		638
523	Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where decoding is	639	Set the maximum length a JSON text may have (in bytes) where decoding is
524	being attempted. The default is C<0>, meaning no limit. When C<decode>	640	being attempted. The default is C<0>, meaning no limit. When C<decode>
525	is called on a string longer then this number of characters it will not	641	is called on a string longer then this number of characters it will not
526	attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no	642	attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no
…		…
565	=> ([], 3)	681	=> ([], 3)
566		682
567	=back	683	=back
568		684
569		685
		686	=head1 INCREMENTAL PARSING
		687
		688	[This section is still EXPERIMENTAL]
		689
		690	In some cases, there is the need for incremental parsing of JSON
		691	texts. While this module always has to keep both JSON text and resulting
		692	Perl data structure in memory at one time, it does allow you to parse a
		693	JSON stream incrementally. It does so by accumulating text until it has
		694	a full JSON object, which it then can decode. This process is similar to
		695	using C<decode_prefix> to see if a full JSON object is available, but is
		696	much more efficient (JSON::XS will only attempt to parse the JSON text
		697	once it is sure it has enough text to get a decisive result, using a very
		698	simple but truly incremental parser).
		699
		700	The following two methods deal with this.
		701
		702	=over 4
		703
		704	=item [void, scalar or list context] = $json->incr_parse ([$string])
		705
		706	This is the central parsing function. It can both append new text and
		707	extract objects from the stream accumulated so far (both of these
		708	functions are optional).
		709
		710	If C<$string> is given, then this string is appended to the already
		711	existing JSON fragment stored in the C<$json> object.
		712
		713	After that, if the function is called in void context, it will simply
		714	return without doing anything further. This can be used to add more text
		715	in as many chunks as you want.
		716
		717	If the method is called in scalar context, then it will try to extract
		718	exactly I<one> JSON object. If that is successful, it will return this
		719	object, otherwise it will return C<undef>. This is the most common way of
		720	using the method.
		721
		722	And finally, in list context, it will try to extract as many objects
		723	from the stream as it can find and return them, or the empty list
		724	otherwise. For this to work, there must be no separators between the JSON
		725	objects or arrays, instead they must be concatenated back-to-back.
		726
		727	=item $lvalue_string = $json->incr_text
		728
		729	This method returns the currently stored JSON fragment as an lvalue, that
		730	is, you can manipulate it. This I<only> works when a preceding call to
		731	C<incr_parse> in I<scalar context> successfully returned an object. Under
		732	all other circumstances you must not call this function (I mean it.
		733	although in simple tests it might actually work, it I<will> fail under
		734	real world conditions). As a special exception, you can also call this
		735	method before having parsed anything.
		736
		737	This function is useful in two cases: a) finding the trailing text after a
		738	JSON object or b) parsing multiple JSON objects separated by non-JSON text
		739	(such as commas).
		740
		741	=back
		742
		743	=head2 LIMITATIONS
		744
		745	All options that affect decoding are supported, except
		746	C<allow_nonref>. The reason for this is that it cannot be made to
		747	work sensibly: JSON objects and arrays are self-delimited, i.e. you can concatenate
		748	them back to back and still decode them perfectly. This does not hold true
		749	for JSON numbers, however.
		750
		751	For example, is the string C<1> a single JSON number, or is it simply the
		752	start of C<12>? Or is C<12> a single JSON number, or the concatenation
		753	of C<1> and C<2>? In neither case you can tell, and this is why JSON::XS
		754	takes the conservative route and disallows this case.
		755
		756	=head2 EXAMPLES
		757
		758	Some examples will make all this clearer. First, a simple example that
		759	works similarly to C<decode_prefix>: We want to decode the JSON object at
		760	the start of a string and identify the portion after the JSON object:
		761
		762	my $text = "[1,2,3] hello";
		763
		764	my $json = new JSON::XS;
		765
		766	my $obj = $json->incr_parse ($text)
		767	or die "expected JSON object or array at beginning of string";
		768
		769	my $tail = $json->incr_text;
		770	# $tail now contains " hello"
		771
		772	Easy, isn't it?
		773
		774	Now for a more complicated example: Imagine a hypothetical protocol where
		775	you read some requests from a TCP stream, and each request is a JSON
		776	array, without any separation between them (in fact, it is often useful to
		777	use newlines as "separators", as these get interpreted as whitespace at
		778	the start of the JSON text, which makes it possible to test said protocol
		779	with C<telnet>...).
