Docs: clarify file reading speed, scope of file replacement, cross-device rename

- The 10 to 20 % figure compares parsing from a std::ifstream with reading
  the file into a string with one read() and parsing that; reading with
  istreambuf_iterator is about twice as slow as parsing from the stream.
- Say that replacing a file is general C++ advice, not library behaviour.
- std::filesystem::rename fails across file systems (EXDEV) instead of
  falling back to a copy.

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

docs/mkdocs/docs/api/basic_json/patch_inplace.md

@@ -15,7 +15,9 @@ the patch. This function applies a JSON patch in place and returns void.
 
 ## Exception safety
 
-No guarantees, value may be corrupted by an unsuccessful patch operation.
+No guarantees: if an operation fails, the operations before it stay applied, and a failing `move` operation may already
+have removed the value at its "from" location. Use [`patch`](patch.md) if the value must be unchanged after a failed
+patch.
 
 ## Exceptions
 
@@ -62,8 +64,19 @@ the JSON value, the complexity can usually be neglected.
 ## Notes
 
 Unlike [`patch`](patch.md), `patch_inplace` applies the operation "in place" and no copy of the JSON value is created.
-That makes it faster for large documents by avoiding the copy. However, the JSON value might be corrupted if the
+That makes it faster for large documents by avoiding the copy.
-function throws an exception.
+
+!!! warning "Not atomic"
+
+    `patch_inplace` applies the operations one after the other and does not undo them when one fails. After an
+    exception, the value holds the result of the operations before the failing one, and a failing `move` operation
+    (a "remove" followed by an "add") may already have removed the value at its "from" location; see the second example
+    below. [RFC 6902](https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6902#section-5) requires that a patch with a failing operation is
+    not deemed successful, but leaves open what happens to the document.
+
+    If the value must stay unchanged when the patch fails, use [`patch`](patch.md), which applies the patch to a copy:
+    `#!cpp j = j.patch(json_patch);`. Validating the patch beforehand is not enough, as "test" operations and missing
+    paths are only detected while the patch is applied.
 
 Duplicate member names inside an operation object are resolved by the parser before the patch is applied (the last one
 is kept, see [`object_t`](object_t.md#behavior)), so `#!json {"op": "add", "op": "remove", "path": "/a"}` is a

