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Revision 1.23 by root, Sun Mar 25 21:19:13 2007 UTC vs.
Revision 1.97 by root, Wed Mar 26 01:43:14 2008 UTC

1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3=encoding utf-8
4
3JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast 5JSON::XS - JSON serialising/deserialising, done correctly and fast
6
7JSON::XS - 正しくて高速な JSON シリアライザ/デシリアライザ
8 (http://fleur.hio.jp/perldoc/mix/lib/JSON/XS.html)
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
15 # objToJson and jsonToObj aliases to to_json and from_json
16 # are exported for compatibility to the JSON module,
17 # but should not be used in new code.
18 19
19 # OO-interface 20 # OO-interface
20 21
21 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref; 22 $coder = JSON::XS->new->ascii->pretty->allow_nonref;
22 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar); 23 $pretty_printed_unencoded = $coder->encode ($perl_scalar);
23 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text); 24 $perl_scalar = $coder->decode ($unicode_json_text);
24 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
25=head1 DESCRIPTION 34=head1 DESCRIPTION
26 35
27This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its 36This module converts Perl data structures to JSON and vice versa. Its
28primary 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
29I<fast>. To reach the latter goal it was written in C. 38I<fast>. To reach the latter goal it was written in C.
39
40Beginning with version 2.0 of the JSON module, when both JSON and
41JSON::XS are installed, then JSON will fall back on JSON::XS (this can be
42overriden) with no overhead due to emulation (by inheritign constructor
43and methods). If JSON::XS is not available, it will fall back to the
44compatible JSON::PP module as backend, so using JSON instead of JSON::XS
45gives you a portable JSON API that can be fast when you need and doesn't
46require a C compiler when that is a problem.
30 47
31As this is the n-th-something JSON module on CPAN, what was the reason 48As this is the n-th-something JSON module on CPAN, what was the reason
32to 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
33modules, 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
34their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug 51their maintainers are unresponsive, gone missing, or not listening to bug
41 58
42=head2 FEATURES 59=head2 FEATURES
43 60
44=over 4 61=over 4
45 62
46=item * correct unicode handling 63=item * correct Unicode handling
47 64
48This module knows how to handle Unicode, and even documents how and when 65This module knows how to handle Unicode, documents how and when it does
49it does so. 66so, and even documents what "correct" means.
50 67
51=item * round-trip integrity 68=item * round-trip integrity
52 69
53When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported 70When you serialise a perl data structure using only datatypes supported
54by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level. 71by JSON, the deserialised data structure is identical on the Perl level.
55(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
56like a number). 73like a number). There minor I<are> exceptions to this, read the MAPPING
74section below to learn about those.
57 75
58=item * strict checking of JSON correctness 76=item * strict checking of JSON correctness
59 77
60There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default, 78There is no guessing, no generating of illegal JSON texts by default,
61and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security 79and only JSON is accepted as input by default (the latter is a security
62feature). 80feature).
63 81
64=item * fast 82=item * fast
65 83
66Compared to other JSON modules, this module compares favourably in terms 84Compared to other JSON modules and other serialisers such as Storable,
67of speed, too. 85this module usually compares favourably in terms of speed, too.
68 86
69=item * simple to use 87=item * simple to use
70 88
71This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an OO 89This module has both a simple functional interface as well as an objetc
72interface. 90oriented interface interface.
73 91
74=item * reasonably versatile output formats 92=item * reasonably versatile output formats
75 93
76You can choose between the most compact guarenteed single-line format 94You can choose between the most compact guaranteed-single-line format
77possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format 95possible (nice for simple line-based protocols), a pure-ascii format
78(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
79unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that 97Unicode range), or a pretty-printed format (for when you want to read that
80stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like. 98stuff). Or you can combine those features in whatever way you like.
81 99
82=back 100=back
83 101
84=cut 102=cut
85 103
86package JSON::XS; 104package JSON::XS;
87 105
88use strict; 106use strict;
89 107
90BEGIN {
91 our $VERSION = '0.8'; 108our $VERSION = '2.1';
92 our @ISA = qw(Exporter); 109our @ISA = qw(Exporter);
93 110
94 our @EXPORT = qw(to_json from_json objToJson jsonToObj); 111our @EXPORT = qw(encode_json decode_json to_json from_json);
95 require Exporter;
96 112
113sub to_json($) {
97 require XSLoader; 114 require Carp;
98 XSLoader::load JSON::XS::, $VERSION; 115 Carp::croak ("JSON::XS::to_json has been renamed to encode_json, either downgrade to pre-2.0 versions of JSON::XS or rename the call");
99} 116}
100 117
118sub from_json($) {
119 require Carp;
120 Carp::croak ("JSON::XS::from_json has been renamed to decode_json, either downgrade to pre-2.0 versions of JSON::XS or rename the call");
121}
122
123use Exporter;
124use XSLoader;
125
101=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE 126=head1 FUNCTIONAL INTERFACE
102 127
103The following convinience methods are provided by this module. They are 128The following convenience methods are provided by this module. They are
104exported by default: 129exported by default:
105 130
106=over 4 131=over 4
107 132
108=item $json_text = to_json $perl_scalar 133=item $json_text = encode_json $perl_scalar
109 134
110Converts the given Perl data structure (a simple scalar or a reference to 135Converts the given Perl data structure to a UTF-8 encoded, binary string
111a 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.
112octets only). Croaks on error.
113 137
114This function call is functionally identical to: 138This function call is functionally identical to:
115 139
116 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar) 140 $json_text = JSON::XS->new->utf8->encode ($perl_scalar)
117 141
118except being faster. 142except being faster.
119 143
120=item $perl_scalar = from_json $json_text 144=item $perl_scalar = decode_json $json_text
121 145
122The opposite of C<to_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries to 146The opposite of C<encode_json>: expects an UTF-8 (binary) string and tries
123parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting simple 147to parse that as an UTF-8 encoded JSON text, returning the resulting
124scalar or reference. Croaks on error. 148reference. Croaks on error.
125 149
126This function call is functionally identical to: 150This function call is functionally identical to:
127 151
128 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text) 152 $perl_scalar = JSON::XS->new->utf8->decode ($json_text)
129 153
130except being faster. 154except being faster.
131 155
156=item $is_boolean = JSON::XS::is_bool $scalar
157
158Returns true if the passed scalar represents either JSON::XS::true or
159JSON::XS::false, two constants that act like C<1> and C<0>, respectively
160and are used to represent JSON C<true> and C<false> values in Perl.
161
162See MAPPING, below, for more information on how JSON values are mapped to
163Perl.
164
132=back 165=back
166
167
168=head1 A FEW NOTES ON UNICODE AND PERL
169
170Since this often leads to confusion, here are a few very clear words on
171how Unicode works in Perl, modulo bugs.
172
173=over 4
174
175=item 1. Perl strings can store characters with ordinal values > 255.
176
177This enables you to store Unicode characters as single characters in a
178Perl string - very natural.
179
180=item 2. Perl does I<not> associate an encoding with your strings.
181
182... until you force it to, e.g. when matching it against a regex, or
183printing the scalar to a file, in which case Perl either interprets your
184string as locale-encoded text, octets/binary, or as Unicode, depending
185on various settings. In no case is an encoding stored together with your
186data, it is I<use> that decides encoding, not any magical meta data.
187
188=item 3. The internal utf-8 flag has no meaning with regards to the
189encoding of your string.