		780
		781	Here is how you'd do it (it is trivial to write this in an event-based
		782	manner):
		783
		784	my $json = new JSON::XS;
		785
		786	# read some data from the socket
		787	while (sysread $socket, my $buf, 4096) {
		788
		789	# split and decode as many requests as possible
		790	for my $request ($json->incr_parse ($buf)) {
		791	# act on the $request
		792	}
		793	}
		794
		795	Another complicated example: Assume you have a string with JSON objects
		796	or arrays, all separated by (optional) comma characters (e.g. C<[1],[2],
		797	[3]>). To parse them, we have to skip the commas between the JSON texts,
		798	and here is where the lvalue-ness of C<incr_text> comes in useful:
		799
		800	my $text = "[1],[2], [3]";
		801	my $json = new JSON::XS;
		802
		803	# void context, so no parsing done
		804	$json->incr_parse ($text);
		805
		806	# now extract as many objects as possible. note the
		807	# use of scalar context so incr_text can be called.
		808	while (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
		809	# do something with $obj
		810
		811	# now skip the optional comma
		812	$json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* , //x;
		813	}
		814
		815	Now lets go for a very complex example: Assume that you have a gigantic
		816	JSON array-of-objects, many gigabytes in size, and you want to parse it,
		817	but you cannot load it into memory fully (this has actually happened in
		818	the real world :).
		819
		820	Well, you lost, you have to implement your own JSON parser. But JSON::XS
		821	can still help you: You implement a (very simple) array parser and let
		822	JSON decode the array elements, which are all full JSON objects on their
		823	own (this wouldn't work if the array elements could be JSON numbers, for
		824	example):
		825
		826	my $json = new JSON::XS;
		827
		828	# open the monster
		829	open my $fh, "<bigfile.json"
		830	or die "bigfile: $!";
		831
		832	# first parse the initial "["
		833	for (;;) {
		834	sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
		835	or die "read error: $!";
		836	$json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
		837
		838	# Exit the loop once we found and removed(!) the initial "[".
		839	# In essence, we are (ab-)using the $json object as a simple scalar
		840	# we append data to.
		841	last if $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* \[ //x;
		842	}
		843
		844	# now we have the skipped the initial "[", so continue
		845	# parsing all the elements.
		846	for (;;) {
		847	# in this loop we read data until we got a single JSON object
		848	for (;;) {
		849	if (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
		850	# do something with $obj
		851	last;
		852	}
		853
		854	# add more data
		855	sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
		856	or die "read error: $!";
		857	$json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
		858	}
		859
		860	# in this loop we read data until we either found and parsed the
		861	# separating "," between elements, or the final "]"
		862	for (;;) {
		863	# first skip whitespace
		864	$json->incr_text =~ s/^\s*//;
		865
		866	# if we find "]", we are done
		867	if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^\]//) {
		868	print "finished.\n";
		869	exit;
		870	}
		871
		872	# if we find ",", we can continue with the next element
		873	if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^,//) {
		874	last;
		875	}
		876
		877	# if we find anything else, we have a parse error!
		878	if (length $json->incr_text) {
		879	die "parse error near ", $json->incr_text;
		880	}
		881
		882	# else add more data
		883	sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
		884	or die "read error: $!";
		885	$json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
		886	}
		887
		888	This is a complex example, but most of the complexity comes from the fact
		889	that we are trying to be correct (bear with me if I am wrong, I never ran
		890	the above example :).
		891
		892
		893
570	=head1 MAPPING	894	=head1 MAPPING
571		895
572	This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and	896	This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and
573	vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most	897	vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most
574	circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics	898	circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics
575	(what you put in comes out as something equivalent).	899	(what you put in comes out as something equivalent).
576		900
577	For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions,	901	For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions,
578	lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppcercase I<Perl>	902	lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppercase I<Perl>
579	refers to the abstract Perl language itself.	903	refers to the abstract Perl language itself.
580		904
581		905
582	=head2 JSON -> PERL	906	=head2 JSON -> PERL
583		907
584	=over 4	908	=over 4
585		909
586	=item object	910	=item object
587		911
588	A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object	912	A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object
589	keys is preserved (JSON does not preserver object key ordering itself).	913	keys is preserved (JSON does not preserve object key ordering itself).