docs/mkdocs/docs/features/files.md

@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+# Reading and writing files
+
+The library has no functions that take a file name. It reads from and writes to streams, so files are handled with
+`#!cpp std::ifstream` and `#!cpp std::ofstream` (or a `#!cpp FILE*` when reading). This page collects the recipes for
+the common cases and the mistakes that show up again and again.
+
+## Reading a JSON file
+
+Pass the stream to [`parse`](../api/basic_json/parse.md) directly, and check that the file was opened:
+
+```cpp
+#include <fstream>
+#include <stdexcept>
+#include <string>
+#include <nlohmann/json.hpp>
+
+using json = nlohmann::json;
+
+json read_json_file(const std::string& path)
+{
+    std::ifstream f(path);
+    if (!f.is_open())
+    {
+        throw std::runtime_error("cannot open " + path);
+    }
+    return json::parse(f);
+}
+```
+
+- **Check that the file is open.** A stream that failed to open looks like an empty input, so `parse` reports
+  [`parse_error.101`](../home/exceptions.md#jsonexceptionparse_error101) ("unexpected end of input") at line 1,
+  column 1 instead of saying that the file is missing. A relative path is resolved against the working directory of the
+  running program, which is often not the directory of the source file (see the
+  [FAQ](../home/faq.md#parsing-a-file-fails-with-unexpected-end-of-input)).
+- **Don't read the file into a string first.** Parsing from a `#!cpp std::ifstream` is only about 10 to 20 % slower
+  than reading the whole file into a string with one `read()` and parsing that, and it needs no memory for the copy (see
+  [input sources and performance](parsing/index.md#input-sources-and-performance)). The common way to read a file with
+  `#!cpp std::istreambuf_iterator<char>` is so slow that it takes about twice as long as parsing from the stream. Read
+  the file into a string only if you need the text itself, for example for an error message.
+- `parse` requires the file to hold exactly one JSON value. Files with one value per line are read with
+  [JSON Lines](parsing/json_lines.md); files too large for memory are covered in
+  [Large, streamed, and partial input](parsing/large_and_partial_input.md).
+
+## Writing a JSON file
+
+[`dump`](../api/basic_json/dump.md) the value into a string first, then write the string:
+
+```cpp
+void write_json_file(const std::string& path, const json& j)
+{
+    const std::string text = j.dump(4) + '\n';  // may throw: nothing is written yet
+
+    std::ofstream f(path, std::ios::binary);
+    if (!f.is_open())
+    {
+        throw std::runtime_error("cannot open " + path);
+    }
+    f << text;
+    f.close();
+    if (f.fail())
+    {
+        throw std::runtime_error("cannot write " + path);
+    }
+}
+```
+
+- **Serialize before opening the file.** Opening a `#!cpp std::ofstream` truncates the file. `dump` and
+  [`operator<<`](../api/operator_ltlt.md) throw [`type_error.316`](../home/exceptions.md#jsonexceptiontype_error316)
+  when a string is not valid UTF-8 (see [handling invalid UTF-8](serialization.md#handling-invalid-utf-8)), and
+  `#!cpp f << std::setw(4) << j` may already have written part of the value when it throws. Serializing into a string
+  first leaves the old file untouched in that case.
+- **Check the stream after closing it.** A full disk or a missing permission sets the stream's error state; it does not
+  throw unless you enabled exceptions on the stream with `exceptions()`.
+- `std::ios::binary` writes the text as it is. Without it, Windows writes `\r\n` for every newline of a pretty-printed
+  value.
+
+## Replacing a file without corrupting it
+
+The library never writes a file itself, so this section is not about the library. It is general C++ advice for a
+problem users of the library keep running into.
+
+A program that crashes or is killed while it writes leaves a truncated file behind. To make sure readers see either the
+old or the new contents, write to a temporary file in the same directory and rename it over the original
+(C++17, `#!cpp <filesystem>`):
+
+```cpp
+#include <filesystem>
+
+void replace_json_file(const std::filesystem::path& path, const json& j)
+{
+    std::filesystem::path tmp = path;
+    tmp += ".tmp";  // use a unique name if several processes may write the file
+
+    write_json_file(tmp.string(), j);
+    std::filesystem::rename(tmp, path);  // replaces path
+}
+```
+
+The temporary file must be in the same directory (more precisely, on the same file system) as the target: a rename
+across file systems does not fall back to a copy, it fails and throws `#!cpp std::filesystem::filesystem_error`. On
+POSIX systems, the rename atomically replaces the file. Standard C++ has no way to flush a file to the disk (`fsync`),
+so this protects against a crashed program, but not necessarily against a power loss.
+
+## Binary formats
+
+The [binary formats](binary_formats/index.md) work the same way, with the streams opened in binary mode:
+
+```cpp
+// read
+std::ifstream in("data.cbor", std::ios::binary);
+json j = json::from_cbor(in);
+
+// write
+const std::vector<std::uint8_t> bytes = json::to_cbor(j);
+std::ofstream out("data.cbor", std::ios::binary);
+out.write(reinterpret_cast<const char*>(bytes.data()), static_cast<std::streamsize>(bytes.size()));
+```
+
+Without `std::ios::binary`, Windows turns the bytes `0x0D 0x0A` into `0x0A` and may stop at a byte `0x1A` while reading,
+and turns `0x0A` into `0x0D 0x0A` while writing, which corrupts the data.
+
+## See also
+
+- [Parsing](parsing/index.md) - the inputs `parse` accepts
+- [Serialization](serialization.md) - the options of `dump`
+- [`parse`](../api/basic_json/parse.md), [`dump`](../api/basic_json/dump.md)
+- [`operator>>`](../api/operator_gtgt.md), [`operator<<`](../api/operator_ltlt.md)

docs/mkdocs/docs/features/index.md

@@ -46,6 +46,8 @@ C++ types, and finally serialize it again.
   [BJData](binary_formats/bjdata.md), [BON8](binary_formats/bon8.md), [BSON](binary_formats/bson.md),
   [CBOR](binary_formats/cbor.md), [MessagePack](binary_formats/messagepack.md), or [UBJSON](binary_formats/ubjson.md).
 - [Binary values](binary_values.md) — store and exchange raw byte sequences.
+- [Reading and writing files](files.md) — read and write files safely, including replacing a file without
+  corrupting it.
 