190
191Just ignore that flag unless you debug a Perl bug, a module written in
192XS or want to dive into the internals of perl. Otherwise it will only
193confuse you, as, despite the name, it says nothing about how your string
194is encoded. You can have Unicode strings with that flag set, with that
195flag clear, and you can have binary data with that flag set and that flag
196clear. Other possibilities exist, too.
197
198If you didn't know about that flag, just the better, pretend it doesn't
199exist.
200
201=item 4. A "Unicode String" is simply a string where each character can be
202validly interpreted as a Unicode codepoint.
203
204If you have UTF-8 encoded data, it is no longer a Unicode string, but a
205Unicode string encoded in UTF-8, giving you a binary string.
206
207=item 5. A string containing "high" (> 255) character values is I<not> a UTF-8 string.
208
209It's a fact. Learn to live with it.
210
211=back
212
213I hope this helps :)
133 214
134 215
135=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE 216=head1 OBJECT-ORIENTED INTERFACE
136 217
137The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or 218The object oriented interface lets you configure your own encoding or
150 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]})
151 => {"a": [1, 2]} 232 => {"a": [1, 2]}
152 233
153=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable]) 234=item $json = $json->ascii ([$enable])
154 235
236=item $enabled = $json->get_ascii
237
155If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not 238If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
156generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any 239generate characters outside the code range C<0..127> (which is ASCII). Any
157unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a 240Unicode characters outside that range will be escaped using either a
158single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence, 241single \uXXXX (BMP characters) or a double \uHHHH\uLLLLL escape sequence,
159as per RFC4627. 242as per RFC4627. The resulting encoded JSON text can be treated as a native
243Unicode string, an ascii-encoded, latin1-encoded or UTF-8 encoded string,
244or any other superset of ASCII.
160 245
161If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode 246If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
162characters unless required by the JSON syntax. This results in a faster 247characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags. This results
163and more compact format. 248in a faster and more compact format.
249
250See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
251document.
252
253The main use for this flag is to produce JSON texts that can be
254transmitted over a 7-bit channel, as the encoded JSON texts will not
255contain any 8 bit characters.
164 256
165 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401]) 257 JSON::XS->new->ascii (1)->encode ([chr 0x10401])
166 => ["\ud801\udc01"] 258 => ["\ud801\udc01"]
167 259
260=item $json = $json->latin1 ([$enable])
261
262=item $enabled = $json->get_latin1
263
264If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
265the resulting JSON text as latin1 (or iso-8859-1), escaping any characters
266outside the code range C<0..255>. The resulting string can be treated as a
267latin1-encoded JSON text or a native Unicode string. The C<decode> method
268will not be affected in any way by this flag, as C<decode> by default
269expects Unicode, which is a strict superset of latin1.
270
271If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not escape Unicode
272characters unless required by the JSON syntax or other flags.
273
274See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
275document.
276
277The main use for this flag is efficiently encoding binary data as JSON
278text, as most octets will not be escaped, resulting in a smaller encoded
279size. The disadvantage is that the resulting JSON text is encoded
280in latin1 (and must correctly be treated as such when storing and
281transferring), a rare encoding for JSON. It is therefore most useful when
282you want to store data structures known to contain binary data efficiently
283in files or databases, not when talking to other JSON encoders/decoders.
284
285 JSON::XS->new->latin1->encode (["\x{89}\x{abc}"]
286 => ["\x{89}\\u0abc"] # (perl syntax, U+abc escaped, U+89 not)
287
168=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable]) 288=item $json = $json->utf8 ([$enable])
289
290=item $enabled = $json->get_utf8
169 291
170If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode 292If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will encode
171the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the 293the JSON result into UTF-8, as required by many protocols, while the
172C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please 294C<decode> method expects to be handled an UTF-8-encoded string. Please
173note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the 295note that UTF-8-encoded strings do not contain any characters outside the
174range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future 296range C<0..255>, they are thus useful for bytewise/binary I/O. In future
175versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16 297versions, enabling this option might enable autodetection of the UTF-16
176and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627. 298and UTF-32 encoding families, as described in RFC4627.
177 299
178If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON 300If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will return the JSON
179string as a (non-encoded) unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a 301string as a (non-encoded) Unicode string, while C<decode> expects thus a
180unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs 302Unicode string. Any decoding or encoding (e.g. to UTF-8 or UTF-16) needs
181to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module. 303to be done yourself, e.g. using the Encode module.
304
305See also the section I<ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES> later in this
306document.
182 307
183Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON: 308Example, output UTF-16BE-encoded JSON:
184 309
185 use Encode; 310 use Encode;
186 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object); 311 $jsontext = encode "UTF-16BE", JSON::XS->new->encode ($object);
207 ] 332 ]
208 } 333 }
209 334
210=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable]) 335=item $json = $json->indent ([$enable])
211 336
337=item $enabled = $json->get_indent
338
212If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline 339If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will use a multiline
213format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair 340format as output, putting every array member or object/hash key-value pair
214into its own line, identing them properly. 341into its own line, indenting them properly.
215 342
216If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the 343If C<$enable> is false, no newlines or indenting will be produced, and the
217resulting JSON text is guarenteed not to contain any C<newlines>. 344resulting JSON text is guaranteed not to contain any C<newlines>.
218 345
219This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 346This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
220 347
221=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable]) 348=item $json = $json->space_before ([$enable])
349
350=item $enabled = $json->get_space_before
222 351
223If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 352If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
224optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects. 353optional space before the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects.
225 354
226If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra 355If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will not add any extra
232Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled: 361Example, space_before enabled, space_after and indent disabled:
233 362
234 {"key" :"value"} 363 {"key" :"value"}
235 364
236=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable]) 365=item $json = $json->space_after ([$enable])
366
367=item $enabled = $json->get_space_after
237 368
238If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra 369If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will add an extra
239optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects 370optional space after the C<:> separating keys from values in JSON objects
240and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array 371and extra whitespace after the C<,> separating key-value pairs and array
241members. 372members.
247 378
248Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled: 379Example, space_before and indent disabled, space_after enabled:
249 380
250 {"key": "value"} 381 {"key": "value"}
251 382
383=item $json = $json->relaxed ([$enable])
384
385=item $enabled = $json->get_relaxed
386
387If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<decode> will accept some
388extensions to normal JSON syntax (see below). C<encode> will not be
389affected in anyway. I<Be aware that this option makes you accept invalid
390JSON texts as if they were valid!>. I suggest only to use this option to
391parse application-specific files written by humans (configuration files,
392resource files etc.)
393
394If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<decode> will only accept
395valid JSON texts.
396
397Currently accepted extensions are:
398
399=over 4
400
401=item * list items can have an end-comma
402
403JSON I<separates> array elements and key-value pairs with commas. This
404can be annoying if you write JSON texts manually and want to be able to
405quickly append elements, so this extension accepts comma at the end of
406such items not just between them:
407
408 [
409 1,
410 2, <- this comma not normally allowed
411 ]
412 {
413 "k1": "v1",
414 "k2": "v2", <- this comma not normally allowed
415 }
416
417=item * shell-style '#'-comments
418
419Whenever JSON allows whitespace, shell-style comments are additionally
420allowed. They are terminated by the first carriage-return or line-feed
421character, after which more white-space and comments are allowed.
422
423 [
424 1, # this comment not allowed in JSON
425 # neither this one...
