Load PHP variables into XML file

Question

So, what i am trying to achieve is to load variables from PHP into an XML file.

this is how my XML looks at the moment:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<firstname></firstname>
<lastname></lastname>

And this is my PHP where i try to save the variables into the XML

        $file = simplexml_load_file("filename.xml");

        $xml->firstname = "Mark";

        $xml->lastname = "Zuckerberg";

        file_put_contents($file, $xml->asXML());

If i try to print this i get following error message:

Call to undefined method stdClass::asXML() in ... on line 1374

Any suggestions?

$file = ... + $xml->asXML()

Álvaro González
– Álvaro González

2016-06-21 14:18:06 +00:00
Commented Jun 21, 2016 at 14:18 — Álvaro González
– Álvaro González, Commented Jun 21, 2016 at 14:18

OverCoder · Accepted Answer · 2016-06-21 14:24:37Z

1

You don't create the initial XML file, the library you are using creates it for you.

XML DOM is a fine choice for this job.

$xml = new DOMDocument();                                  # Create a document
$xml_firstname = $xml->createElement("firstname", "Over"); # Create an element
$xml_lastname = $xml->createElement("lastname", "Coder");  # Create an element
$xml->appendChild($xml_firstname);                         # Add the element to the document
$xml->appendChild($xml_lastname);                          # Add the element to the document
$xml->save("myfancy.xml");                                 # Save the document to a file

The output would be

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<firstname>Over</firstname>
<lastname>Coder</lastname>

answered Jun 21, 2016 at 14:24

OverCoder

1,61124 silver badges33 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

3 Comments

Marcel Wasilewski Over a year ago

Which gives me a "Class 'DOMDocument' not found in TestController.php on line 1360"

OverCoder Over a year ago

@MarcelWasilewski What system do you use? and if Linux, what distro?

OverCoder Over a year ago

You need to install it, if you have Ubuntu or Debian, execute sudo apt-get install php5-dom in your system terminal, if you have Red Hat/Fedora/Cent OS you need yum install php-xml

P. Evrard · Accepted Answer · 2016-06-21 14:22:28Z

Enable error reporting (like error_reporting( E_ALL );) and you will understand quickly why it does not work:

Warning: simplexml_load_file(): xml.xml:3: parser error : Extra content at the end of the document
// your XML is not correctly formatted (XML requires a root node)

Warning: Creating default object from empty value
// $xml->firstname when $xml does not exists

To resolve that, your XML should looks like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<data><!-- here comes the root node -->
<firstname></firstname>
<lastname></lastname>
</data>

And the PHP should looks like previous answers:

$xml = simplexml_load_file("filename.xml");
$xml->firstname = "Mark";
$xml->lastname = "Zuckerberg";
file_put_contents("filename_copy.xml", $xml->asXML());

Ben · Accepted Answer · 2016-06-21 14:13:28Z

0

First off: where do you establish $xml?

You start with $file = ... but then refer to the object as $xml.

Either change the object name to $xml or change the references to $file:

$xml = simplexml_load_file("filename.xml"); /* note the object name change */
$xml->firstname = "Mark";
$xml->lastname = "Zuckerberg";

Next, your file_put_contents() command is incorrect. The first parameter is accepts is the filename, however in your example $file is not a name but a simplexml object.

file_put_contents("path/to/file.xml", $xml->asXML());

Alternatively, use the asXML() method with the path by doing this (thanks bassxzero):

$xml->asXML("path/to/file.xml");

Finally, your script is outputting the error:

Call to undefined method stdClass::asXML()

This implies that you can't call $xml->axXML() as (I'm assuming) either the method doesn't exist, or the object doesn't have the correct method.

Changing the name of the object initially (the first issue) should fix this!

edited Jun 21, 2016 at 14:13

answered Jun 21, 2016 at 14:10

Ben

8,9519 gold badges48 silver badges82 bronze badges

2 Comments

bassxzero Over a year ago

instead of the file_put_contents call he could use $xml->asXML('path/to/file.xml');

Marcel Wasilewski Over a year ago

I have done it like you mentioned above, still getting the same Error message.

IntoDEV · Accepted Answer · 2016-06-21 14:19:39Z

0

From the code, you load the XML into $file. But you edit $xml. The below code should work

$xml = simplexml_load_file("filename.xml");
$xml->firstname = "Mark";
$xml->lastname = "Zuckerberg";
file_put_contents("output.xml", $xml->asXML());

answered Jun 21, 2016 at 14:19

IntoDEV

318 bronze badges

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Load PHP variables into XML file

4 Answers 4

3 Comments

Comments

2 Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

4 Answers 4

3 Comments

Comments

2 Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related