How to convert array to XML using PHP 5.6

In PHP development, arrays and XML are two very commonly used data formats. Arrays provide a convenient data structure to store and access data, while XML provides a common format for sharing data between different applications. Therefore, converting arrays to XML is a very important task in PHP development. In this article, we will explain how to convert an array to XML using PHP 5.6.

1. Create an array

First, we need to create an array in order to convert it to XML. Here is an example array:

$info = array(
    "name" => "John Smith",
    "email" => "john.smith@example.com",
    "phone" => "123-456-7890",
    "address" => array(
        "street" => "123 Main St",
        "city" => "Anytown",
        "state" => "CA",
        "zip" => "12345"
    )
);

This array contains information about a person, including name, email, phone, and address. Address is another array containing street, city, state and zip code details.

2. Create an XML document

Next, we need to create an XML document in order to convert the array into the correct format. We will use PHP's DOMDocument class to create an XML document. Here is an example:

$xml = new DOMDocument("1.0", "UTF-8");

This line of code creates a new DOMDocument object, specifying the version and encoding of the XML document.

3. Creating the root element

The next step is to create the root element of the XML document. We will name the root element using the key of the array. Here's an example:

$root = $xml->createElement(key($info));
$xml->appendChild($root);

This code creates a new root element using PHP's createElement method and adds it to the XML document using PHP's appendChild method.

4. Create sub-elements and attributes

Next, we need to use the values ​​of the array to create sub-elements and attributes in the XML document. We will use a recursive function to handle nested sub-arrays within an array. Here is an example:

function createChild($element, $value, $xml) {
    if(is_array($value)) {
        $child = $xml->createElement($element);
        foreach($value as $key => $val) {
            createChild($key, $val, $child);
        }
        $xml->appendChild($child);
    }
    else {
        $attribute = $xml->createAttribute($element);
        $attribute->value = $value;
        $xml->appendChild($attribute);
    }
}
foreach($info as $key => $value) {
    createChild($key, $value, $root);
}

This function accepts three parameters: element name, element value and XML document object. If the element value is an array, it will call itself recursively to create the child elements. Otherwise, it creates an attribute and adds it to the XML document.

Finally, we iterate through all the key-value pairs in the array and pass them to the createChild function to create the elements and attributes in the XML document.

5. Output XML document

The last step is to output the XML document. We will use PHP's saveXML method to output the XML document into a string. Here is an example:

echo $xml->saveXML();

This will output a string representation of the XML document.

Full code example:

$info = array(
    "name" => "John Smith",
    "email" => "john.smith@example.com",
    "phone" => "123-456-7890",
    "address" => array(
        "street" => "123 Main St",
        "city" => "Anytown",
        "state" => "CA",
        "zip" => "12345"
    )
);

$xml = new DOMDocument("1.0", "UTF-8");

$root = $xml->createElement(key($info));
$xml->appendChild($root);

function createChild($element, $value, $xml) {
    if(is_array($value)) {
        $child = $xml->createElement($element);
        foreach($value as $key => $val) {
            createChild($key, $val, $child);
        }
        $xml->appendChild($child);
    }
    else {
        $attribute = $xml->createAttribute($element);
        $attribute->value = $value;
        $xml->appendChild($attribute);
    }
}

foreach($info as $key => $value) {
    createChild($key, $value, $root);
}

echo $xml->saveXML();

The above code will output the following XML:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<info>
  <name>John Smith</name>
  <email>john.smith@example.com</email>
  <phone>123-456-7890</phone>
  <address>
    <street>123 Main St</street>
    <city>Anytown</city>
    <state>CA</state>
    <zip>12345</zip>
  </address>
</info>

Summary

In this article, we covered how to use PHP 5.6 Convert array to XML. We created a sample array and used PHP's DOMDocument class and recursive functions to create the XML document. Finally, we use PHP's saveXML method to output the XML document into a string. This is a very useful technique that can be used frequently in actual PHP development.

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