426 ]
427
428=back
429
252=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable]) 430=item $json = $json->canonical ([$enable])
431
432=item $enabled = $json->get_canonical
253 433
254If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects 434If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will output JSON objects
255by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead. 435by sorting their keys. This is adding a comparatively high overhead.
256 436
257If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value 437If C<$enable> is false, then the C<encode> method will output key-value
258pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs 438pairs in the order Perl stores them (which will likely change between runs
259of the same script). 439of the same script).
260 440
261This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as 441This option is useful if you want the same data structure to be encoded as
262the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled, 442the same JSON text (given the same overall settings). If it is disabled,
263the same hash migh be encoded differently even if contains the same data, 443the same hash might be encoded differently even if contains the same data,
264as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl. 444as key-value pairs have no inherent ordering in Perl.
265 445
266This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts. 446This setting has no effect when decoding JSON texts.
267 447
268=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable]) 448=item $json = $json->allow_nonref ([$enable])
449
450=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_nonref
269 451
270If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a 452If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method can convert a
271non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value, 453non-reference into its corresponding string, number or null JSON value,
272which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON 454which is an extension to RFC4627. Likewise, C<decode> will accept those JSON
273values instead of croaking. 455values instead of croaking.
281resulting in an invalid JSON text: 463resulting in an invalid JSON text:
282 464
283 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!") 465 JSON::XS->new->allow_nonref->encode ("Hello, World!")
284 => "Hello, World!" 466 => "Hello, World!"
285 467
468=item $json = $json->allow_blessed ([$enable])
469
470=item $enabled = $json->get_allow_blessed
471
472If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then the C<encode> method will not
473barf when it encounters a blessed reference. Instead, the value of the
474B<convert_blessed> option will decide whether C<null> (C<convert_blessed>
475disabled or no C<TO_JSON> method found) or a representation of the
476object (C<convert_blessed> enabled and C<TO_JSON> method found) is being
477encoded. Has no effect on C<decode>.
478
479If C<$enable> is false (the default), then C<encode> will throw an
480exception when it encounters a blessed object.
481
482=item $json = $json->convert_blessed ([$enable])
483
484=item $enabled = $json->get_convert_blessed
485
486If C<$enable> is true (or missing), then C<encode>, upon encountering a
487blessed object, will check for the availability of the C<TO_JSON> method
488on the object's class. If found, it will be called in scalar context
489and the resulting scalar will be encoded instead of the object. If no
490C<TO_JSON> method is found, the value of C<allow_blessed> will decide what
491to do.
492
493The C<TO_JSON> method may safely call die if it wants. If C<TO_JSON>
494returns other blessed objects, those will be handled in the same
495way. C<TO_JSON> must take care of not causing an endless recursion cycle
496(== crash) in this case. The name of C<TO_JSON> was chosen because other
497methods called by the Perl core (== not by the user of the object) are
498usually in upper case letters and to avoid collisions with any C<to_json>
499function or method.
500
501This setting does not yet influence C<decode> in any way, but in the
502future, global hooks might get installed that influence C<decode> and are
503enabled by this setting.
504
505If C<$enable> is false, then the C<allow_blessed> setting will decide what
506to do when a blessed object is found.
507
508=item $json = $json->filter_json_object ([$coderef->($hashref)])
509
510When C<$coderef> is specified, it will be called from C<decode> each
511time it decodes a JSON object. The only argument is a reference to the
512newly-created hash. If the code references returns a single scalar (which
513need not be a reference), this value (i.e. a copy of that scalar to avoid
514aliasing) is inserted into the deserialised data structure. If it returns
515an empty list (NOTE: I<not> C<undef>, which is a valid scalar), the
516original deserialised hash will be inserted. This setting can slow down
517decoding considerably.
518
519When C<$coderef> is omitted or undefined, any existing callback will
520be removed and C<decode> will not change the deserialised hash in any
521way.
522
523Example, convert all JSON objects into the integer 5:
524
525 my $js = JSON::XS->new->filter_json_object (sub { 5 });
526 # returns [5]
527 $js->decode ('[{}]')
528 # throw an exception because allow_nonref is not enabled
529 # so a lone 5 is not allowed.
530 $js->decode ('{"a":1, "b":2}');
531
532=item $json = $json->filter_json_single_key_object ($key [=> $coderef->($value)])
533
534Works remotely similar to C<filter_json_object>, but is only called for
535JSON objects having a single key named C<$key>.
536
537This C<$coderef> is called before the one specified via
538C<filter_json_object>, if any. It gets passed the single value in the JSON
539object. If it returns a single value, it will be inserted into the data
540structure. If it returns nothing (not even C<undef> but the empty list),
541the callback from C<filter_json_object> will be called next, as if no
542single-key callback were specified.
543
544If C<$coderef> is omitted or undefined, the corresponding callback will be
545disabled. There can only ever be one callback for a given key.
546
547As this callback gets called less often then the C<filter_json_object>
548one, decoding speed will not usually suffer as much. Therefore, single-key
549objects make excellent targets to serialise Perl objects into, especially
550as single-key JSON objects are as close to the type-tagged value concept
551as JSON gets (it's basically an ID/VALUE tuple). Of course, JSON does not
552support this in any way, so you need to make sure your data never looks
553like a serialised Perl hash.
554
555Typical names for the single object key are C<__class_whatever__>, or
556C<$__dollars_are_rarely_used__$> or C<}ugly_brace_placement>, or even
557things like C<__class_md5sum(classname)__>, to reduce the risk of clashing
558with real hashes.
559
560Example, decode JSON objects of the form C<< { "__widget__" => <id> } >>
561into the corresponding C<< $WIDGET{<id>} >> object:
562
563 # return whatever is in $WIDGET{5}:
564 JSON::XS
565 ->new
566 ->filter_json_single_key_object (__widget__ => sub {
567 $WIDGET{ $_[0] }
568 })
569 ->decode ('{"__widget__": 5')
570
571 # this can be used with a TO_JSON method in some "widget" class
572 # for serialisation to json:
573 sub WidgetBase::TO_JSON {
574 my ($self) = @_;
575
576 unless ($self->{id}) {
577 $self->{id} = ..get..some..id..;
578 $WIDGET{$self->{id}} = $self;
579 }
580
581 { __widget__ => $self->{id} }
582 }
583
286=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable]) 584=item $json = $json->shrink ([$enable])
287 585
586=item $enabled = $json->get_shrink
587
288Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for 588Perl usually over-allocates memory a bit when allocating space for
289strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either 589strings. This flag optionally resizes strings generated by either
290C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save 590C<encode> or C<decode> to their minimum size possible. This can save
291memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many 591memory when your JSON texts are either very very long or you have many
292short strings. It will also try to downgrade any strings to octet-form 592short strings. It will also try to downgrade any strings to octet-form
293if possible: perl stores strings internally either in an encoding called 593if possible: perl stores strings internally either in an encoding called
294UTF-X or in octet-form. The latter cannot store everything but uses less 594UTF-X or in octet-form. The latter cannot store everything but uses less
295space in general. 595space in general (and some buggy Perl or C code might even rely on that
596internal representation being used).
296 597
598The actual definition of what shrink does might change in future versions,
599but it will always try to save space at the expense of time.
600
297If C<$enable> is true (or missing), the string returned by C<encode> will be shrunk-to-fit, 601If C<$enable> is true (or missing), the string returned by C<encode> will
298while all strings generated by C<decode> will also be shrunk-to-fit. 602be shrunk-to-fit, while all strings generated by C<decode> will also be
603shrunk-to-fit.
