XML2Array: Convert XML to Array in PHP

XML2Array is a class to convert XML to an array in PHP. It returns an array which can be converted back to XML using the Array2XML class.

It can take a string XML as input or an object of type DOMDocument.

Conventions

attributes stored as key value pairs under ['tag_name']['@attributes']
CDATA nodes are stored under ['tag_name']['@cdata']
In case a node has attributes, the value will be stored in ['tag_name']['@value']

Usage

The usage is pretty simple. You have to include the class file in your code and call the following function.

$array = XML2Array::createArray($xml);
print_r($array);

Important thing to note is that the $array returned can be converted back to XML using the Array2XML class.

Example

The Following XML:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<movies type="documentary">
  <movie>
    <title>PHP: Behind the Parser</title>
    <characters>
      <character>
        <name>Ms. Coder</name>
        <actor>Onlivia Actora</actor>
      </character>
      <character>
        <name>Mr. Coder</name>
        <actor>El ActÓr</actor>
      </character>
    </characters>
    <plot><![CDATA[So, this language. It's like, a programming language. Or is it a scripting language? 
All is revealed in this thrilling horror spoof of a documentary.]]></plot>
    <great-lines>
      <line>PHP solves all my web problems</line>
    </great-lines>
    <rating type="thumbs">7</rating>
    <rating type="stars">5</rating>
  </movie>
</movies>

will generate the following output:

array (
    'movies' => array (
        'movie' => array (
            'title' => 'PHP: Behind the Parser',
            'characters' => array (
                'character' => array (
                    0 => array (
                        'name' => 'Ms. Coder',
                        'actor' => 'Onlivia Actora',
                    ),
                    1 => array (
                        'name' => 'Mr. Coder',
                        'actor' => 'El ActÓr',
                    ),
                ),
            ),
            'plot' => array (
                '@cdata' => 'So, this language. It\'s like, a programming language. Or is it a scripting language? 
All is revealed in this thrilling horror spoof of a documentary.',
            ),
            'great-lines' => array (
                'line' => 'PHP solves all my web problems',
            ),
            'rating' => array (
                0 => array (
                    '@value' => '7',
                    '@attributes' => array (
                        'type' => 'thumbs',
                    ),
                ),
                1 => array (
                    '@value' => '5',
                    '@attributes' => array (
                        'type' => 'stars',
                    ),
                ),
            ),
        ),
        '@attributes' => array (
            'type' => 'documentary',
        ),
    ),
)

Download (v0.2, 04 Mar, 2012)

The code is released under Apache License 2.0

Plain text PHP source | Formatted PHP source

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(About this post)

4 Responses to XML2Array: Convert XML to Array in PHP

Sascha says:

January 16, 2012 at 8:57 am
Thank you very much for this class, it has helped me greatly. I just found a minor issue in this version:
<?php if(get_class($input_xml) != 'DomDocument') { throw new Exception('[XML2Array] The input XML object should be of type: DomDocument.'); } ?>
The problem is that get_class will return the following:
string(11) "DOMDocument"

Comparing is case sensitive so you always run into this exception even if you use a proper DOMDocument as input.

Cheers
- Lalit says:
  
  March 4, 2012 at 1:09 pm
  
  I have updated the script and made the change. Thanks!
  
Vicary says:

March 23, 2012 at 10:54 am
Your work on Array2XML is like a charm, but this class I would prefer three lines of code instead a whole new class.
<?php $xml = simplexml_load_string($xml); $array = json_encode($xml); $array = json_decode($xml, true); ?>
- Lalit says:
  
  March 24, 2012 at 2:19 pm
  
  Vicary,
  Using this solution, you would loose the attributes of the leaf nodes of the XML.

XML2Array: Convert XML to Array in PHP

Conventions

Usage

Example

Download (v0.2, 04 Mar, 2012)

4 Responses to XML2Array: Convert XML to Array in PHP

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