590		914
591	=item array	915	=item array
592		916
593	A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl.	917	A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl.
594		918
…		…
602		926
603	A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or	927	A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or
604	string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On	928	string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On
605	the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all	929	the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all
606	the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and	930	the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and
607	might represent more values exactly than (floating point) numbers.	931	might represent more values exactly than floating point numbers.
608		932
609	If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent	933	If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent
610	it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as	934	it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as
611	a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of	935	a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of
612	precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value.	936	precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value (in
		937	which case you lose roundtripping ability, as the JSON number will be
		938	re-encoded toa JSON string).
613		939
614	Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be	940	Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be
615	represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of	941	represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of
616	precision.	942	precision (in which case you might lose perfect roundtripping ability, but
617		943	the JSON number will still be re-encoded as a JSON number).
618	This might create round-tripping problems as numbers might become strings,
619	but as Perl is typeless there is no other way to do it.
620		944
621	=item true, false	945	=item true, false
622		946
623	These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>,	947	These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>,
624	respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers	948	respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers
625	C<1> and C<0>. You can check wether a scalar is a JSON boolean by using	949	C<1> and C<0>. You can check whether a scalar is a JSON boolean by using
626	the C<JSON::XS::is_bool> function.	950	the C<JSON::XS::is_bool> function.
627		951
628	=item null	952	=item null
629		953
630	A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl.	954	A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl.
…		…
661	Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an	985	Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an
662	exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and	986	exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and
663	C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can	987	C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can
664	also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability.	988	also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability.
665		989
666	to_json [\0,JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true]	990	encode_json [\0,JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true]
667		991
668	=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false	992	=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false
669		993
670	These special values become JSON true and JSON false values,	994	These special values become JSON true and JSON false values,
671	respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want.	995	respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want.
672		996
673	=item blessed objects	997	=item blessed objects
674		998
675	Blessed objects are not allowed. JSON::XS currently tries to encode their	999	Blessed objects are not directly representable in JSON. See the
676	underlying representation (hash- or arrayref), but this behaviour might	1000	C<allow_blessed> and C<convert_blessed> methods on various options on
677	change in future versions.	1001	how to deal with this: basically, you can choose between throwing an
		1002	exception, encoding the reference as if it weren't blessed, or provide
		1003	your own serialiser method.
678		1004
679	=item simple scalars	1005	=item simple scalars
680		1006
681	Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most	1007	Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most
682	difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as	1008	difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as
683	JSON null value, scalars that have last been used in a string context	1009	JSON C<null> values, scalars that have last been used in a string context
684	before encoding as JSON strings and anything else as number value:	1010	before encoding as JSON strings, and anything else as number value:
685		1011
686	# dump as number	1012	# dump as number
687	to_json [2] # yields [2]	1013	encode_json [2] # yields [2]
688	to_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17]	1014	encode_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17]
689	my $value = 5; to_json [$value] # yields [5]	1015	my $value = 5; encode_json [$value] # yields [5]
690		1016
691	# used as string, so dump as string	1017	# used as string, so dump as string
692	print $value;	1018	print $value;
693	to_json [$value] # yields ["5"]	1019	encode_json [$value] # yields ["5"]
694		1020
695	# undef becomes null	1021	# undef becomes null
696	to_json [undef] # yields [null]	1022	encode_json [undef] # yields [null]
697		1023
698	You can force the type to be a string by stringifying it:	1024	You can force the type to be a JSON string by stringifying it:
699		1025
700	my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number	1026	my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number
701	"$x"; # stringified	1027	"$x"; # stringified
702	$x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify	1028	$x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify
703	print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often	1029	print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often
704		1030
705	You can force the type to be a number by numifying it:	1031	You can force the type to be a JSON number by numifying it:
706		1032
707	my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string	1033	my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string
708	$x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number	1034	$x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number
709	$x *= 1; # same thing, the choise is yours.	1035	$x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours.
710		1036
711	You can not currently output JSON booleans or force the type in other,	1037	You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me
712	less obscure, ways. Tell me if you need this capability.	1038	if you need this capability (but don't forget to explain why it's needed
		1039	:).
