Using DOMDocument to create elements in an HTML file?

Question

I was wondering whether it would be "bad practice" to create html elements through a DOMDocument. Below is a function in which build the meta tags within my <head>:

$head = new DOMDocument();

foreach($meta as $meta_item) {
    $meta_element = $head->createElement('meta');
    foreach($meta_item as $k=>$v) {
        $attr = $head->createAttribute($k);
        $attr->value = $v;
        $meta_element->appendChild($attr);
    }
    echo($head->saveXML($meta_element));
}

versus:

foreach($meta as $meta_item) {
    $attr = '';
    foreach($meta_item as $k=>$v) {
        $attr .= ' ' . $k . '="' . $v . '"';
    }
    ?><meta <?php echo $attr; ?>><?php
}

In terms of cost, when testing this, it seems to be trivial. My question: should I not get in the habit of doing this? Is this a bad idea moving forward?

it's technically the "correct" way of doing things. but building even a "minor" html document using but DOM operations is hideously painful. most people build the html as a string then stuff the whole string into dom using .innerHTML-type stuff. If you're only adding a few DOM elements, then go ahead and use DOM. If you're building a LOT of elements, then build a string and shove it all into the dom at once. — Marc B
– Marc B, Commented Oct 20, 2013 at 21:05
@MarcB thanks Marc! sometimes I just need an expert to tell me what's the right way to do things! Should I delete the question? — John Smith
– John Smith, Commented Oct 20, 2013 at 21:06
There's no reason to delete basic knowledge questions if they're well-formed questions. Level of knowledge is no reason to ever delete a question. — ajp15243
– ajp15243, Commented Oct 20, 2013 at 21:08

Alf Eaton · Accepted Answer · 2013-10-24 14:21:40Z

12

Using DOM methods to create HTML elements can be a good idea, as it will (in most cases) handle escaping of special characters for you.

The example given could be simplified slightly by using setAttribute:

<?php

$doc = new DOMDocument;
$html = $doc->appendChild($doc->createElement('html'));
$head = $html->appendChild($doc->createElement('head'));

$meta = array(
    array('charset' => 'utf-8'),
    array('name' => 'dc.creator', 'content' => 'Foo Bar'),
);

foreach ($meta as $attributes) {
    $node = $head->appendChild($doc->createElement('meta'));
    foreach ($attributes as $key => $value) {
        $node->setAttribute($key, $value);
    }
}

$doc->formatOutput = true;
print $doc->saveHTML();

// <html><head>
//   <meta charset="utf-8">
//   <meta name="dc.creator" content="Foo Bar">
// </head></html>

answered Oct 24, 2013 at 14:21

Alf Eaton

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