SimpleXMLElement::children
(PHP 5, PHP 7)
SimpleXMLElement::children — Finds children of given node
Description
This method finds the children of an element. The result follows normal iteration rules.
Note: SimpleXML has made a rule of adding iterative properties to most methods. They cannot be viewed using var_dump() or anything else which can examine objects.
Parameters
-
ns
-
An XML namespace.
-
is_prefix
-
If
is_prefix
isTRUE
,ns
will be regarded as a prefix. IfFALSE
,ns
will be regarded as a namespace URL.
Examples
Example #1 Traversing a children() pseudo-array
<?php
$xml = new SimpleXMLElement(
'<person>
<child role="son">
<child role="daughter"/>
</child>
<child role="daughter">
<child role="son">
<child role="son"/>
</child>
</child>
</person>');
foreach ($xml->children() as $second_gen) {
echo ' The person begot a ' . $second_gen['role'];
foreach ($second_gen->children() as $third_gen) {
echo ' who begot a ' . $third_gen['role'] . ';';
foreach ($third_gen->children() as $fourth_gen) {
echo ' and that ' . $third_gen['role'] .
' begot a ' . $fourth_gen['role'];
}
}
}
?>
The above example will output:
The person begot a son who begot a daughter; The person begot a daughter who begot a son; and that son begot a son
Example #2 Using namespaces
<?php
$xml = '<example xmlns:foo="my.foo.urn">
<foo:a>Apple</foo:a>
<foo:b>Banana</foo:b>
<c>Cherry</c>
</example>';
$sxe = new SimpleXMLElement($xml);
$kids = $sxe->children('foo');
var_dump(count($kids));
$kids = $sxe->children('foo', TRUE);
var_dump(count($kids));
$kids = $sxe->children('my.foo.urn');
var_dump(count($kids));
$kids = $sxe->children('my.foo.urn', TRUE);
var_dump(count($kids));
$kids = $sxe->children();
var_dump(count($kids));
?>
int(0) int(2) int(2) int(0) int(1)
Notes
SimpleXMLElement::children() returns a node object no matter if the current node has children or not. Use count() on the return value to see if there are any children. As of PHP 5.3.0, SimpleXMLElement::count() may be used instead.
See Also
- SimpleXMLElement::count() - Counts the children of an element
- count() - Count all elements in an array, or something in an object
English translation
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Document created the 30/01/2003, last modified the 26/10/2018
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References
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