299 604
300If C<$enable> is false, then the normal perl allocation algorithms are used. 605If C<$enable> is false, then the normal perl allocation algorithms are used.
301If you work with your data, then this is likely to be faster. 606If you work with your data, then this is likely to be faster.
302 607
303In the future, this setting might control other things, such as converting 608In the future, this setting might control other things, such as converting
304strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats 609strings that look like integers or floats into integers or floats
305internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space. 610internally (there is no difference on the Perl level), saving space.
306 611
307=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth]) 612=item $json = $json->max_depth ([$maximum_nesting_depth])
308 613
614=item $max_depth = $json->get_max_depth
615
309Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<8192>) accepted while encoding 616Sets the maximum nesting level (default C<512>) accepted while encoding
310or decoding. If the JSON text or Perl data structure has an equal or 617or decoding. If the JSON text or Perl data structure has an equal or
311higher nesting level then this limit, then the encoder and decoder will 618higher nesting level then this limit, then the encoder and decoder will
312stop and croak at that point. 619stop and croak at that point.
313 620
314Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder 621Nesting level is defined by number of hash- or arrayrefs that the encoder
317given character in a string. 624given character in a string.
318 625
319Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures 626Setting the maximum depth to one disallows any nesting, so that ensures
320that the object is only a single hash/object or array. 627that the object is only a single hash/object or array.
321 628
322The argument to C<max_depth> will be rounded up to the next nearest power 629The argument to C<max_depth> will be rounded up to the next highest power
323of two. 630of two. If no argument is given, the highest possible setting will be
631used, which is rarely useful.
632
633See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
634
635=item $json = $json->max_size ([$maximum_string_size])
636
637=item $max_size = $json->get_max_size
638
639Set 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>
641is called on a string longer then this number of characters it will not
642attempt to decode the string but throw an exception. This setting has no
643effect on C<encode> (yet).
644
645The argument to C<max_size> will be rounded up to the next B<highest>
646power of two (so may be more than requested). If no argument is given, the
647limit check will be deactivated (same as when C<0> is specified).
324 648
325See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful. 649See SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS, below, for more info on why this is useful.
326 650
327=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar) 651=item $json_text = $json->encode ($perl_scalar)
328 652
340 664
341JSON numbers and strings become simple Perl scalars. JSON arrays become 665JSON numbers and strings become simple Perl scalars. JSON arrays become
342Perl arrayrefs and JSON objects become Perl hashrefs. C<true> becomes 666Perl arrayrefs and JSON objects become Perl hashrefs. C<true> becomes
343C<1>, C<false> becomes C<0> and C<null> becomes C<undef>. 667C<1>, C<false> becomes C<0> and C<null> becomes C<undef>.
344 668
669=item ($perl_scalar, $characters) = $json->decode_prefix ($json_text)
670
671This works like the C<decode> method, but instead of raising an exception
672when there is trailing garbage after the first JSON object, it will
673silently stop parsing there and return the number of characters consumed
674so far.
675
676This 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.
679
680 JSON::XS->new->decode_prefix ("[1] the tail")
681 => ([], 3)
682
345=back 683=back
684
685
686=head1 INCREMENTAL PARSING
687
688[This section is still EXPERIMENTAL]
689
690In some cases, there is the need for incremental parsing of JSON
691texts. While this module always has to keep both JSON text and resulting
692Perl data structure in memory at one time, it does allow you to parse a
693JSON stream incrementally. It does so by accumulating text until it has
694a full JSON object, which it then can decode. This process is similar to
695using C<decode_prefix> to see if a full JSON object is available, but is
696much more efficient (JSON::XS will only attempt to parse the JSON text
697once it is sure it has enough text to get a decisive result, using a very
698simple but truly incremental parser).
699
700The following two methods deal with this.
701
702=over 4
703
704=item [void, scalar or list context] = $json->incr_parse ([$string])
705
706This is the central parsing function. It can both append new text and
707extract objects from the stream accumulated so far (both of these
708functions are optional).
709
710If C<$string> is given, then this string is appended to the already
711existing JSON fragment stored in the C<$json> object.
712
713After that, if the function is called in void context, it will simply
714return without doing anything further. This can be used to add more text
715in as many chunks as you want.
716
717If the method is called in scalar context, then it will try to extract
718exactly I<one> JSON object. If that is successful, it will return this
719object, otherwise it will return C<undef>. If there is a parse error,
720this method will croak just as C<decode> would do (one can then use
721C<incr_skip> to skip the errornous part). This is the most common way of
722using the method.
723
724And finally, in list context, it will try to extract as many objects
725from the stream as it can find and return them, or the empty list
726otherwise. For this to work, there must be no separators between the JSON
727objects or arrays, instead they must be concatenated back-to-back. If
728an error occurs, an exception will be raised as in the scalar context
729case. Note that in this case, any previously-parsed JSON texts will be
730lost.
731
732=item $lvalue_string = $json->incr_text
733
734This method returns the currently stored JSON fragment as an lvalue, that
735is, you can manipulate it. This I<only> works when a preceding call to
736C<incr_parse> in I<scalar context> successfully returned an object. Under
737all other circumstances you must not call this function (I mean it.
738although in simple tests it might actually work, it I<will> fail under
739real world conditions). As a special exception, you can also call this
740method before having parsed anything.
741
742This function is useful in two cases: a) finding the trailing text after a
743JSON object or b) parsing multiple JSON objects separated by non-JSON text
744(such as commas).
745
746=item $json->incr_skip
747
748This will reset the state of the incremental parser and will remove the
749parsed text from the input buffer. This is useful after C<incr_parse>
750died, in which case the input buffer and incremental parser state is left
751unchanged, to skip the text parsed so far and to reset the parse state.
752
753=back
754
755=head2 LIMITATIONS
756
757All options that affect decoding are supported, except
758C<allow_nonref>. The reason for this is that it cannot be made to
759work sensibly: JSON objects and arrays are self-delimited, i.e. you can concatenate
760them back to back and still decode them perfectly. This does not hold true
761for JSON numbers, however.
762
763For example, is the string C<1> a single JSON number, or is it simply the
764start of C<12>? Or is C<12> a single JSON number, or the concatenation
765of C<1> and C<2>? In neither case you can tell, and this is why JSON::XS
766takes the conservative route and disallows this case.
767
768=head2 EXAMPLES
769
770Some examples will make all this clearer. First, a simple example that
771works similarly to C<decode_prefix>: We want to decode the JSON object at
772the start of a string and identify the portion after the JSON object:
773
774 my $text = "[1,2,3] hello";
775
776 my $json = new JSON::XS;
777
778 my $obj = $json->incr_parse ($text)
779 or die "expected JSON object or array at beginning of string";
780
781 my $tail = $json->incr_text;
782 # $tail now contains " hello"
783
784Easy, isn't it?
785
786Now for a more complicated example: Imagine a hypothetical protocol where
787you read some requests from a TCP stream, and each request is a JSON
788array, without any separation between them (in fact, it is often useful to
789use newlines as "separators", as these get interpreted as whitespace at
790the start of the JSON text, which makes it possible to test said protocol
791with C<telnet>...).