 ## How values are stored and configured
 

docs/mkdocs/docs/features/json_patch.md

@@ -29,7 +29,8 @@ other three continue on its result.
 
     [`patch`](../api/basic_json/patch.md) leaves the original value unchanged and returns the patched result as a copy.
     If the document is large and the original value is no longer needed,
-    [`patch_inplace`](../api/basic_json/patch_inplace.md) applies the same operations in place instead.
+    [`patch_inplace`](../api/basic_json/patch_inplace.md) applies the same operations in place instead. Unlike
+    `patch`, it is not atomic: if an operation fails, the operations before it stay applied.
 
 !!! note "Duplicate member names"
 

docs/mkdocs/docs/features/parsing/index.md

@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@ std::ifstream f("example.json");
 json data = json::parse(f);
 ```
 
+See [Reading and writing files](../files.md) for checking that the file was opened and for writing files safely.
+
 The input must be encoded in UTF-8; other encodings are not supported. The exception is wide-character input, which
 is read as UTF-16 or UTF-32 — depending on the character type — and converted to UTF-8; see the
 [`parse`](../../api/basic_json/parse.md) page for an example. A single input may contain only one JSON value.

docs/mkdocs/docs/features/serialization.md

@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@ To write a value directly to a stream (for example, a file or `#!cpp std::cout`)
 std::cout << j << std::endl;
 ```
 
+To write a file without leaving a truncated file behind when serialization fails, see
+[Reading and writing files](files.md#writing-a-json-file).
+
 !!! note "String, not raw value"
 
     `dump` always returns a **JSON text**. Serializing a JSON string therefore includes the surrounding quotes and

docs/mkdocs/docs/home/faq.md

@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ in the source files that need it, instantiate `basic_json` once, and consider pr
 The parser did not see any character: the file was most likely not opened. A relative path is resolved against the
 working directory of the running program, which is often the build directory of your IDE, not the source directory.
 Check `is_open()` and try an absolute path. Other causes are an empty file and a stream that was already read. See
-[`parse_error.101`](exceptions.md#jsonexceptionparse_error101).
+[`parse_error.101`](exceptions.md#jsonexceptionparse_error101) and [Reading and writing files](../features/files.md).
 
 ### Input that arrives in chunks
 

docs/mkdocs/mkdocs.yml

@@ -130,6 +130,7 @@ nav:
           - features/element_access/unchecked_access.md
           - features/element_access/checked_access.md
           - features/element_access/default_value.md
+      - features/files.md
       - features/iterators.md
       - features/merge_patch.md
       - features/json_patch.md

include/nlohmann/detail/input/binary_reader.hpp

@@ -344,8 +344,8 @@ class binary_reader
     nested document could declare a length that disagrees with where its
     terminator actually falls and quietly hand the bytes in between to the
     enclosing document. A well-formed document is at least 5 bytes (the prefix
-    plus the terminator); open_bson_document() rejects a smaller size before
+    plus the terminator); the equality also rejects those impossible sizes,
-    it is stored, so @a document_size is never negative here.
+    since at least 5 bytes are always consumed.
 
     @param[in] document_start  value of chars_read before the size prefix
     @param[in] document_size   the declared document size
@@ -353,7 +353,7 @@ class binary_reader
     */
     bool check_bson_document_size(const std::size_t document_start, const std::int32_t document_size)
     {
-        if (JSON_HEDLEY_UNLIKELY(static_cast<std::size_t>(document_size) != chars_read - document_start))
+        if (JSON_HEDLEY_UNLIKELY(document_size < 0 || static_cast<std::size_t>(document_size) != chars_read - document_start))
         {
             return bson_document_size_error(document_size, chars_read - document_start);
         }
@@ -3091,6 +3091,8 @@ class binary_reader
         if (size_and_type.first != npos)
         {
             if (size_and_type.second != 0)
+            {
+                if (size_and_type.second != 'N')
                 {
                     for (std::size_t i = 0; i < size_and_type.first; ++i)
                     {
@@ -3101,6 +3103,7 @@ class binary_reader
                         dim.push_back(dimlen);
                     }
                 }
+            }
             else
             {
                 for (std::size_t i = 0; i < size_and_type.first; ++i)
@@ -3300,9 +3303,11 @@ class binary_reader
                     // follow the documented _ArrayType_, _ArraySize_, _ArrayData_ order
                     if (ndarray_dtype != 0)
                     {
-                        // every optimized type marker is_valid_optimized_type() accepts for BJData has a name
                         const char* type_name = bjd_type_name(ndarray_dtype);
-                        JSON_ASSERT(type_name != nullptr);
+                        if (JSON_HEDLEY_UNLIKELY(type_name == nullptr))
+                        {
+                            return unexpected_byte("invalid byte", "type");
+                        }
 
