What is PHP SimpleXML?
SimpleXML is a new feature in PHP 5.
The SimpleXML extension provides a simple way to get the name and text of an XML element.
Compared to DOM or Expat parsers, SimpleXML can read text data from XML elements in just a few lines of code.
SimpleXML can convert XML documents (or XML strings) into objects, for example:
· elements are converted into single attributes of SimpleXMLElement objects. When there are multiple elements at the same level, they are placed in an array.
· Attributes are accessed using an associative array, where the index corresponds to the attribute name.
· The text inside the element is converted to a string. If an element has multiple text nodes, they are arranged in the order in which they are found.
SimpleXML is very fast to use when performing basic tasks like the following:
· # Properties
However, when dealing with advanced XML, such as namespaces, it is better to use the Expat parser or the XML DOM.
Installation Starting with PHP 5, SimpleXML functions are an integral part of PHP core. No installation is required to use these functions.
PHP SimpleXML Example
Suppose we have the following XML file, "note.xml":
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<note>
<to>Tove</to>
<from>Jani</from>
<heading>Reminder</heading>
<body>Don't forget me this weekend!</body>
</note>
Now we want to output Different information of the above XML file:
Example 1
Output the keys and elements of the $xml variable (which is a SimpleXMLElement object):
<?php
$xml=simplexml_load_file("note.xml");
print_r($xml);
?>The above code will output:
SimpleXMLElement Object ( [to] => Tove [from] => Jani [heading] => Reminder [body] => Don't forget me this weekend! )
Example 2
Output the data of each element in the XML file:
<?php
$xml=simplexml_load_file("note.xml");
echo $xml->to . "<br>";
echo $xml->from . "<br>";
echo $xml->heading . "<br>";
echo $xml->body;
?>The above code will output:
Tove
Jani
Reminder
Don't forget me this weekend!
Example 3
Output the element name and data of each child node:
<?php
$xml=simplexml_load_file("note.xml");
echo $xml->getName() . "<br>";
foreach($xml->children() as $child)
{
echo $child->getName() . ": " . $child . "<br>";
}
?>
The above code will output:
note
to: Tove
from: Jani
heading: Reminder
body: Don't forget me this weekend!
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