792
793Here is how you'd do it (it is trivial to write this in an event-based
794manner):
795
796 my $json = new JSON::XS;
797
798 # read some data from the socket
799 while (sysread $socket, my $buf, 4096) {
800
801 # split and decode as many requests as possible
802 for my $request ($json->incr_parse ($buf)) {
803 # act on the $request
804 }
805 }
806
807Another complicated example: Assume you have a string with JSON objects
808or arrays, all separated by (optional) comma characters (e.g. C<[1],[2],
809[3]>). To parse them, we have to skip the commas between the JSON texts,
810and here is where the lvalue-ness of C<incr_text> comes in useful:
811
812 my $text = "[1],[2], [3]";
813 my $json = new JSON::XS;
814
815 # void context, so no parsing done
816 $json->incr_parse ($text);
817
818 # now extract as many objects as possible. note the
819 # use of scalar context so incr_text can be called.
820 while (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
821 # do something with $obj
822
823 # now skip the optional comma
824 $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* , //x;
825 }
826
827Now lets go for a very complex example: Assume that you have a gigantic
828JSON array-of-objects, many gigabytes in size, and you want to parse it,
829but you cannot load it into memory fully (this has actually happened in
830the real world :).
831
832Well, you lost, you have to implement your own JSON parser. But JSON::XS
833can still help you: You implement a (very simple) array parser and let
834JSON decode the array elements, which are all full JSON objects on their
835own (this wouldn't work if the array elements could be JSON numbers, for
836example):
837
838 my $json = new JSON::XS;
839
840 # open the monster
841 open my $fh, "<bigfile.json"
842 or die "bigfile: $!";
843
844 # first parse the initial "["
845 for (;;) {
846 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
847 or die "read error: $!";
848 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
849
850 # Exit the loop once we found and removed(!) the initial "[".
851 # In essence, we are (ab-)using the $json object as a simple scalar
852 # we append data to.
853 last if $json->incr_text =~ s/^ \s* \[ //x;
854 }
855
856 # now we have the skipped the initial "[", so continue
857 # parsing all the elements.
858 for (;;) {
859 # in this loop we read data until we got a single JSON object
860 for (;;) {
861 if (my $obj = $json->incr_parse) {
862 # do something with $obj
863 last;
864 }
865
866 # add more data
867 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
868 or die "read error: $!";
869 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
870 }
871
872 # in this loop we read data until we either found and parsed the
873 # separating "," between elements, or the final "]"
874 for (;;) {
875 # first skip whitespace
876 $json->incr_text =~ s/^\s*//;
877
878 # if we find "]", we are done
879 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^\]//) {
880 print "finished.\n";
881 exit;
882 }
883
884 # if we find ",", we can continue with the next element
885 if ($json->incr_text =~ s/^,//) {
886 last;
887 }
888
889 # if we find anything else, we have a parse error!
890 if (length $json->incr_text) {
891 die "parse error near ", $json->incr_text;
892 }
893
894 # else add more data
895 sysread $fh, my $buf, 65536
896 or die "read error: $!";
897 $json->incr_parse ($buf); # void context, so no parsing
898 }
899
900This is a complex example, but most of the complexity comes from the fact
901that we are trying to be correct (bear with me if I am wrong, I never ran
902the above example :).
903
346 904
347 905
348=head1 MAPPING 906=head1 MAPPING
349 907
350This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and 908This section describes how JSON::XS maps Perl values to JSON values and
351vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most 909vice versa. These mappings are designed to "do the right thing" in most
352circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics 910circumstances automatically, preserving round-tripping characteristics
353(what you put in comes out as something equivalent). 911(what you put in comes out as something equivalent).
354 912
355For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions, 913For the more enlightened: note that in the following descriptions,
356lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppcercase I<Perl> 914lowercase I<perl> refers to the Perl interpreter, while uppercase I<Perl>
357refers to the abstract Perl language itself. 915refers to the abstract Perl language itself.
358 916
917
359=head2 JSON -> PERL 918=head2 JSON -> PERL
360 919
361=over 4 920=over 4
362 921
363=item object 922=item object
364 923
365A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object 924A JSON object becomes a reference to a hash in Perl. No ordering of object
366keys is preserved (JSON does not preserver object key ordering itself). 925keys is preserved (JSON does not preserve object key ordering itself).
367 926
368=item array 927=item array
369 928
370A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl. 929A JSON array becomes a reference to an array in Perl.
371 930
375are represented by the same codepoints in the Perl string, so no manual 934are represented by the same codepoints in the Perl string, so no manual
376decoding is necessary. 935decoding is necessary.
377 936
378=item number 937=item number
379 938
380A JSON number becomes either an integer or numeric (floating point) 939A JSON number becomes either an integer, numeric (floating point) or
381scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On the 940string scalar in perl, depending on its range and any fractional parts. On
382Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all the 941the Perl level, there is no difference between those as Perl handles all
383conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and might 942the conversion details, but an integer may take slightly less memory and
384represent more values exactly than (floating point) numbers. 943might represent more values exactly than floating point numbers.
944
945If the number consists of digits only, JSON::XS will try to represent
946it as an integer value. If that fails, it will try to represent it as
947a numeric (floating point) value if that is possible without loss of
948precision. Otherwise it will preserve the number as a string value (in
949which case you lose roundtripping ability, as the JSON number will be
950re-encoded toa JSON string).
951
952Numbers containing a fractional or exponential part will always be
953represented as numeric (floating point) values, possibly at a loss of
954precision (in which case you might lose perfect roundtripping ability, but
955the JSON number will still be re-encoded as a JSON number).
385 956
386=item true, false 957=item true, false
387 958
388These JSON atoms become C<0>, C<1>, respectively. Information is lost in 959These JSON atoms become C<JSON::XS::true> and C<JSON::XS::false>,
389this process. Future versions might represent those values differently, 960respectively. They are overloaded to act almost exactly like the numbers
390but they will be guarenteed to act like these integers would normally in 961C<1> and C<0>. You can check whether a scalar is a JSON boolean by using
391Perl. 962the C<JSON::XS::is_bool> function.
392 963
393=item null 964=item null
394 965
395A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl. 966A JSON null atom becomes C<undef> in Perl.
396 967
397=back 968=back
969
398 970
399=head2 PERL -> JSON 971=head2 PERL -> JSON
400 972
401The mapping from Perl to JSON is slightly more difficult, as Perl is a 973The mapping from Perl to JSON is slightly more difficult, as Perl is a
402truly typeless language, so we can only guess which JSON type is meant by 974truly typeless language, so we can only guess which JSON type is meant by
405=over 4 977=over 4
406 978
407=item hash references 979=item hash references
408 980
409Perl hash references become JSON objects. As there is no inherent ordering 981Perl hash references become JSON objects. As there is no inherent ordering
410in hash keys, they will usually be encoded in a pseudo-random order that 982in hash keys (or JSON objects), they will usually be encoded in a
411can change between runs of the same program but stays generally the same 983pseudo-random order that can change between runs of the same program but
412within a single run of a program. JSON::XS can optionally sort the hash 984stays generally the same within a single run of a program. JSON::XS can
413keys (determined by the I<canonical> flag), so the same datastructure 985optionally sort the hash keys (determined by the I<canonical> flag), so
414will serialise to the same JSON text (given same settings and version of 986the same datastructure will serialise to the same JSON text (given same
415JSON::XS), but this incurs a runtime overhead. 987settings and version of JSON::XS), but this incurs a runtime overhead
988and is only rarely useful, e.g. when you want to compare some JSON text
989against another for equality.
416 990
417=item array references 991=item array references
418 992
419Perl array references become JSON arrays. 993Perl array references become JSON arrays.
