xml to php array issue

Question

I am having trouble on my php simple xml object.

I have the following xml data in my log

my php varible $xmlObj = SimpleXMLElement Object but when I have the following

if (is_array($xmlObj->subpod)){
    echo 'is array';    
}else {
    echo 'not array';
}

the output is always 'not array' and I want my codes to echo 'is array'

I thought $xmlObj->subpod is an array. When I test $xmlObj->subpod[0]->plaintext, it will actually return strings. I am not sure how to solve this problem. Can anyone help?

What is outputted when you var_dump($xmlObj->subpod); ?

SeanCannon
– SeanCannon

2012-10-31 00:05:48 +00:00
Commented Oct 31, 2012 at 0:05 — SeanCannon
– SeanCannon, Commented Oct 31, 2012 at 0:05

cmbuckley · Accepted Answer · 2012-10-31 00:14:14Z

2

If you were to var_dump($xmlObj->subpod), you would see that it is still a SimpleXMLElement object. However, it can still be called as if it were an array. (See the note after this example, which hints that the class implements ArrayAccess, even though the class documentation doesn't.)

The correct way to check for this structure would be using SimpleXMLElement::count():

if ($xmlObj->subpod->count() > 0) { ... }

Edit: The output in your question is presumably from print_r, which is sometimes rather unhelpful in its output (e.g. telling you something is an array when it's not). Try using var_dump instead, as it's generally more useful for debugging. The only caveat here is that you don't get to see the entire nested object structure for SimpleXMLElement objects!

edited Oct 31, 2012 at 0:14

answered Oct 31, 2012 at 0:08

cmbuckley

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dev-null-dweller · Accepted Answer · 2012-10-31 00:19:46Z

2

Inside SimpleXMLElement Object everything is SimpleXMLElement Object, print_r and var_dump sometimes lie about arrays -they are traversable objects, but you can perform most operations on them as if they were arrays. If you insist on having pure array, you can cast this node to array:

$subpod = (array)$xmlObj->subpod;

answered Oct 31, 2012 at 0:19

dev-null-dweller

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