Add optional simdutf backend for bulk UTF-8 validation (JSON_USE_SIMDUTF)

The bulk string scanner validates UTF-8 straight from a contiguous buffer.
The scalar validator caps at ~0.3-0.7 GB/s on non-ASCII text; a SIMD
validator reaches several GB/s. Rather than hand-rolling SIMD UTF-8
validation (easy to get subtly wrong - a from-scratch SSE attempt rejected
valid CJK), wire in the vetted simdutf library behind an opt-in switch.

simdutf is not header-only (it ships simdutf.cpp and uses runtime CPU
dispatch), so it is not vendored: defining JSON_USE_SIMDUTF includes
<simdutf.h> and routes the bulk validator through simdutf::validate_utf8;
the project supplies and links simdutf. Undefined (the default), nothing
external is included and the portable C++11 scalar path is used, so the
library stays header-only and its baseline behavior is unchanged.

Design keeps behavior identical either way:
- scan_string_bulk() now finds the run up to the next quote/escape/control
  byte (non-ASCII allowed) and validates it in one shot; on the rare
  validation failure it recomputes the exact valid prefix with the scalar
  helper, so ill-formed input still falls through to the byte path and is
  reported at the same position with the same message.
- the per-sequence scalar path is factored into scalar_string_bulk_run()
  and is the default backend; the refactor is behavior-preserving and does
  not change scalar throughput.

Verified: default and JSON_USE_SIMDUTF builds accept/reject/parse
identically across 2,000,000 arbitrary-byte documents and 1,000,000
mixed-escape/UTF-8 documents (differential fuzz vs the streaming byte
path); lexer/parser/diagnostic-position/deserialization suites pass under
both configurations (20,188 assertions with the backend enabled);
warning-clean on g++ and clang, C++11 and C++20, both configurations.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01AXcDtEma2PjxgmPS9cQGzA
Signed-off-by: Niels Lohmann <mail@nlohmann.me>
This commit is contained in:
Niels Lohmann
2026-07-20 09:51:17 +00:00
co-authored by Claude Opus 4.8
parent fb3dd97306
commit 190f4b6a7b
4 changed files with 241 additions and 50 deletions
+1
View File
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ header. See also the [macro overview page](../../features/macros.md).
- [**JSON_NO_IO**](json_no_io.md) - switch off functions relying on certain C++ I/O headers
- [**JSON_SKIP_UNSUPPORTED_COMPILER_CHECK**](json_skip_unsupported_compiler_check.md) - do not warn about unsupported compilers
- [**JSON_USE_GLOBAL_UDLS**](json_use_global_udls.md) - place user-defined string literals (UDLs) into the global namespace
- [**JSON_USE_SIMDUTF**](json_use_simdutf.md) - use the simdutf library to accelerate UTF-8 validation
## Library version
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
# JSON_USE_SIMDUTF
```cpp
#define JSON_USE_SIMDUTF
```
When defined, the parser validates the UTF-8 content of JSON strings that come from a **contiguous byte input**
(`std::string`, `std::vector<char>`/`<std::uint8_t>`, string literals, `const char*` ranges, …) using the
[simdutf](https://github.com/simdutf/simdutf) library instead of the built-in scalar validator. On text with many
non-ASCII characters (e.g. CJK or emoji) this can validate several times faster.
This is an **opt-in external dependency**. The library itself remains header-only and its behavior is unchanged: the
same input is accepted or rejected either way, and every parse error is reported at the same position with the same
message (simdutf is only used to fast-path *valid* runs; anything it flags falls back to the scalar path so the exact
diagnostic is preserved). Streaming inputs (files, `std::istream`, wide strings, user-defined adapters) always use the
scalar path.
When `JSON_USE_SIMDUTF` is defined you must make the `simdutf.h` header available on the include path and link the
simdutf library. When it is not defined, no simdutf header is included and there is no dependency.
## Default definition
By default, `#!cpp JSON_USE_SIMDUTF` is not defined and the portable C++11 scalar validator is used.
```cpp
#undef JSON_USE_SIMDUTF
```
## Examples
??? example
The code below enables the simdutf backend for UTF-8 validation.
```cpp
#define JSON_USE_SIMDUTF 1
#include <simdutf.h>
#include <nlohmann/json.hpp>
...
```
The project must also link against simdutf, e.g. with CMake:
```cmake
target_compile_definitions(your_target PRIVATE JSON_USE_SIMDUTF)
target_link_libraries(your_target PRIVATE simdutf::simdutf)
```
## Version history
- Added in version 3.12.1.