420 994
995=item other references
996
997Other unblessed references are generally not allowed and will cause an
998exception to be thrown, except for references to the integers C<0> and
999C<1>, which get turned into C<false> and C<true> atoms in JSON. You can
1000also use C<JSON::XS::false> and C<JSON::XS::true> to improve readability.
1001
1002 encode_json [\0,JSON::XS::true] # yields [false,true]
1003
1004=item JSON::XS::true, JSON::XS::false
1005
1006These special values become JSON true and JSON false values,
1007respectively. You can also use C<\1> and C<\0> directly if you want.
1008
421=item blessed objects 1009=item blessed objects
422 1010
423Blessed objects are not allowed. JSON::XS currently tries to encode their 1011Blessed objects are not directly representable in JSON. See the
424underlying representation (hash- or arrayref), but this behaviour might 1012C<allow_blessed> and C<convert_blessed> methods on various options on
425change in future versions. 1013how to deal with this: basically, you can choose between throwing an
1014exception, encoding the reference as if it weren't blessed, or provide
1015your own serialiser method.
426 1016
427=item simple scalars 1017=item simple scalars
428 1018
429Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most 1019Simple Perl scalars (any scalar that is not a reference) are the most
430difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as 1020difficult objects to encode: JSON::XS will encode undefined scalars as
431JSON null value, scalars that have last been used in a string context 1021JSON C<null> values, scalars that have last been used in a string context
432before encoding as JSON strings and anything else as number value: 1022before encoding as JSON strings, and anything else as number value:
433 1023
434 # dump as number 1024 # dump as number
435 to_json [2] # yields [2] 1025 encode_json [2] # yields [2]
436 to_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17] 1026 encode_json [-3.0e17] # yields [-3e+17]
437 my $value = 5; to_json [$value] # yields [5] 1027 my $value = 5; encode_json [$value] # yields [5]
438 1028
439 # used as string, so dump as string 1029 # used as string, so dump as string
440 print $value; 1030 print $value;
441 to_json [$value] # yields ["5"] 1031 encode_json [$value] # yields ["5"]
442 1032
443 # undef becomes null 1033 # undef becomes null
444 to_json [undef] # yields [null] 1034 encode_json [undef] # yields [null]
445 1035
446You can force the type to be a string by stringifying it: 1036You can force the type to be a JSON string by stringifying it:
447 1037
448 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number 1038 my $x = 3.1; # some variable containing a number
449 "$x"; # stringified 1039 "$x"; # stringified
450 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify 1040 $x .= ""; # another, more awkward way to stringify
451 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often 1041 print $x; # perl does it for you, too, quite often
452 1042
453You can force the type to be a number by numifying it: 1043You can force the type to be a JSON number by numifying it:
454 1044
455 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string 1045 my $x = "3"; # some variable containing a string
456 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number 1046 $x += 0; # numify it, ensuring it will be dumped as a number
457 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choise is yours. 1047 $x *= 1; # same thing, the choice is yours.
458 1048
459You can not currently output JSON booleans or force the type in other, 1049You can not currently force the type in other, less obscure, ways. Tell me
460less obscure, ways. Tell me if you need this capability. 1050if you need this capability (but don't forget to explain why it's needed
461 1051:).
462=item circular data structures
463
464Those will be encoded until memory or stackspace runs out.
465 1052
466=back 1053=back
467 1054
468 1055
469=head1 COMPARISON 1056=head1 ENCODING/CODESET FLAG NOTES
470 1057
471As already mentioned, this module was created because none of the existing 1058The interested reader might have seen a number of flags that signify
472JSON modules could be made to work correctly. First I will describe the 1059encodings or codesets - C<utf8>, C<latin1> and C<ascii>. There seems to be
473problems (or pleasures) I encountered with various existing JSON modules, 1060some confusion on what these do, so here is a short comparison:
474followed by some benchmark values. JSON::XS was designed not to suffer 1061
475from any of these problems or limitations. 1062C<utf8> controls whether the JSON text created by C<encode> (and expected
1063by C<decode>) is UTF-8 encoded or not, while C<latin1> and C<ascii> only
1064control whether C<encode> escapes character values outside their respective
1065codeset range. Neither of these flags conflict with each other, although
1066some combinations make less sense than others.
1067
1068Care has been taken to make all flags symmetrical with respect to
1069C<encode> and C<decode>, that is, texts encoded with any combination of
1070these flag values will be correctly decoded when the same flags are used
1071- in general, if you use different flag settings while encoding vs. when
1072decoding you likely have a bug somewhere.
1073
1074Below comes a verbose discussion of these flags. Note that a "codeset" is
1075simply an abstract set of character-codepoint pairs, while an encoding
1076takes those codepoint numbers and I<encodes> them, in our case into
1077octets. Unicode is (among other things) a codeset, UTF-8 is an encoding,
1078and ISO-8859-1 (= latin 1) and ASCII are both codesets I<and> encodings at
1079the same time, which can be confusing.
476 1080
477=over 4 1081=over 4
478 1082
479=item JSON 1.07 1083=item C<utf8> flag disabled
480 1084
481Slow (but very portable, as it is written in pure Perl). 1085When C<utf8> is disabled (the default), then C<encode>/C<decode> generate
1086and expect Unicode strings, that is, characters with high ordinal Unicode
1087values (> 255) will be encoded as such characters, and likewise such
1088characters are decoded as-is, no canges to them will be done, except
1089"(re-)interpreting" them as Unicode codepoints or Unicode characters,
1090respectively (to Perl, these are the same thing in strings unless you do
1091funny/weird/dumb stuff).
482 1092
483Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling (how JSON handles unicode values is 1093This is useful when you want to do the encoding yourself (e.g. when you
484undocumented. One can get far by feeding it unicode strings and doing 1094want to have UTF-16 encoded JSON texts) or when some other layer does
485en-/decoding oneself, but unicode escapes are not working properly). 1095the encoding for you (for example, when printing to a terminal using a
1096filehandle that transparently encodes to UTF-8 you certainly do NOT want
1097to UTF-8 encode your data first and have Perl encode it another time).
486 1098
487No roundtripping (strings get clobbered if they look like numbers, e.g. 1099=item C<utf8> flag enabled
488the string C<2.0> will encode to C<2.0> instead of C<"2.0">, and that will
489decode into the number 2.
490 1100
491=item JSON::PC 0.01 1101If the C<utf8>-flag is enabled, C<encode>/C<decode> will encode all
1102characters using the corresponding UTF-8 multi-byte sequence, and will
1103expect your input strings to be encoded as UTF-8, that is, no "character"
1104of the input string must have any value > 255, as UTF-8 does not allow
1105that.
492 1106
493Very fast. 1107The C<utf8> flag therefore switches between two modes: disabled means you
1108will get a Unicode string in Perl, enabled means you get an UTF-8 encoded
1109octet/binary string in Perl.
494 1110
495Undocumented/buggy Unicode handling. 1111=item C<latin1> or C<ascii> flags enabled
496 1112
497No roundtripping. 1113With C<latin1> (or C<ascii>) enabled, C<encode> will escape characters
1114with ordinal values > 255 (> 127 with C<ascii>) and encode the remaining
1115characters as specified by the C<utf8> flag.
498 1116
499Has problems handling many Perl values (e.g. regex results and other magic 1117If C<utf8> is disabled, then the result is also correctly encoded in those
500values will make it croak). 1118character sets (as both are proper subsets of Unicode, meaning that a
1119Unicode string with all character values < 256 is the same thing as a
1120ISO-8859-1 string, and a Unicode string with all character values < 128 is
1121the same thing as an ASCII string in Perl).
