PHPackages mfonte/fast-toon - PHPackages - PHPackages [Skip to content](#main-content)[PHPackages](/)[Directory](/)[Categories](/categories)[Trending](/trending)[Leaderboard](/leaderboard)[Changelog](/changelog)[Analyze](/analyze)[Collections](/collections)[Log in](/login)[Sign up](/register) 1. [Directory](/) 2. / 3. [Parsing & Serialization](/categories/parsing) 4. / 5. mfonte/fast-toon ActiveLibrary[Parsing & Serialization](/categories/parsing) mfonte/fast-toon ================ Fastest TOON (Token-Oriented Object Notation) encoder/decoder for PHP 7.0+. 3x faster encoding, 15x faster decoding vs alternatives. LLM-optimized with ~40% token reduction vs JSON. v1.0.0(4mo ago)03MITPHPPHP ^7.0|^8.0 Since Dec 20Pushed 4mo agoCompare [ Source](https://github.com/mauriziofonte/fast-php-toon)[ Packagist](https://packagist.org/packages/mfonte/fast-toon)[ Docs](https://github.com/mauriziofonte/fast-php-toon)[ RSS](/packages/mfonte-fast-toon/feed)WikiDiscussions main Synced 1mo ago READMEChangelogDependencies (3)Versions (2)Used By (0) Fast TOON Encoder/Decoder for PHP ================================= [](#fast-toon-encoderdecoder-for-php) [![Latest Version on Packagist](https://camo.githubusercontent.com/f8e7f2123936eb0c35d2f3e69556baa0e4a5b539d7f7e5f70c9e503dacfd5b90/68747470733a2f2f696d672e736869656c64732e696f2f7061636b61676973742f762f6d666f6e74652f666173742d7068702d746f6f6e2e7376673f7374796c653d666c61742d737175617265)](https://packagist.org/packages/mfonte/fast-php-toon)[![Total Downloads](https://camo.githubusercontent.com/4c89660ad2821b6515c2893c5262c0ebe9f1862296468ece39cc89f7a029cdec/68747470733a2f2f696d672e736869656c64732e696f2f7061636b61676973742f64742f6d666f6e74652f666173742d7068702d746f6f6e2e7376673f7374796c653d666c61742d737175617265)](https://packagist.org/packages/mfonte/fast-php-toon)[![License](https://camo.githubusercontent.com/c3aee1da813e1ef415bc4664db45692689c4f061876592476b25c6641eb2f955/68747470733a2f2f696d672e736869656c64732e696f2f7061636b61676973742f6c2f6d666f6e74652f666173742d7068702d746f6f6e2e7376673f7374796c653d666c61742d737175617265)](https://packagist.org/packages/mfonte/fast-php-toon)The **fastest** TOON (Token-Oriented Object Notation) encoder and decoder for PHP, with full support for **PHP 7.0 through 8.4**. TOON is a data serialization format optimized for LLM (Large Language Model) input, providing approximately **40% token reduction** compared to JSON while maintaining full semantic equivalence. ⚡ Performance Highlights ------------------------ [](#-performance-highlights) This library is specifically optimized for speed and broad compatibility: Featuremfonte/fast-toonhelgesverre/toon**PHP Version**7.0 - 8.4 ✅8.1+ only**Encoding Speed****3.2x faster**baseline**Decoding Speed****15x faster**baseline**Memory Usage**OptimizedStandard### Benchmark Results [](#benchmark-results) Performance comparison against `helgesverre/toon` (the reference implementation): Data SizeOperationmfonte/fast-toonhelgesverre/toonSpeedupSmall (10 items)Encode9.4 ms27.5 ms**2.9x**Small (10 items)Decode9.2 ms33.5 ms**3.6x**Medium (100 items)Encode85 ms284 ms**3.3x**Medium (100 items)Decode27 ms456 ms**16.9x**Large (1000 items)Encode88 ms274 ms**3.1x**Large (1000 items)Decode24 ms463 ms**19.3x***Benchmarks run on PHP 8.3 with 1000 iterations (100 for large data). Results may vary based on hardware and PHP version.* Installation ------------ [](#installation) You can install the package via composer: ``` composer require mfonte/fast-toon ``` Usage ----- [](#usage) ``` use Mfonte\FastToon\Toon; $data = [ 'users' => [ ['id' => 1, 'name' => 'Alice', 'active' => true], ['id' => 2, 'name' => 'Bob', 'active' => false], ['id' => 3, 'name' => 'Charlie', 'active' => true], ] ]; $toon = toon_encode($data); // Output: // users[3]{id,name,active}: // 1|Alice|T // 2|Bob|F // 3|Charlie|T $decoded = toon_decode($toon); ``` ### Fluent API [](#fluent-api) Instead of using helper functions, you may also use the fluent API: ``` use Mfonte\FastToon\Toon; $toon = Toon::encode($data) ->withFlags(TOON_THROW_ON_ERROR | TOON_KEY_FOLDING) ->withDepth(100) ->toString(); $decoded = Toon::decode($toon) ->withOptions(['strict' => true]) ->toArray(); ``` ### Encoding flags [](#encoding-flags) Like `json_encode()`, TOON supports bitmask flags for controlling encoding behavior: ``` // Combine