		1040
		1041	=back
		1042
		1043
		1044	=head1 ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES
		1045
		1046	The interested reader might have seen a number of flags that signify
		1047	encodings or codesets - C<utf8>, C<latin1> and C<ascii>. There seems to be
		1048	some confusion on what these do, so here is a short comparison:
		1049
		1050	C<utf8> controls whether the JSON text created by C<encode> (and expected
		1051	by C<decode>) is UTF-8 encoded or not, while C<latin1> and C<ascii> only
		1052	control whether C<encode> escapes character values outside their respective
		1053	codeset range. Neither of these flags conflict with each other, although
		1054	some combinations make less sense than others.
		1055
		1056	Care has been taken to make all flags symmetrical with respect to
		1057	C<encode> and C<decode>, that is, texts encoded with any combination of
		1058	these flag values will be correctly decoded when the same flags are used
		1059	- in general, if you use different flag settings while encoding vs. when
		1060	decoding you likely have a bug somewhere.
		1061
		1062	Below comes a verbose discussion of these flags. Note that a "codeset" is
		1063	simply an abstract set of character-codepoint pairs, while an encoding
		1064	takes those codepoint numbers and I<encodes> them, in our case into
		1065	octets. Unicode is (among other things) a codeset, UTF-8 is an encoding,
		1066	and ISO-8859-1 (= latin 1) and ASCII are both codesets I<and> encodings at
		1067	the same time, which can be confusing.
		1068
		1069	=over 4
		1070
		1071	=item C<utf8> flag disabled
		1072
		1073	When C<utf8> is disabled (the default), then C<encode>/C<decode> generate
		1074	and expect Unicode strings, that is, characters with high ordinal Unicode
		1075	values (> 255) will be encoded as such characters, and likewise such
		1076	characters are decoded as-is, no canges to them will be done, except
		1077	"(re-)interpreting" them as Unicode codepoints or Unicode characters,
		1078	respectively (to Perl, these are the same thing in strings unless you do
		1079	funny/weird/dumb stuff).
		1080
		1081	This is useful when you want to do the encoding yourself (e.g. when you
		1082	want to have UTF-16 encoded JSON texts) or when some other layer does
		1083	the encoding for you (for example, when printing to a terminal using a
		1084	filehandle that transparently encodes to UTF-8 you certainly do NOT want
		1085	to UTF-8 encode your data first and have Perl encode it another time).
		1086
		1087	=item C<utf8> flag enabled
		1088
		1089	If the C<utf8>-flag is enabled, C<encode>/C<decode> will encode all
		1090	characters using the corresponding UTF-8 multi-byte sequence, and will
		1091	expect your input strings to be encoded as UTF-8, that is, no "character"
		1092	of the input string must have any value > 255, as UTF-8 does not allow
		1093	that.
		1094
		1095	The C<utf8> flag therefore switches between two modes: disabled means you
		1096	will get a Unicode string in Perl, enabled means you get an UTF-8 encoded
		1097	octet/binary string in Perl.
		1098
		1099	=item C<latin1> or C<ascii> flags enabled
		1100
		1101	With C<latin1> (or C<ascii>) enabled, C<encode> will escape characters
		1102	with ordinal values > 255 (> 127 with C<ascii>) and encode the remaining
		1103	characters as specified by the C<utf8> flag.
		1104
		1105	If C<utf8> is disabled, then the result is also correctly encoded in those
		1106	character sets (as both are proper subsets of Unicode, meaning that a
		1107	Unicode string with all character values < 256 is the same thing as a
		1108	ISO-8859-1 string, and a Unicode string with all character values < 128 is
		1109	the same thing as an ASCII string in Perl).
		1110
		1111	If C<utf8> is enabled, you still get a correct UTF-8-encoded string,
		1112	regardless of these flags, just some more characters will be escaped using
		1113	C<\uXXXX> then before.
		1114
		1115	Note that ISO-8859-1-I<encoded> strings are not compatible with UTF-8
		1116	encoding, while ASCII-encoded strings are. That is because the ISO-8859-1
		1117	encoding is NOT a subset of UTF-8 (despite the ISO-8859-1 I<codeset> being
		1118	a subset of Unicode), while ASCII is.
		1119
		1120	Surprisingly, C<decode> will ignore these flags and so treat all input
		1121	values as governed by the C<utf8> flag. If it is disabled, this allows you
		1122	to decode ISO-8859-1- and ASCII-encoded strings, as both strict subsets of
		1123	Unicode. If it is enabled, you can correctly decode UTF-8 encoded strings.
		1124
		1125	So neither C<latin1> nor C<ascii> are incompatible with the C<utf8> flag -
		1126	they only govern when the JSON output engine escapes a character or not.