501 1122
502Does not even generate valid JSON (C<{1,2}> gets converted to C<{1:2}> 1123If C<utf8> is enabled, you still get a correct UTF-8-encoded string,
503which is not a valid JSON text. 1124regardless of these flags, just some more characters will be escaped using
1125C<\uXXXX> then before.
504 1126
505Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not 1127Note that ISO-8859-1-I<encoded> strings are not compatible with UTF-8
506getting fixed). 1128encoding, while ASCII-encoded strings are. That is because the ISO-8859-1
1129encoding is NOT a subset of UTF-8 (despite the ISO-8859-1 I<codeset> being
1130a subset of Unicode), while ASCII is.
507 1131
508=item JSON::Syck 0.21 1132Surprisingly, C<decode> will ignore these flags and so treat all input
1133values as governed by the C<utf8> flag. If it is disabled, this allows you
1134to decode ISO-8859-1- and ASCII-encoded strings, as both strict subsets of
1135Unicode. If it is enabled, you can correctly decode UTF-8 encoded strings.
509 1136
510Very buggy (often crashes). 1137So neither C<latin1> nor C<ascii> are incompatible with the C<utf8> flag -
1138they only govern when the JSON output engine escapes a character or not.
511 1139
512Very inflexible (no human-readable format supported, format pretty much 1140The main use for C<latin1> is to relatively efficiently store binary data
513undocumented. I need at least a format for easy reading by humans and a 1141as JSON, at the expense of breaking compatibility with most JSON decoders.
514single-line compact format for use in a protocol, and preferably a way to
515generate ASCII-only JSON texts).
516 1142
517Completely broken (and confusingly documented) Unicode handling (unicode 1143The main use for C<ascii> is to force the output to not contain characters
518escapes are not working properly, you need to set ImplicitUnicode to 1144with values > 127, which means you can interpret the resulting string
519I<different> values on en- and decoding to get symmetric behaviour). 1145as UTF-8, ISO-8859-1, ASCII, KOI8-R or most about any character set and
520 11468-bit-encoding, and still get the same data structure back. This is useful
521No roundtripping (simple cases work, but this depends on wether the scalar 1147when your channel for JSON transfer is not 8-bit clean or the encoding
522value was used in a numeric context or not). 1148might be mangled in between (e.g. in mail), and works because ASCII is a
523 1149proper subset of most 8-bit and multibyte encodings in use in the world.
524Dumping hashes may skip hash values depending on iterator state.
525
526Unmaintained (maintainer unresponsive for many months, bugs are not
527getting fixed).
528
529Does not check input for validity (i.e. will accept non-JSON input and
530return "something" instead of raising an exception. This is a security
531issue: imagine two banks transfering money between each other using
532JSON. One bank might parse a given non-JSON request and deduct money,
533while the other might reject the transaction with a syntax error. While a
534good protocol will at least recover, that is extra unnecessary work and
535the transaction will still not succeed).
536
537=item JSON::DWIW 0.04
538
539Very fast. Very natural. Very nice.
540
541Undocumented unicode handling (but the best of the pack. Unicode escapes
542still don't get parsed properly).
543
544Very inflexible.
545
546No roundtripping.
547
548Does not generate valid JSON texts (key strings are often unquoted, empty keys
549result in nothing being output)
550
551Does not check input for validity.
552 1150
553=back 1151=back
1152
1153
1154=head2 JSON and YAML
1155
1156You often hear that JSON is a subset of YAML. This is, however, a mass
1157hysteria(*) and very far from the truth (as of the time of this writing),
1158so let me state it clearly: I<in general, there is no way to configure
1159JSON::XS to output a data structure as valid YAML> that works in all
1160cases.
1161
1162If you really must use JSON::XS to generate YAML, you should use this
1163algorithm (subject to change in future versions):
1164
1165 my $to_yaml = JSON::XS->new->utf8->space_after (1);
1166 my $yaml = $to_yaml->encode ($ref) . "\n";
1167
1168This will I<usually> generate JSON texts that also parse as valid
1169YAML. Please note that YAML has hardcoded limits on (simple) object key
1170lengths that JSON doesn't have and also has different and incompatible
1171unicode handling, so you should make sure that your hash keys are
1172noticeably shorter than the 1024 "stream characters" YAML allows and that
1173you do not have characters with codepoint values outside the Unicode BMP
1174(basic multilingual page). YAML also does not allow C<\/> sequences in
1175strings (which JSON::XS does not I<currently> generate, but other JSON
1176generators might).
1177
1178There might be other incompatibilities that I am not aware of (or the YAML
1179specification has been changed yet again - it does so quite often). In
1180general you should not try to generate YAML with a JSON generator or vice
1181versa, or try to parse JSON with a YAML parser or vice versa: chances are
1182high that you will run into severe interoperability problems when you
1183least expect it.
1184
1185=over 4
1186
1187=item (*)
1188
1189I have been pressured multiple times by Brian Ingerson (one of the
1190authors of the YAML specification) to remove this paragraph, despite him
1191acknowledging that the actual incompatibilities exist. As I was personally
1192bitten by this "JSON is YAML" lie, I refused and said I will continue to
1193educate people about these issues, so others do not run into the same
1194problem again and again. After this, Brian called me a (quote)I<complete
1195and worthless idiot>(unquote).
1196
1197In my opinion, instead of pressuring and insulting people who actually
1198clarify issues with YAML and the wrong statements of some of its
1199proponents, I would kindly suggest reading the JSON spec (which is not
1200that difficult or long) and finally make YAML compatible to it, and
1201educating users about the changes, instead of spreading lies about the
1202real compatibility for many I<years> and trying to silence people who
1203point out that it isn't true.
1204
1205=back
1206
554 1207
555=head2 SPEED 1208=head2 SPEED
556 1209
557It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following 1210It seems that JSON::XS is surprisingly fast, as shown in the following
558tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program 1211tables. They have been generated with the help of the C<eg/bench> program
559in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own 1212in the JSON::XS distribution, to make it easy to compare on your own
560system. 1213system.
561 1214
562First comes a comparison between various modules using a very short JSON 1215First comes a comparison between various modules using
563string: 1216a very short single-line JSON string (also available at
1217L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/short.json>).
564 1218
565 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], "id": null} 1219 {"method": "handleMessage", "params": ["user1", "we were just talking"], \
1220 "id": null, "array":[1,11,234,-5,1e5,1e7, true, false]}
566 1221
567It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses the 1222It shows the number of encodes/decodes per second (JSON::XS uses
568functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface with 1223the functional interface, while JSON::XS/2 uses the OO interface
569pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled). Higher is better: 1224with pretty-printing and hashkey sorting enabled, JSON::XS/3 enables
1225shrink). Higher is better:
570 1226
571 module | encode | decode | 1227 module | encode | decode |
572 -----------|------------|------------| 1228 -----------|------------|------------|
573 JSON | 11488.516 | 7823.035 | 1229 JSON 1.x | 4990.842 | 4088.813 |
574 JSON::DWIW | 94708.054 | 129094.260 | 1230 JSON::DWIW | 51653.990 | 71575.154 |
575 JSON::PC | 63884.157 | 128528.212 | 1231 JSON::PC | 65948.176 | 74631.744 |
576 JSON::Syck | 34898.677 | 42096.911 | 1232 JSON::PP | 8931.652 | 3817.168 |
577 JSON::XS | 654027.064 | 396423.669 | 1233 JSON::Syck | 24877.248 | 27776.848 |
578 JSON::XS/2 | 371564.190 | 371725.613 | 1234 JSON::XS | 388361.481 | 227951.304 |
1235 JSON::XS/2 | 227951.304 | 218453.333 |
1236 JSON::XS/3 | 338250.323 | 218453.333 |
1237 Storable | 16500.016 | 135300.129 |
579 -----------+------------+------------+ 1238 -----------+------------+------------+
580 1239
581That is, JSON::XS is more than six times faster than JSON::DWIW on 1240That is, JSON::XS is about five times faster than JSON::DWIW on encoding,
582encoding, more than three times faster on decoding, and about thirty times 1241about three times faster on decoding, and over forty times faster
583faster than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. 1242than JSON, even with pretty-printing and key sorting. It also compares
1243favourably to Storable for small amounts of data.
