PHP SimpleXML

PHP SimpleXML

PHP SimpleXML handles the most common XML tasks, leaving the rest to other extensions.

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, such as:

1. Elements are converted into single attributes of SimpleXMLElement objects. When there are multiple elements at the same level, they are placed in an array.

2. Properties are accessed using an associative array, where the index corresponds to the property name.

3. 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:

1. Read/extract data from XML files/strings

2. Edit text Node or attribute

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 part of the PHP core. No installation is required to use these functions.

PHP SimpleXML Example

Suppose we have the following XML file, "note.xml":

  Tove Jani Reminder Don't forget me this weekend! 

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):

Running Example»

The above code will output:

SimpleXMLElement Object ( [to] => Tove [from] => Jani [heading] => ; Reminder [body] => Don't forget me this weekend! )

##Example 2

Output Data for each element in the XML file:

to . "
"; echo $xml->from . "
"; echo $xml->heading . "
"; echo $xml->body; ?>

Run the example»

The above code will output:

ToveJani
Reminder
Don't forget me this weekend!

##Example 3

Output each child Element name and data of the node:

getName() . "
"; foreach($xml->children() as $child) { echo $child->getName() . ": " . $child . "
"; } ?>

Run instance»

The above code will output:

note

to: Tovefrom: Jani
heading: Reminder
body: Don't forget me this weekend!

More PHP SimpleXML information

To learn more about PHP SimpleXML functions, visit our PHP SimpleXML Reference Manual.