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What is the simplexml_import_dom function in PHP? A Simple Example to Help You Get Started

gitbox 2025-09-12 
<span><span><span class="hljs-meta"><?php</span></span><span>
</span><span><span class="hljs-comment">// Introduction, not related to the article content</span></span><span>
</span><span><span class="hljs-keyword">echo</span></span><span> </span><span><span class="hljs-string">"Welcome to this tutorial. Happy learning!<br>"</span></span><span>;
</span><span><span class="hljs-keyword">echo</span></span><span> </span><span><span class="hljs-string">"Let’s dive into the main topic now:<br>"</span></span><span>;
</span><span><span class="hljs-meta">?></span></span><span>
<p><hr></p>
<p></span><?php<br>
// Start of the main content</p>
<p>echo "<h1>What is the simplexml_import_dom function in PHP? A Simple Example to Help You Get Started</h1>";</p>
<p>echo <span><span class="hljs-string">"<p>When working with XML data in PHP, the <strong>SimpleXML</strong> extension offers a very convenient way of handling it. In some cases, however, you might already have a DOMDocument object and want to convert it into a SimpleXML object to leverage SimpleXML's easy-to-use methods. This is where the <code>simplexml_import_dom()
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echo "

Using DOMDocument to load the XML and convert it to SimpleXML:

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echo "
<br>
$dom = new DOMDocument();<br>
$dom->load('example.xml');</p>
<p>// Convert DOMDocument to SimpleXML object<br>
$simpleXml = simplexml_import_dom($dom);</p>
<p>// Loop through the nodes<br>
foreach ($simpleXml->book as $book) {<br>
echo 'Book Title: ' . $book->title . '<br>';<br>
}<br>
";

echo "

Output:

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echo "
<br>
Book Title: PHP Basics<br>
Book Title: Advanced PHP<br>
";

echo "

3. Notes

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    ";
    echo "
  • Ensure the parameter passed is a valid DOMNode object, or it will return FALSE.
    • "    ;
    echo "
  • simplexml_import_dom does not modify the original DOM object; it returns a new SimpleXML object.
    • "    ;
    echo "
  • After conversion, you can use SimpleXML's convenient methods, such as accessing nodes through attributes, looping through elements, and performing simple XPath queries.
    • "    ;
    echo "
";

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4. Conclusion

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The simplexml_import_dom function in PHP serves as a bridge between DOM and SimpleXML, allowing you to easily work with SimpleXML methods when you already have a DOMDocument object. Mastering this function makes XML data manipulation more flexible and efficient.

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?>

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