584 1244
585Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals 1245Using a longer test string (roughly 18KB, generated from Yahoo! Locals
586search API (http://nanoref.com/yahooapis/mgPdGg): 1246search API (L<http://dist.schmorp.de/misc/json/long.json>).
587 1247
588 module | encode | decode | 1248 module | encode | decode |
589 -----------|------------|------------| 1249 -----------|------------|------------|
590 JSON | 273.023 | 44.674 | 1250 JSON 1.x | 55.260 | 34.971 |
591 JSON::DWIW | 1089.383 | 1145.704 | 1251 JSON::DWIW | 825.228 | 1082.513 |
592 JSON::PC | 3097.419 | 2393.921 | 1252 JSON::PC | 3571.444 | 2394.829 |
593 JSON::Syck | 514.060 | 843.053 | 1253 JSON::PP | 210.987 | 32.574 |
594 JSON::XS | 6479.668 | 3636.364 | 1254 JSON::Syck | 552.551 | 787.544 |
595 JSON::XS/2 | 3774.221 | 3599.124 | 1255 JSON::XS | 5780.463 | 4854.519 |
1256 JSON::XS/2 | 3869.998 | 4798.975 |
1257 JSON::XS/3 | 5862.880 | 4798.975 |
1258 Storable | 4445.002 | 5235.027 |
596 -----------+------------+------------+ 1259 -----------+------------+------------+
597 1260
598Again, JSON::XS leads by far. 1261Again, JSON::XS leads by far (except for Storable which non-surprisingly
1262decodes faster).
599 1263
600On large strings containing lots of high unicode characters, some modules 1264On large strings containing lots of high Unicode characters, some modules
601(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result 1265(such as JSON::PC) seem to decode faster than JSON::XS, but the result
602will be broken due to missing (or wrong) unicode handling. Others refuse 1266will be broken due to missing (or wrong) Unicode handling. Others refuse
603to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair 1267to decode or encode properly, so it was impossible to prepare a fair
604comparison table for that case. 1268comparison table for that case.
605 1269
606 1270
607=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS 1271=head1 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
613any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am 1277any buffer overflows. Obviously, this module should ensure that and I am
614trying hard on making that true, but you never know. 1278trying hard on making that true, but you never know.
615 1279
616Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you should 1280Second, you need to avoid resource-starving attacks. That means you should
617limit the size of JSON texts you accept, or make sure then when your 1281limit the size of JSON texts you accept, or make sure then when your
618resources run out, thats just fine (e.g. by using a separate process that 1282resources run out, that's just fine (e.g. by using a separate process that
619can crash safely). The size of a JSON text in octets or characters is 1283can crash safely). The size of a JSON text in octets or characters is
620usually a good indication of the size of the resources required to decode 1284usually a good indication of the size of the resources required to decode
621it into a Perl structure. 1285it into a Perl structure. While JSON::XS can check the size of the JSON
1286text, it might be too late when you already have it in memory, so you
1287might want to check the size before you accept the string.
622 1288
623Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and 1289Third, JSON::XS recurses using the C stack when decoding objects and
624arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64 1290arrays. The C stack is a limited resource: for instance, on my amd64
625machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays 1291machine with 8MB of stack size I can decode around 180k nested arrays but
626but only 14k nested JSON objects. If that is exceeded, the program 1292only 14k nested JSON objects (due to perl itself recursing deeply on croak
1293to free the temporary). If that is exceeded, the program crashes. To be
627crashes. Thats why the default nesting limit is set to 8192. If your 1294conservative, the default nesting limit is set to 512. If your process
628process has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly 1295has a smaller stack, you should adjust this setting accordingly with the
629with the C<max_depth> method. 1296C<max_depth> method.
630 1297
631And last but least, something else could bomb you that I forgot to think 1298Something else could bomb you, too, that I forgot to think of. In that
632of. In that case, you get to keep the pieces. I am alway sopen for hints, 1299case, you get to keep the pieces. I am always open for hints, though...
633though... 1300
1301Also keep in mind that JSON::XS might leak contents of your Perl data
1302structures in its error messages, so when you serialise sensitive
1303information you might want to make sure that exceptions thrown by JSON::XS
1304will not end up in front of untrusted eyes.
1305
1306If you are using JSON::XS to return packets to consumption
1307by JavaScript scripts in a browser you should have a look at
1308L<http://jpsykes.com/47/practical-csrf-and-json-security> to see whether
1309you are vulnerable to some common attack vectors (which really are browser
1310design bugs, but it is still you who will have to deal with it, as major
1311browser developers care only for features, not about getting security
1312right).
1313
1314
1315=head1 THREADS
1316
1317This module is I<not> guaranteed to be thread safe and there are no
1318plans to change this until Perl gets thread support (as opposed to the
1319horribly slow so-called "threads" which are simply slow and bloated
1320process simulations - use fork, it's I<much> faster, cheaper, better).
1321
1322(It might actually work, but you have been warned).
634 1323
635 1324
636=head1 BUGS 1325=head1 BUGS
637 1326
638While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does 1327While the goal of this module is to be correct, that unfortunately does
639not mean its bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is 1328not mean it's bug-free, only that I think its design is bug-free. It is
640still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they 1329still relatively early in its development. If you keep reporting bugs they
641will be fixed swiftly, though. 1330will be fixed swiftly, though.
642 1331
1332Please refrain from using rt.cpan.org or any other bug reporting
1333service. I put the contact address into my modules for a reason.
1334
643=cut 1335=cut
644 1336
1337our $true = do { bless \(my $dummy = 1), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
1338our $false = do { bless \(my $dummy = 0), "JSON::XS::Boolean" };
1339
1340sub true() { $true }
1341sub false() { $false }
1342
1343sub is_bool($) {
1344 UNIVERSAL::isa $_[0], "JSON::XS::Boolean"
1345# or UNIVERSAL::isa $_[0], "JSON::Literal"
1346}
1347
1348XSLoader::load "JSON::XS", $VERSION;
1349
1350package JSON::XS::Boolean;
1351
1352use overload
1353 "0+" => sub { ${$_[0]} },
1354 "++" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} + 1 },
1355 "--" => sub { $_[0] = ${$_[0]} - 1 },
1356 fallback => 1;
1357
6451; 13581;
1359
1360=head1 SEE ALSO
1361
1362The F<json_xs> command line utility for quick experiments.
646 1363
647=head1 AUTHOR 1364=head1 AUTHOR
648 1365
649 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 1366 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
650 http://home.schmorp.de/ 1367 http://home.schmorp.de/

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