flags with bitwise OR $toon = toon_encode($data, TOON_THROW_ON_ERROR | TOON_KEY_FOLDING); // Use tab delimiter for tabular output $toon = toon_encode($data, TOON_TAB_DELIMITER); ``` FlagDescription`TOON_THROW_ON_ERROR`Throw exception instead of returning `false``TOON_FORCE_OBJECT`Force empty/sequential arrays as objects`TOON_PRESERVE_ZERO_FRACTION`Preserve `.0` in floats like `5.0``TOON_TAB_DELIMITER`Use tab as tabular delimiter`TOON_PIPE_DELIMITER`Use pipe as tabular delimiter (default)`TOON_KEY_FOLDING`Enable key folding for nested single-key objects`TOON_INDENT_4`Use 4 spaces for indentation`TOON_NUMERIC_CHECK`Encode numeric strings as numbers`TOON_INVALID_UTF8_IGNORE`Ignore invalid UTF-8 sequences`TOON_INVALID_UTF8_SUBSTITUTE`Substitute invalid UTF-8 with replacement char### Decoding flags [](#decoding-flags) ``` $data = toon_decode($toon, TOON_STRICT | TOON_THROW_ON_ERROR); ``` FlagDescription`TOON_THROW_ON_ERROR`Throw exception instead of returning `null``TOON_OBJECT_AS_ARRAY`Decode objects as associative arrays`TOON_BIGINT_AS_STRING`Decode big integers as strings`TOON_STRICT`Enable strict mode validation### Error handling [](#error-handling) TOON provides error handling similar to JSON: ``` $result = toon_encode($data); if ($result === false) { echo toon_last_error_msg(); } ``` When using `TOON_THROW_ON_ERROR`, exceptions are thrown instead: ``` try { $toon = toon_encode($data, TOON_THROW_ON_ERROR); } catch (\Mfonte\FastToon\Exceptions\EncodingException $e) { // Handle exception } ``` ### TOON format overview [](#toon-format-overview) TOON uses a line-based syntax that eliminates redundant characters found in JSON. **Objects** are represented as key-value pairs: ``` name:John Doe age:30 active:T ``` **Arrays of objects** with the same structure use a highly efficient tabular format: ``` users[3]{id,name,email}: 1|Alice|alice@example.com 2|Bob|bob@example.com 3|Charlie|charlie@example.com ``` This provides approximately 50% token savings compared to the equivalent JSON for tabular data. Testing ------- [](#testing) This package supports PHP 7.0 through 8.4 and provides PHPUnit configurations for each version range. ``` # Run tests on PHP 8.1+ (PHPUnit 10+) composer test # Run tests on PHP 7.0-7.1 (PHPUnit 6-7) composer test:php70 # Run tests on PHP 7.2-8.0 (PHPUnit 8-9) composer test:php72 # Run tests with coverage composer test:coverage ``` The test suite is compatible with: PHPUnit VersionPHP VersionConfig File6.5.14 - 7.5.20PHP 7.0 - 7.1`phpunit-php70.xml.dist`8.5.50 - 9.6.31PHP 7.2 - 8.0`phpunit-php72.xml.dist`10.5.60+PHP 8.1+`phpunit.xml.dist`Code Style ---------- [](#code-style) This package uses PHP-CS-Fixer for code style enforcement. Two configurations are provided for compatibility across PHP versions. ``` # Check code style (PHP 7.4+, php-cs-fixer 3.x) composer cs-check # Fix code style (PHP 7.4+, php-cs-fixer 3.x) composer cs-fix # Check code style (PHP 7.0-7.3, php-cs-fixer 2.x) composer cs-check:v2 # Fix code style (PHP 7.0-7.3, php-cs-fixer 2.x) composer cs-fix:v2 ``` PHP-CS-Fixer VersionPHP VersionConfig File2.19.3PHP 7.0 - 7.3`.php-cs-fixer-v2.php`3.xPHP 7.4+`.php-cs-fixer.dist.php`PHP version compatibility ------------------------- [](#php-version-compatibility) This library is designed to work across PHP 7.0 through 8.4: - **PHP 7.0-7.4**: Full support with polyfills for missing functions - **PHP 8.0**: Stringable interface support - **PHP 8.1+**: Enum support, readonly properties Type support ------------ [](#type-support) TOON supports all PHP types that `json_encode()` supports: PHP TypeTOON Representation`null``N``bool``T` / `F``int`Number literal`float`Number literal`string`Unquoted (with escapes)`array` (sequential)Pipe-separated values`array` (associative)Key-value pairs`object`Key-value pairs`JsonSerializable`Via `jsonSerialize()``DateTimeInterface`ISO 8601 string`Enum` (PHP 8.1+)Backed value or name`Stringable` (PHP 8.0+)String conversionBenchmarks ---------- [](#benchmarks) ### TOON vs JSON [](#toon-vs-json) Compared to JSON for typical API response data: MetricJSONTOONImprovementToken Count1000600**40% fewer**Bytes50003800**24% smaller***Token counts measured with OpenAI's tiktoken (cl100k\_base)* ### Running Benchmarks [](#running-benchmarks) This library includes comprehensive benchmarks to measure performance: ``` # Compare against helgesverre/toon (requires both libraries installed) composer benchmark:compare # Run phpbench microbenchmarks composer benchmark # Run phpbench with summary report composer benchmark:summary # Run profiling benchmark composer benchmark:profile ``` The comparative benchmark (`composer benchmark:compare`) will output: - Encoding/decoding times for small, medium, and large datasets - Operations per second - Memory usage - Speedup factors vs helgesverre/toon ### Why is mfonte/fast-toon faster? [](#why-is-mfontefast-toon-faster) Key optimizations that make this library significantly faster: 1. **Inline Type Checks**: Direct type comparisons instead of function calls 2. **Pre-computed Values**: Indent strings, delimiter symbols cached at construction 3. **Optimized String Building**: Direct array appending instead of buffered writing 4. **Fast Path Detection**: Early returns for common primitive types 5. **Minimal Memory Allocation**: Reuse of internal buffers Why Choose mfonte/fast-toon? ---------------------------- [](#why-choose-mfontefast-toon) Considerationmfonte/fast-toonhelgesverre/toonPHP 7.0-7.4 support✅ Yes❌ NoPHP 8.0+ support✅ Yes✅ YesEncoding speed⚡ 3x fasterbaselineDecoding speed⚡ 15x fasterbaselineMemory efficiency⚡ OptimizedstandardSpec compliance✅ Full✅ FullChangelog --------- [](#changelog) Please see [CHANGELOG](CHANGELOG.md) for more information on what has changed recently. Contributing ------------ [](#contributing) Please see [CONTRIBUTING](CONTRIBUTING.md) for details. License ------- [](#license) The MIT License (MIT). Please see [License File](LICENSE) for more information. Credits ------- [](#credits) - [Maurizio Fonte](https://github.com/mauriziofonte) - TOON specification: [github.com/toon-format](https://github.com/toon-format/spec) ### Health Score 32 — LowBetter than 72% of packages Maintenance73 Regular maintenance activity Popularity3 Limited adoption so far Community6 Small or concentrated contributor base Maturity39 Early-stage or recently created project Bus Factor1 Top contributor holds 100% of commits — single point of failure How is this calculated?**Maintenance (25%)** — Last commit recency, latest release date, and issue-to-star ratio. Uses a 2-year decay window. **Popularity (30%)** — Total and monthly downloads, GitHub stars, and forks. Logarithmic scaling prevents top-heavy scores. **Community (15%)** — Contributors, dependents, forks, watchers, and maintainers. Measures real ecosystem engagement. **Maturity (30%)** — Project age, version count, PHP version support, and release stability. ### Release Activity Cadence Unknown Total 1 Last Release 149d ago ### Community Maintainers ![](https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/7733524e324e4a6f68d80bad3cfc5737cda0bfb072154210de09c7c2820d070c?d=identicon)[mauriziofonte](/maintainers/mauriziofonte) --- Top Contributors [![mauriziofonte](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/1758841?v=4)](https://github.com/mauriziofonte "mauriziofonte (1 commits)") --- Tags jsonlaravelcompressionaitokenserializationformatopenaioptimizationfastmachine learningencoderdecoderclaudellmanthropicgptpromptcost-reductiontoon ### Code Quality TestsPHPUnit Code StylePHP CS Fixer ### Embed Badge ![Health badge](/badges/mfonte-fast-toon/health.svg) ``` [![Health](https://phpackages.com/badges/mfonte-fast-toon/health.svg)](https://phpackages.com/packages/mfonte-fast-toon) ``` ### Alternatives [helgesverre/toon Token-Oriented Object Notation - A compact data format for reducing token consumption when sending structured data to LLMs 11841.4k9](/packages/helgesverre-toon)[sbsaga/toon 🧠 TOON for Laravel — a compact, human-readable, and token-efficient data format for AI prompts & LLM contexts. Perfect for ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Mistral, and OpenAI integrations (JSON ⇄ TOON). 6115.6k](/packages/sbsaga-toon)[vizra/vizra-adk Vizra Agent Development Kit - A comprehensive Laravel package for building intelligent AI agents. 29026.1k](/packages/vizra-vizra-adk)[claude-php/claude-php-sdk-laravel Laravel integration for the Claude PHP SDK - Anthropic Claude API 5010.8k](/packages/claude-php-claude-php-sdk-laravel) PHPackages © 2026 [Directory](/)[Categories](/categories)[Trending](/trending)[Changelog](/changelog)[Analyze](/analyze)