		1127
		1128	The main use for C<latin1> is to relatively efficiently store binary data
		1129	as JSON, at the expense of breaking compatibility with most JSON decoders.
		1130
		1131	The main use for C<ascii> is to force the output to not contain characters
		1132	with values > 127, which means you can interpret the resulting string
		1133	as UTF-8, ISO-8859-1, ASCII, KOI8-R or most about any character set and
		1134	8-bit-encoding, and still get the same data structure back. This is useful
		1135	when your channel for JSON transfer is not 8-bit clean or the encoding
		1136	might be mangled in between (e.g. in mail), and works because ASCII is a
		1137	proper subset of most 8-bit and multibyte encodings in use in the world.
713		1138
714	=back	1139	=back
715		1140
716		1141
717	=head1 COMPARISON	1142	=head1 COMPARISON
…		…
722	followed by some benchmark values. JSON::XS was designed not to suffer	1147	followed by some benchmark values. JSON::XS was designed not to suffer
723	from any of these problems or limitations.	1148	from any of these problems or limitations.
724		1149
725	=over 4	1150	=over 4
726		1151
		1152	=item JSON 2.xx
		1153
		1154	A marvellous piece of engineering, this module either uses JSON::XS
		1155	directly when available (so will be 100% compatible with it, including
		1156	speed), or it uses JSON::PP, which is basically JSON::XS translated to
		1157	Pure Perl, which should be 100% compatible with JSON::XS, just a bit
		1158	slower.
		1159
		1160	You cannot really lose by using this module, especially as it tries very
		1161	hard to work even with ancient Perl versions, while JSON::XS does not.
		1162
727	=item JSON 1.07	1163	=item JSON 1.07
728		1164
729	Slow (but very portable, as it is written in pure Perl).	1165	Slow (but very portable, as it is written in pure Perl).
730		1166
731	Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling (how JSON handles unicode values is	1167	Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling (how JSON handles Unicode values is
732	undocumented. One can get far by feeding it unicode strings and doing	1168	undocumented. One can get far by feeding it Unicode strings and doing
733	en-/decoding oneself, but unicode escapes are not working properly).	1169	en-/decoding oneself, but Unicode escapes are not working properly).
734		1170
735	No roundtripping (strings get clobbered if they look like numbers, e.g.	1171	No round-tripping (strings get clobbered if they look like numbers, e.g.
736	the string C<2.0> will encode to C<2.0> instead of C<"2.0">, and that will	1172	the string C<2.0> will encode to C<2.0> instead of C<"2.0">, and that will
737	decode into the number 2.	1173	decode into the number 2.
738		1174
739	=item JSON::PC 0.01	1175	=item JSON::PC 0.01
740		1176
741	Very fast.	1177	Very fast.
742		1178
743	Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling.	1179	Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling.
744		1180
745	No roundtripping.	1181	No round-tripping.
746		1182
747	Has problems handling many Perl values (e.g. regex results and other magic	1183	Has problems handling many Perl values (e.g. regex results and other magic
748	values will make it croak).	1184	values will make it croak).
749		1185
750	Does not even generate valid JSON (C<{1,2}> gets converted to C<{1:2}>	1186	Does not even generate valid JSON (C<{1,2}> gets converted to C<{1:2}>
…		…
760	Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty much	1196	Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty much
761	undocumented. I need at least a format for easy reading by humans and a	1197	undocumented. I need at least a format for easy reading by humans and a
762	single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and preferably a way to	1198	single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and preferably a way to
763	generate ASCII-only JSON texts).	1199	generate ASCII-only JSON texts).
764		1200
765	Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling (unicode	1201	Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling (Unicode
766	escapes are not working properly, you need to set ImplicitUnicode to	1202	escapes are not working properly, you need to set ImplicitUnicode to
767	I<different> values on en- and decoding to get symmetric behaviour).	1203	I<different> values on en- and decoding to get symmetric behaviour).
768		1204
769	No roundtripping (simple cases work, but this depends on wether the scalar	1205	No round-tripping (simple cases work, but this depends on whether the scalar
770	value was used in a numeric context or not).	1206	value was used in a numeric context or not).
