How converts the elements of an XML data into a single associative array in PHP?

Question

I have a piece of PHP code which returns an object variable with XML structure as follows:

<food1>
    <name1>Belgian Waffles</name1>
    <prices1>
        <price1>$5.95</price1>
        <price2>$8.95</price2>
    </prices1>
    <description1>Two of our famous Belgian Waffles with plenty of real maple syrup</description1>
    <calories1>
            <AA>
                <A1>650</A1>
                <A2>652</A2>
                <A3>653</A3>
            </AA>
            <BB>
                <B1>750</B1>
                <B2>751</B2>
                <B3>752</B3>
            </BB>
    </calories1>
</food1>

How to write a foreach loop in PHP that produces a variable like $food1 from the above? Then my plan is to insert the $food1 value into a text field in a MySQL database to parse and process the $food1 array whenever is needed.

   $food1 = array( 
        "food1" => array
        (
        "name1" => Belgian Waffles,        
        "prices1" => array (
                            price1 => $5.95
                            price2 => $8.95
                            ),      
        "description1" => 'Two of our famous Belgian Waffles with plenty of real maple syrup',
        "calories1" => array
                (
                "AA" => array (
                              A1 => 650
                              A2 => 652
                              A3 => 653
                               ),
                "BB" => array (
                              B1 => 750
                              B2 => 752
                              B3 => 753
                               ),
                )
         );

$xml_string = file_get_contents( 'in3.xml' ); $xml = simplexml_load_string($xml_string); $json = json_encode($xml); $aFoods = json_decode( $json, TRUE ); — Vladimir Ramik
– Vladimir Ramik, Commented Mar 11, 2015 at 3:25
If you're loading an XML file, use simplexml_load_file instead. But close to @VladimirRamik's anser — Pazuzu156
– Pazuzu156, Commented Mar 11, 2015 at 3:28

Adrian Cid Almaguer · Accepted Answer · 2015-03-11 03:44:56Z

2

One remark in your XML change this:

<name2>Belgian Waffles</name1>

to

<name1>Belgian Waffles</name1>

Try this code:

<?php

$xml_string = '<food1>
    <name1>Belgian Waffles</name1>
    <prices1>
        <price1>$5.95</price1>
        <price2>$8.95</price2>
    </prices1>
    <description1>Two of our famous Belgian Waffles with plenty of real maple syrup</description1>
    <calories1>
            <AA>
                <A1>650</A1>
                <A2>652</A2>
                <A3>653</A3>
            </AA>
            <BB>
                <B1>750</B1>
                <B2>751</B2>
                <B3>752</B3>
            </BB>
    </calories1>
</food1>';

$xml = simplexml_load_string($xml_string);
$json = json_encode($xml);

$out = array($xml->getName() => json_decode($json, true));

print_r($out);

?>

edited Mar 11, 2015 at 3:44

answered Mar 11, 2015 at 3:36

Adrian Cid Almaguer

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4 Comments

Sami Over a year ago

thanks Adrian for your answer. Your answer works very well. One question, if I save the $out into the database, shall I use a foreach loop to access the elements of the array whenever there is a need to retrieve the saved value from the table?

Adrian Cid Almaguer Over a year ago

@Sami don't forget check my answer as correct ;-) Why you want save an array?

Sami Over a year ago

Sure I did. Because I'm planning to insert elements of $out into a different table in multiple rows after some data processing in next steps. Can I save an array and later retrieve it from the database into a foreach loop? Would you have a better suggestion?

Adrian Cid Almaguer Over a year ago

I think that is better serialize the array in your $_SESSION and then unserialize make the loop and insert in your other page.

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