                         string_t type_key = "_ArrayType_";
                         string_t type = type_name; // sax->string() takes a reference
@@ -3385,6 +3390,12 @@ class binary_reader
         if (current == '$')
         {
             result.second = get();  // must not ignore 'N', because 'N' maybe the type
+            if (input_format == input_format_t::bjdata
+                    && JSON_HEDLEY_UNLIKELY(is_bjd_excluded_optimized_type(result.second)))
+            {
+                return optimized_type_error();
+            }
+
             if (JSON_HEDLEY_UNLIKELY(!unexpect_eof("type")))
             {
                 return false;
@@ -3412,7 +3423,7 @@ class binary_reader
             // an ndarray was read here only if the flag flipped; when it was
             // seeded true, get_ubjson_size_value() already rejected the nested
             // dimension vector
-            if (is_ndarray && !inside_ndarray)
+            if (input_format == input_format_t::bjdata && is_ndarray && !inside_ndarray)
             {
                 result.second |= (1 << 8); // use bit 8 to indicate ndarray, all UBJSON and BJData markers should be ASCII letters
             }
@@ -3422,7 +3433,7 @@ class binary_reader
         if (current == '#')
         {
             const bool is_error = get_ubjson_size_value(result.first, is_ndarray);
-            if (is_ndarray && !inside_ndarray)
+            if (input_format == input_format_t::bjdata && is_ndarray && !inside_ndarray)
             {
                 return last_byte_error(exception_id::unexpected_byte, "ndarray requires both type and size", "size");
             }
@@ -3596,6 +3607,7 @@ class binary_reader
     JSON_HEDLEY_NEVER_INLINE
     bool parse_ubjson_typed_run(std::size_t& remaining, const char_int_type type, std::true_type /*bulk*/)
     {
+        const bool bjdata = input_format == input_format_t::bjdata;
         switch (type)
         {
             case 'U':
@@ -3609,11 +3621,11 @@ class binary_reader
             case 'L':
                 return parse_ubjson_typed_run<std::int64_t>(remaining);
             case 'u':
-                return parse_ubjson_typed_run<std::uint16_t>(remaining);
+                return !bjdata || parse_ubjson_typed_run<std::uint16_t>(remaining);
             case 'm':
-                return parse_ubjson_typed_run<std::uint32_t>(remaining);
+                return !bjdata || parse_ubjson_typed_run<std::uint32_t>(remaining);
             case 'M':
-                return parse_ubjson_typed_run<std::uint64_t>(remaining);
+                return !bjdata || parse_ubjson_typed_run<std::uint64_t>(remaining);
             case 'd':
                 return parse_ubjson_typed_run<float>(remaining);
             case 'D':
@@ -3694,7 +3706,7 @@ class binary_reader
         // if bit-8 of size_and_type.second is set to 1, encode bjdata ndarray as an object in JData annotated array format (https://github.com/NeuroJSON/jdata):
         // {"_ArrayType_" : "typeid", "_ArraySize_" : [n1, n2, ...], "_ArrayData_" : [v1, v2, ...]}
 
-        if ((size_and_type.second & (1 << 8)) != 0)
+        if (input_format == input_format_t::bjdata && size_and_type.first != npos && (size_and_type.second & (1 << 8)) != 0)
         {
             size_and_type.second &= ~(static_cast<char_int_type>(1) << 8);  // use bit 8 to indicate ndarray, here we remove the bit to restore the type marker
 