771		1207
772	Dumping hashes may skip hash values depending on iterator state.	1208	Dumping hashes may skip hash values depending on iterator state.
773		1209
774	Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not	1210	Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not
775	getting fixed).	1211	getting fixed).
776		1212
777	Does not check input for validity (i.e. will accept non-JSON input and	1213	Does not check input for validity (i.e. will accept non-JSON input and
778	return "something" instead of raising an exception. This is a security	1214	return "something" instead of raising an exception. This is a security
779	issue: imagine two banks transfering money between each other using	1215	issue: imagine two banks transferring money between each other using
780	JSON. One bank might parse a given non-JSON request and deduct money,	1216	JSON. One bank might parse a given non-JSON request and deduct money,
781	while the other might reject the transaction with a syntax error. While a	1217	while the other might reject the transaction with a syntax error. While a
782	good protocol will at least recover, that is extra unnecessary work and	1218	good protocol will at least recover, that is extra unnecessary work and
783	the transaction will still not succeed).	1219	the transaction will still not succeed).
784		1220
785	=item JSON::DWIW 0.04	1221	=item JSON::DWIW 0.04
786		1222
787	Very fast. Very natural. Very nice.	1223	Very fast. Very natural. Very nice.
788		1224
789	Undocumented unicode handling (but the best of the pack. Unicode escapes	1225	Undocumented Unicode handling (but the best of the pack. Unicode escapes
790	still don't get parsed properly).	1226	still don't get parsed properly).
791		1227
792	Very inflexible.	1228	Very inflexible.
793		1229
794	No roundtripping.	1230	No round-tripping.
795		1231
796	Does not generate valid JSON texts (key strings are often unquoted, empty keys	1232	Does not generate valid JSON texts (key strings are often unquoted, empty keys
797	result in nothing being output)	1233	result in nothing being output)
798		1234
799	Does not check input for validity.	1235	Does not check input for validity.
…		…
801	=back	1237	=back
802		1238
803		1239
804	=head2 JSON and YAML	1240	=head2 JSON and YAML
805		1241
806	You often hear that JSON is a subset (or a close subset) of YAML. This is,	1242	You often hear that JSON is a subset of YAML. This is, however, a mass
807	however, a mass hysteria and very far from the truth. In general, there is	1243	hysteria(*) and very far from the truth (as of the time of this writing),
808	no way to configure JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML.	1244	so let me state it clearly: I<in general, there is no way to configure
		1245	JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML> that works in all
		1246	cases.
809		1247
810	If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this	1248	If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this
811	algorithm (subject to change in future versions):	1249	algorithm (subject to change in future versions):
812		1250
813	my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1);	1251	my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1);
814	my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n";	1252	my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n";
815		1253
816	This will usually generate JSON texts that also parse as valid	1254	This will I<usually> generate JSON texts that also parse as valid
817	YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key	1255	YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key
818	lengths that JSON doesn't have, so you should make sure that your hash	1256	lengths that JSON doesn't have and also has different and incompatible
		1257	unicode handling, so you should make sure that your hash keys are
819	keys are noticably shorter than the 1024 characters YAML allows.	1258	noticeably shorter than the 1024 "stream characters" YAML allows and that
		1259	you do not have characters with codepoint values outside the Unicode BMP
		1260	(basic multilingual page). YAML also does not allow C<\/> sequences in
		1261	strings (which JSON::XS does not I<currently> generate, but other JSON
		1262	generators might).
820		1263
821	There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of. In general	1264	There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of (or the YAML
		1265	specification has been changed yet again - it does so quite often). In
822	you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice versa,	1266	general you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice
823	or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are high	1267	versa, or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are
824	that you will run into severe interoperability problems.	1268	high that you will run into severe interoperability problems when you
		1269	least expect it.
		1270
		1271	=over 4
		1272
		1273	=item (*)
		1274
		1275	I have been pressured multiple times by Brian Ingerson (one of the
		1276	authors of the YAML specification) to remove this paragraph, despite him
		1277	acknowledging that the actual incompatibilities exist. As I was personally
		1278	bitten by this "JSON is YAML" lie, I refused and said I will continue to
		1279	educate people about these issues, so others do not run into the same
		1280	problem again and again. After this, Brian called me a (quote)I<complete
		1281	and worthless idiot>(unquote).
