Why is simplexml_load_file not returning a simple array in my PHP script?

Question

I'm using the simplexml_load_file command to parse data from an api to the MMO I subscribe to make a tool to get the current guild rooster. The raw xml that is returned from the api looks like:

<apiresponse>
    <guild name="Seekers of Forgotten Pasts" world="Cannith" memberCount="1312">
        <characters>
            <character name="Nethershadow" surname="" rank_level="5" rank_name="Officer" race="Halfling" gender="m" alignment="True Neutral">
            <classes>
                <class name="Ranger" level="2"/>
                <class name="Rogue" level="8"/>
            </classes>
        </character>
        <character name="..." surname="..." rank_level="..." rank_name="..." race="..." gender="..." alignment="...">
            ...
        </character>
        <character name="Calomel" surname="" rank_level="10" rank_name="Member" race="Drow Elf" gender="m" alignment="Lawful Good">
            <classes>
                <class name="Paladin" level="5"/>
            </classes>
        </character>
    </guild>
<cache_info cached_until_gmt="2013-01-05 19:23"/>
</apiresponse>

Now, when I plug in my php to retrieve the list of names, as such:

<?php
    $names = array();
    $xmlGuild = simplexml_load_file($DataDDO_api_urlFullGuildSearch);
    $characters = $xmlGuild->guild->characters->character;
    for ($i = 0; $i < sizeof($characters); $i++) {
        $names[] = $characters[$i]->attributes()->name;
    }
    echo "\n\nTotal members: " . count($names) . "\n\n<pre>\n";
    print_r($names);
    echo "</pre>\n";
?>

I get as a result:

Total members: 1312

Array
(
    [0] => SimpleXMLElement Object
        (
            [0] => Nethershadow
        )
    [...] => SimpleXMLElement Object
        (
            [0] => ...
        )
    [1311] => SimpleXMLElement Object
        (
            [0] => Calomel
        )
)

Instead of what I am expecting of:

Array
(
    [0] => Nethershadow
    [...] => ...
    [1311] => Calomel
)

Why is this?

As an aside, could it be that you mean count() instead of sizeof()? Also, this is better solved with a foreach loop. — Tomalak
– Tomalak, Commented Jan 5, 2013 at 16:16
I tried the loop section as foreach ($characters as $character) {$names[] = $character->attributes()->name;} and got the same results. — ShoeMaker
– ShoeMaker, Commented Jan 5, 2013 at 16:22

Tomalak · Accepted Answer · 2013-01-05 16:19:57Z

1

You must cast SimpleXML objects to string if you want their text value.

<?php
    $names = array();
    $apiresponse = simplexml_load_file($DataDDO_api_urlFullGuildSearch);

    foreach ($apiresponse->guild->characters->character as $char) 
    {
        $names[] = (string)$char->attributes()->name;
    }

    echo "\n\nTotal members: " . count($names) . "\n\n<pre>\n";
    print_r($names);
    echo "</pre>\n";
?>

answered Jan 5, 2013 at 16:19

Tomalak

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2 Comments

ShoeMaker Over a year ago

Perfect... so it is the (string) in $names[] = (string)$char->attributes()->name; that makes it work, just to be clear for other future instances?

Tomalak Over a year ago

@Shoe Yes. $char->attributes()->name returns a SimpleXMLElement object instance (see docs), not a string. You must make an explicit cast to string; this is the standard way to get the text value. Otherwise the whole object reference is stored in the $names array.

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