@@ -3753,7 +3765,7 @@ class binary_reader
         }
 
         // If BJData type marker is 'B' decode as binary
-        if (size_and_type.first != npos && size_and_type.second == 'B')
+        if (input_format == input_format_t::bjdata && size_and_type.first != npos && size_and_type.second == 'B')
         {
             binary_t result;
             return get_binary(size_and_type.first, result) && sax->binary(result);
@@ -3802,7 +3814,7 @@ class binary_reader
         }
 
         // do not accept ND-array size in objects in BJData
-        if ((size_and_type.second & (1 << 8)) != 0)
+        if (input_format == input_format_t::bjdata && size_and_type.first != npos && (size_and_type.second & (1 << 8)) != 0)
         {
             return last_byte_error(exception_id::unexpected_byte, "BJData object does not support ND-array size in optimized format", "object");
         }
@@ -5083,9 +5095,8 @@ class binary_reader
   JSON_PRIVATE_UNLESS_TESTED:
     /*!
     @brief check whether @a marker is a type marker that may follow '$'
-    UBJSON: Z N T F i U I l L d D H C S [ {; BJData: the numeric markers and C.
+    UBJSON: Z N T F i U I l L d D H C S [ {; BJData: the numeric markers and C
-    The markers BJData excludes (F H N S T Z [ {) are the ones
+    (BJData's excluded markers are rejected separately).
-    binary_writer::is_bjdata_excluded_type_marker() lists; keep the two in sync.
     */
     bool is_valid_optimized_type(const char_int_type marker) const noexcept
     {
@@ -5120,6 +5131,20 @@ class binary_reader
         }
     }
 
+    /*!
+    @brief whether @a marker is excluded from BJData's optimized ND-array types
+    @return whether @a marker is one of 'F', 'H', 'N', 'S', 'T', 'Z', '[', '{'
+
+    Mirrors binary_writer's @ref binary_writer::is_bjdata_excluded_type_marker
+    "is_bjdata_excluded_type_marker()`, which encodes the same list the other
+    way; keep the two in sync.
+    */
+    static constexpr bool is_bjd_excluded_optimized_type(const char_int_type marker) noexcept
+    {
+        return marker == '[' || marker == '{' || marker == 'S' || marker == 'H'
+               || marker == 'T' || marker == 'F' || marker == 'N' || marker == 'Z';
+    }
+
     /*!
     @brief look up the ND-array element type name for a BJData dtype marker
     @return the type name ("uint8", "int8", ...), or nullptr if @a marker does

include/nlohmann/detail/output/binary_writer.hpp

@@ -3126,19 +3126,22 @@ class binary_writer
                 // negative fixnum
                 write_number(static_cast<std::int8_t>(j.m_data.m_value.number_integer));
             }
-            else if (j.m_data.m_value.number_integer >= (std::numeric_limits<std::int8_t>::min)())
+            else if (j.m_data.m_value.number_integer >= (std::numeric_limits<std::int8_t>::min)() &&
+                     j.m_data.m_value.number_integer <= (std::numeric_limits<std::int8_t>::max)())
             {
                 // int 8
                 oa.write_character(to_char_type(0xD0));
                 write_number(static_cast<std::int8_t>(j.m_data.m_value.number_integer));
             }
-            else if (j.m_data.m_value.number_integer >= (std::numeric_limits<std::int16_t>::min)())
+            else if (j.m_data.m_value.number_integer >= (std::numeric_limits<std::int16_t>::min)() &&
+                     j.m_data.m_value.number_integer <= (std::numeric_limits<std::int16_t>::max)())
             {
                 // int 16
                 oa.write_character(to_char_type(0xD1));
                 write_number(static_cast<std::int16_t>(j.m_data.m_value.number_integer));
             }
-            else if (j.m_data.m_value.number_integer >= (std::numeric_limits<std::int32_t>::min)())
+            else if (j.m_data.m_value.number_integer >= (std::numeric_limits<std::int32_t>::min)() &&
+                     j.m_data.m_value.number_integer <= (std::numeric_limits<std::int32_t>::max)())
             {
                 // int 32
                 oa.write_character(to_char_type(0xD2));
@@ -4054,7 +4057,7 @@ class binary_writer
     Containers, strings, high-precision numbers, booleans and null cannot be
     declared as the single type of an optimized container in BJData; such a
     container is written unoptimized. The reader rejects them with the same
-    list (binary_reader::is_valid_optimized_type()).
+    list (binary_reader::is_bjd_excluded_optimized_type()).
     */
     static constexpr bool is_bjdata_excluded_type_marker(const CharType marker) noexcept
     {