		1282
		1283	In my opinion, instead of pressuring and insulting people who actually
		1284	clarify issues with YAML and the wrong statements of some of its
		1285	proponents, I would kindly suggest reading the JSON spec (which is not
		1286	that difficult or long) and finally make YAML compatible to it, and
		1287	educating users about the changes, instead of spreading lies about the
		1288	real compatibility for many I<years> and trying to silence people who
		1289	point out that it isn't true.
		1290
		1291	=back
825		1292
826		1293
827	=head2 SPEED	1294	=head2 SPEED
828		1295
829	It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following	1296	It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following
830	tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program	1297	tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program
831	in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own	1298	in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own
832	system.	1299	system.
833		1300
834	First comes a comparison between various modules using a very short	1301	First comes a comparison between various modules using
835	single-line JSON string:	1302	a very short single-line JSON string (also available at
		1303	L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/short.json>).
836		1304
837	{"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], \	1305	{"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], \
838	"id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7, true, false]}	1306	"id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7, true, false]}
839		1307
840	It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses	1308	It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses
841	the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface	1309	the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface
842	with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables	1310	with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables
843	shrink). Higher is better:	1311	shrink). Higher is better:
844		1312
845	Storable \| 15779.925 \| 14169.946 \|
846	-----------+------------+------------+
847	module \| encode \| decode \|	1313	module \| encode \| decode \|
848	-----------\|------------\|------------\|	1314	-----------\|------------\|------------\|
849	JSON \| 4990.842 \| 4088.813 \|	1315	JSON 1.x \| 4990.842 \| 4088.813 \|
850	JSON::DWIW \| 51653.990 \| 71575.154 \|	1316	JSON::DWIW \| 51653.990 \| 71575.154 \|
851	JSON::PC \| 65948.176 \| 74631.744 \|	1317	JSON::PC \| 65948.176 \| 74631.744 \|
852	JSON::PP \| 8931.652 \| 3817.168 \|	1318	JSON::PP \| 8931.652 \| 3817.168 \|
853	JSON::Syck \| 24877.248 \| 27776.848 \|	1319	JSON::Syck \| 24877.248 \| 27776.848 \|
854	JSON::XS \| 388361.481 \| 227951.304 \|	1320	JSON::XS \| 388361.481 \| 227951.304 \|
…		…
856	JSON::XS/3 \| 338250.323 \| 218453.333 \|	1322	JSON::XS/3 \| 338250.323 \| 218453.333 \|
857	Storable \| 16500.016 \| 135300.129 \|	1323	Storable \| 16500.016 \| 135300.129 \|
858	-----------+------------+------------+	1324	-----------+------------+------------+
859		1325
860	That is, JSON::XS is about five times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding,	1326	That is, JSON::XS is about five times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding,
861	about three times faster on decoding, and over fourty times faster	1327	about three times faster on decoding, and over forty times faster
862	than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares	1328	than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares
863	favourably to Storable for small amounts of data.	1329	favourably to Storable for small amounts of data.
864		1330
865	Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals	1331	Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals
866	search API (http://nanoref.com/yahooapis/mgPdGg):	1332	search API (L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/long.json>).
867		1333
868	module \| encode \| decode \|	1334	module \| encode \| decode \|
869	-----------\|------------\|------------\|	1335	-----------\|------------\|------------\|
870	JSON \| 55.260 \| 34.971 \|	1336	JSON 1.x \| 55.260 \| 34.971 \|
871	JSON::DWIW \| 825.228 \| 1082.513 \|	1337	JSON::DWIW \| 825.228 \| 1082.513 \|
872	JSON::PC \| 3571.444 \| 2394.829 \|	1338	JSON::PC \| 3571.444 \| 2394.829 \|
873	JSON::PP \| 210.987 \| 32.574 \|	1339	JSON::PP \| 210.987 \| 32.574 \|
874	JSON::Syck \| 552.551 \| 787.544 \|	1340	JSON::Syck \| 552.551 \| 787.544 \|
875	JSON::XS \| 5780.463 \| 4854.519 \|	1341	JSON::XS \| 5780.463 \| 4854.519 \|
…		…
879	-----------+------------+------------+	1345	-----------+------------+------------+
880		1346
881	Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly	1347	Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly
882	decodes faster).	1348	decodes faster).
