We need to be careful to not grab an extra reference when mutating data
structures because that means we make extra copies. Doing that every
time in `_modify` is really painful, as that function implements `|=`
and all modify-assign operators.
`jv_setpath()` also grabs additional references, so this is not the only
fix needed for the modify-assign operators to not be accidentally
quadratic.
We have to use `LOADVN` in order to make this fix possible, so we should
really byte-code `_modify` rather than jq-code it. However, as a
stop-gap to make this fix easier, I'm adding syntax for referring to a
`$binding` such that you get `LOADVN` instead of `LOADV`.
This syntax is not meant to be used outside jq's internals! Therefore
it is not documented. I promise to break it later, so don't use it!
TBD, but later:
- Optimize `_modify` for the case where `update` outputs more than one
value.
This is trivial: add a `setpath($p; null)` in the middle of `_modify`
before calling `update`. But unfortunately the VM retains a
reference to `value_at_path` for path expression checking, and fixing
that will require more work.
Extend jv_number to use decNumber for storing number literals. Any math
operations on the numbers will truncate them to double precision.
Comparisons when both numbers are literal numbers will compare them
without truncation.
Delay conversion of numbers to doubles until a math operation is performed,
to preserve precision. A literal jv_number will only need conversion to
double once, and will reuse the resultant double on subsequent
conversions.
Outputting literal jv_numbers preserves the original precision.
Add strong pthread requirement to manage contexts/allocations for
converting numbers between their decNumber, string, and double formats.
Defaults the else clause to the identity filter "." if an else clause is
missing.
The following two jq programs are considered equivalent:
```
if .foo then
.foo = "bar"
else
.
end
```
```
if .foo then
.foo = "bar"
end
```
Avoid doing the internal binding of top-level symbols in the parser,
leaving that work to be done in a post-processing step. For builtins,
this lets us do a reference-aware bind step (block_bind_incremental)
*after* generating builtins/0.
Libraries are a bit trickier since they may be bound multiple times, so
instead of thinking through the implications I added (block_bind_self)
to resolve all internal symbols immediately.
Users are often surprised by the requirement to parenthesize any
non-trivial object key expressions in object constructors. E.g.,
{"a"+"b":1}. This commit adds one more kind of key expression besides
literals and idents: variable references.
A common use case for this is jq programs as JSON templates to fill in
with variables computed from inputs or passed in on the command-line.
E.g., {some_key:$value}. Now users can also use, e.g., {$key:$value}.
This and the restrictions on key and value expressions in object
constructors are now clarified a bit in the documentation.
Mattias Wadman