single_include/nlohmann/json.hpp

@@ -18359,8 +18359,8 @@ class binary_reader
     nested document could declare a length that disagrees with where its
     terminator actually falls and quietly hand the bytes in between to the
     enclosing document. A well-formed document is at least 5 bytes (the prefix
-    plus the terminator); open_bson_document() rejects a smaller size before
+    plus the terminator); the equality also rejects those impossible sizes,
-    it is stored, so @a document_size is never negative here.
+    since at least 5 bytes are always consumed.
 
     @param[in] document_start  value of chars_read before the size prefix
     @param[in] document_size   the declared document size
@@ -18368,7 +18368,7 @@ class binary_reader
     */
     bool check_bson_document_size(const std::size_t document_start, const std::int32_t document_size)
     {
-        if (JSON_HEDLEY_UNLIKELY(static_cast<std::size_t>(document_size) != chars_read - document_start))
+        if (JSON_HEDLEY_UNLIKELY(document_size < 0 || static_cast<std::size_t>(document_size) != chars_read - document_start))
         {
             return bson_document_size_error(document_size, chars_read - document_start);
         }
@@ -21106,6 +21106,8 @@ class binary_reader
         if (size_and_type.first != npos)
         {
             if (size_and_type.second != 0)
+            {
+                if (size_and_type.second != 'N')
                 {
                     for (std::size_t i = 0; i < size_and_type.first; ++i)
                     {
@@ -21116,6 +21118,7 @@ class binary_reader
                         dim.push_back(dimlen);
                     }
                 }
+            }
             else
             {
                 for (std::size_t i = 0; i < size_and_type.first; ++i)
@@ -21315,9 +21318,11 @@ class binary_reader
                     // follow the documented _ArrayType_, _ArraySize_, _ArrayData_ order
                     if (ndarray_dtype != 0)
                     {
-                        // every optimized type marker is_valid_optimized_type() accepts for BJData has a name
                         const char* type_name = bjd_type_name(ndarray_dtype);
-                        JSON_ASSERT(type_name != nullptr);
+                        if (JSON_HEDLEY_UNLIKELY(type_name == nullptr))
+                        {
+                            return unexpected_byte("invalid byte", "type");
+                        }
 