883		1349
884	On large strings containing lots of high unicode characters, some modules	1350	On large strings containing lots of high Unicode characters, some modules
885	(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result	1351	(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result
886	will be broken due to missing (or wrong) unicode handling. Others refuse	1352	will be broken due to missing (or wrong) Unicode handling. Others refuse
887	to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair	1353	to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair
888	comparison table for that case.	1354	comparison table for that case.
889		1355
890		1356
891	=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS	1357	=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
…		…
897	any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am	1363	any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am
898	trying hard on making that true, but you never know.	1364	trying hard on making that true, but you never know.
899		1365
900	Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you should	1366	Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you should
901	limit the size of JSON texts you accept, or make sure then when your	1367	limit the size of JSON texts you accept, or make sure then when your
902	resources run out, thats just fine (e.g. by using a separate process that	1368	resources run out, that's just fine (e.g. by using a separate process that
903	can crash safely). The size of a JSON text in octets or characters is	1369	can crash safely). The size of a JSON text in octets or characters is
904	usually a good indication of the size of the resources required to decode	1370	usually a good indication of the size of the resources required to decode
905	it into a Perl structure. While JSON::XS can check the size of the JSON	1371	it into a Perl structure. While JSON::XS can check the size of the JSON
906	text, it might be too late when you already have it in memory, so you	1372	text, it might be too late when you already have it in memory, so you
907	might want to check the size before you accept the string.	1373	might want to check the size before you accept the string.
908		1374
909	Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and	1375	Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and
910	arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64	1376	arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64
911	machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but	1377	machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but
912	only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak	1378	only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak
913	to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. to be	1379	to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. To be
914	conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process	1380	conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process
915	has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the	1381	has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the
916	C<max_depth> method.	1382	C<max_depth> method.
917		1383
918	And last but least, something else could bomb you that I forgot to think	1384	Something else could bomb you, too, that I forgot to think of. In that
919	of. In that case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints,	1385	case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, though...
920	though...	1386
		1387	Also keep in mind that JSON::XS might leak contents of your Perl data
		1388	structures in its error messages, so when you serialise sensitive
		1389	information you might want to make sure that exceptions thrown by JSON::XS
		1390	will not end up in front of untrusted eyes.
921		1391
922	If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption	1392	If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption
923	by javascript scripts in a browser you should have a look at	1393	by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at
924	L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see wether	1394	L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see whether
925	you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser	1395	you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser
926	design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it, as major	1396	design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it, as major
927	browser developers care only for features, not about doing security	1397	browser developers care only for features, not about getting security
928	right).	1398	right).
929		1399
930		1400
		1401	=head1 THREADS
		1402
		1403	This module is I<not> guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no
		1404	plans to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the
		1405	horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated
		1406	process simulations - use fork, it's I<much> faster, cheaper, better).
		1407
		1408	(It might actually work, but you have been warned).
		1409
		1410
931	=head1 BUGS	1411	=head1 BUGS
932		1412
933	While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does	1413	While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does
934	not mean its bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is	1414	not mean it's bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is
935	still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they	1415	still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they
936	will be fixed swiftly, though.	1416	will be fixed swiftly, though.
		1417
		1418	Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting
		1419	service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason.
937		1420
938	=cut	1421	=cut
939		1422
940	our $true = do { bless \(my $dummy = 1), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };	1423	our $true = do { bless \(my $dummy = 1), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
941	our $false = do { bless \(my $dummy = 0), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };	1424	our $false = do { bless \(my $dummy = 0), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
…		…
958	"--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 },	1441	"--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 },
959	fallback => 1;	1442	fallback => 1;
960		1443
961	1;	1444	1;
962		1445
		1446	=head1 SEE ALSO
		1447
		1448	The F<json_xs> command line utility for quick experiments.
		1449
963	=head1 AUTHOR	1450	=head1 AUTHOR
964		1451
965	Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>	1452	Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
966	http://home.schmorp.de/	1453	http://home.schmorp.de/
967		1454

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Comparing JSON-XS/XS.pm (file contents): Revision 1.61 by root, Wed Sep 12 17:42:36 2007 UTC vs. Revision 1.94 by root, Tue Mar 25 07:46:15 2008 UTC

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Comparing JSON-XS/XS.pm (file contents):
Revision 1.61 by root, Wed Sep 12 17:42:36 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.94 by root, Tue Mar 25 07:46:15 2008 UTC