Parse JSON in one block of memory with a fused pointer-based parser

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The parser and the lexer exchange one token at a time, and the lexer keeps
its state (the current character, a pending unget, where the token starts)
in members, which every character pays for: json::accept() of twitter.json
took 2.8x as long as json_document::accept(). detail::contiguous_parser
reads text in one block of memory through a local pointer, with the
grammar, the whitespace and the tokens in one loop (after yyjson's reader),
and drives a SAX handler: parse()'s DOM handler, accept()'s handler, or the
user's handler of sax_parse(). It is used with the default options (no
callback, no comments, no trailing commas; sax_parse() with strict = true).

Errors are reported by the library parser, so the exception, its message and
its position stay the same. contiguous_parser stops at the token that the
library parser would reject, before reporting it, so the events up to the
error are the same; then:
- parse() runs the library parser with a handler that only reports the
  error (json_sax_error_reporter), with the lexer of parse(), which is
  instantiated anyway;
- sax_parse() runs it with a handler that forwards only parse_error() to
  the user's handler (json_sax_error_forwarder), so no event arrives twice;
- accept() returns the verdict.
A handler that returns false stops the parse as before. An error at the end
of a large input costs parse() about 1.2x of what it cost before.

On an Apple M1 Max: accept() 1.6-2.0x as fast, parse() 10-16% faster,
ordered_json 11-16%, sax_parse() with a user's handler 1.36-1.46x, small
messages 12-22% (parse()) and 2.1-2.4x (accept()). On x86-64 (GCC 15,
Clang 21): accept() 1.6-1.9x, parse() 5-17%, ordered_json 12-19%,
sax_parse() 1.32-1.57x. A translation unit that parses a string compiles 3%
(-O0) and 9% (-O2) slower.

unit-contiguous_parser.cpp compares the contiguous path with the byte path
(std::list iterators) on corner cases, generated documents, their
truncations and mutations, deep nesting, and narrow number types: the same
values with the same number types and float bits, exception messages,
accept() verdicts and sax_parse() events.

Signed-off-by: Niels Lohmann <mail@nlohmann.me>

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Niels Lohmann committed 2026-11-06 06:56:55 +01:00

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