                         string_t type_key = "_ArrayType_";
                         string_t type = type_name; // sax->string() takes a reference
@@ -21400,6 +21405,12 @@ class binary_reader
         if (current == '$')
         {
             result.second = get();  // must not ignore 'N', because 'N' maybe the type
+            if (input_format == input_format_t::bjdata
+                    && JSON_HEDLEY_UNLIKELY(is_bjd_excluded_optimized_type(result.second)))
+            {
+                return optimized_type_error();
+            }
+
             if (JSON_HEDLEY_UNLIKELY(!unexpect_eof("type")))
             {
                 return false;
@@ -21427,7 +21438,7 @@ class binary_reader
             // an ndarray was read here only if the flag flipped; when it was
             // seeded true, get_ubjson_size_value() already rejected the nested
             // dimension vector
-            if (is_ndarray && !inside_ndarray)
+            if (input_format == input_format_t::bjdata && is_ndarray && !inside_ndarray)
             {
                 result.second |= (1 << 8); // use bit 8 to indicate ndarray, all UBJSON and BJData markers should be ASCII letters
             }
@@ -21437,7 +21448,7 @@ class binary_reader
         if (current == '#')
         {
             const bool is_error = get_ubjson_size_value(result.first, is_ndarray);
-            if (is_ndarray && !inside_ndarray)
+            if (input_format == input_format_t::bjdata && is_ndarray && !inside_ndarray)
             {
                 return last_byte_error(exception_id::unexpected_byte, "ndarray requires both type and size", "size");
             }
@@ -21611,6 +21622,7 @@ class binary_reader
     JSON_HEDLEY_NEVER_INLINE
     bool parse_ubjson_typed_run(std::size_t& remaining, const char_int_type type, std::true_type /*bulk*/)
     {
+        const bool bjdata = input_format == input_format_t::bjdata;
         switch (type)
         {
             case 'U':
@@ -21624,11 +21636,11 @@ class binary_reader
             case 'L':
                 return parse_ubjson_typed_run<std::int64_t>(remaining);
             case 'u':
-                return parse_ubjson_typed_run<std::uint16_t>(remaining);
+                return !bjdata || parse_ubjson_typed_run<std::uint16_t>(remaining);
             case 'm':
-                return parse_ubjson_typed_run<std::uint32_t>(remaining);
+                return !bjdata || parse_ubjson_typed_run<std::uint32_t>(remaining);
             case 'M':
-                return parse_ubjson_typed_run<std::uint64_t>(remaining);
+                return !bjdata || parse_ubjson_typed_run<std::uint64_t>(remaining);
             case 'd':
                 return parse_ubjson_typed_run<float>(remaining);
             case 'D':
@@ -21709,7 +21721,7 @@ class binary_reader
         // if bit-8 of size_and_type.second is set to 1, encode bjdata ndarray as an object in JData annotated array format (https://github.com/NeuroJSON/jdata):
         // {"_ArrayType_" : "typeid", "_ArraySize_" : [n1, n2, ...], "_ArrayData_" : [v1, v2, ...]}
 
-        if ((size_and_type.second & (1 << 8)) != 0)
+        if (input_format == input_format_t::bjdata && size_and_type.first != npos && (size_and_type.second & (1 << 8)) != 0)
         {
             size_and_type.second &= ~(static_cast<char_int_type>(1) << 8);  // use bit 8 to indicate ndarray, here we remove the bit to restore the type marker
 
@@ -21768,7 +21780,7 @@ class binary_reader
         }
 
         // If BJData type marker is 'B' decode as binary
-        if (size_and_type.first != npos && size_and_type.second == 'B')
+        if (input_format == input_format_t::bjdata && size_and_type.first != npos && size_and_type.second == 'B')
         {
             binary_t result;
             return get_binary(size_and_type.first, result) && sax->binary(result);
@@ -21817,7 +21829,7 @@ class binary_reader
         }
 
         // do not accept ND-array size in objects in BJData
-        if ((size_and_type.second & (1 << 8)) != 0)
+        if (input_format == input_format_t::bjdata && size_and_type.first != npos && (size_and_type.second & (1 << 8)) != 0)
         {
             return last_byte_error(exception_id::unexpected_byte, "BJData object does not support ND-array size in optimized format", "object");
         }
@@ -23098,9 +23110,8 @@ class binary_reader
   JSON_PRIVATE_UNLESS_TESTED:
     /*!
     @brief check whether @a marker is a type marker that may follow '$'
-    UBJSON: Z N T F i U I l L d D H C S [ {; BJData: the numeric markers and C.
+    UBJSON: Z N T F i U I l L d D H C S [ {; BJData: the numeric markers and C
-    The markers BJData excludes (F H N S T Z [ {) are the ones
+    (BJData's excluded markers are rejected separately).
-    binary_writer::is_bjdata_excluded_type_marker() lists; keep the two in sync.
     */
     bool is_valid_optimized_type(const char_int_type marker) const noexcept
     {
@@ -23135,6 +23146,20 @@ class binary_reader
         }
     }
 
