PHP can process XML files because it has a DOM parser built in.
The DOM Parser for XML
The DOM parser works like a tree.
Check out the following part of an XML document:
<?xml version=”1.0″ encoding=”UTF-8″?>
<from>Jani</from>
The above XML is seen as a tree structure by the DOM:
Level 1: XML Document
Level 2: Root element: <from>
Level 3: Text element: “Jani”
Installation
The PHP core includes the DOM parser functions. You don’t have to install anything to use these functions.
The XML Document
In our example, we’ll use the XML file below (“example.xml”):
<?xml version=’1.0′ encoding=’UTF-8′?>
<example>
<to>Ram</to>
<from>Shyam</from>
<heading>Message</heading>
<body>Lets do tracking this weekend!</body>
</example>
Load and Output XML
We want to set up the XML parser, load the XML, and send it to the screen:
<?php $xmlfile = new DOMDocument(); $xmlfile ->
load(“example.xml”);
print $xmlfile ->saveXML(); ?>
More PHP XML Expat Parser
Visit our PHP XML Parser Reference page to find out more about the XML Parser reference.
What will come out of the code above is:
Ram Shyam Message Lets do tracking this weekend!
If you click “View source” in the browser window, you will see the following HTML:
<?xml version=’1.0′ encoding=’UTF-8′?>
<example>
<to>Ram</to>
<from>Shyam</from>
<heading>Message</heading>
<body>Lets do tracking this weekend!</body>
</example>
# Summary
Here is what you've learned in this lesson:
- The DOM Parser for XML
- Installation
- The XML Document
- Load and Output XML
- More PHP XML Expat Parser
Continue to the next lesson and learn more about PHP XML Expat Parser.