+    /*!
+    @brief whether @a marker is excluded from BJData's optimized ND-array types
+    @return whether @a marker is one of 'F', 'H', 'N', 'S', 'T', 'Z', '[', '{'
+
+    Mirrors binary_writer's @ref binary_writer::is_bjdata_excluded_type_marker
+    "is_bjdata_excluded_type_marker()`, which encodes the same list the other
+    way; keep the two in sync.
+    */
+    static constexpr bool is_bjd_excluded_optimized_type(const char_int_type marker) noexcept
+    {
+        return marker == '[' || marker == '{' || marker == 'S' || marker == 'H'
+               || marker == 'T' || marker == 'F' || marker == 'N' || marker == 'Z';
+    }
+
     /*!
     @brief look up the ND-array element type name for a BJData dtype marker
     @return the type name ("uint8", "int8", ...), or nullptr if @a marker does
@@ -31085,19 +31110,22 @@ class binary_writer
                 // negative fixnum
                 write_number(static_cast<std::int8_t>(j.m_data.m_value.number_integer));
             }
-            else if (j.m_data.m_value.number_integer >= (std::numeric_limits<std::int8_t>::min)())
+            else if (j.m_data.m_value.number_integer >= (std::numeric_limits<std::int8_t>::min)() &&
+                     j.m_data.m_value.number_integer <= (std::numeric_limits<std::int8_t>::max)())
             {
                 // int 8
                 oa.write_character(to_char_type(0xD0));
                 write_number(static_cast<std::int8_t>(j.m_data.m_value.number_integer));
             }
-            else if (j.m_data.m_value.number_integer >= (std::numeric_limits<std::int16_t>::min)())
+            else if (j.m_data.m_value.number_integer >= (std::numeric_limits<std::int16_t>::min)() &&
+                     j.m_data.m_value.number_integer <= (std::numeric_limits<std::int16_t>::max)())
             {
                 // int 16
                 oa.write_character(to_char_type(0xD1));
                 write_number(static_cast<std::int16_t>(j.m_data.m_value.number_integer));
             }
-            else if (j.m_data.m_value.number_integer >= (std::numeric_limits<std::int32_t>::min)())
+            else if (j.m_data.m_value.number_integer >= (std::numeric_limits<std::int32_t>::min)() &&
+                     j.m_data.m_value.number_integer <= (std::numeric_limits<std::int32_t>::max)())
             {
                 // int 32
                 oa.write_character(to_char_type(0xD2));
@@ -32013,7 +32041,7 @@ class binary_writer
     Containers, strings, high-precision numbers, booleans and null cannot be
     declared as the single type of an optimized container in BJData; such a
     container is written unoptimized. The reader rejects them with the same
-    list (binary_reader::is_valid_optimized_type()).
+    list (binary_reader::is_bjd_excluded_optimized_type()).
     */
     static constexpr bool is_bjdata_excluded_type_marker(const CharType marker) noexcept
     {

tests/src/unit-bjdata.cpp

@@ -78,25 +78,23 @@ TEST_CASE("BJData")
 {
     SECTION("binary_reader BJData lookup tables")
     {
-        // bjd_type_name() is static; is_valid_optimized_type() needs a BJData reader
+        // both lookups are static member functions
         std::vector<std::uint8_t> const data;
         using reader_t = nlohmann::detail::binary_reader<json, decltype(nlohmann::detail::input_adapter(data))>;
 
-        // the markers BJData excludes as optimized types must match
+        // the excluded optimized-type markers must match binary_writer's
-        // binary_writer's is_bjdata_excluded_type_marker(), which encodes the
+        // is_bjdata_excluded_type_marker(), which encodes the same 8 markers
-        // same 8 markers
-        reader_t reader(nlohmann::detail::input_adapter(data), json::input_format_t::bjdata);
         for (const char marker :
-                {'[', '{', 'S', 'H', 'T', 'F', 'N', 'Z', 'x'
+                {'[', '{', 'S', 'H', 'T', 'F', 'N', 'Z'
                 })
         {
-            CHECK(!reader.is_valid_optimized_type(static_cast<unsigned char>(marker)));
+            CHECK(reader_t::is_bjd_excluded_optimized_type(static_cast<unsigned char>(marker)));
         }
         for (const char marker :
-                {'U', 'i', 'u', 'I', 'm', 'l', 'M', 'L', 'd', 'D', 'C', 'B', 'h'
+                {'U', 'i', 'u', 'I', 'm', 'l', 'M', 'L', 'd', 'D', 'C', 'B', 'x'
                 })
         {
-            CHECK(reader.is_valid_optimized_type(static_cast<unsigned char>(marker)));
+            CHECK(!reader_t::is_bjd_excluded_optimized_type(static_cast<unsigned char>(marker)));
         }
 
         // every dtype marker must round-trip to its ND-array type name