PHP Conference Nagoya 2025

SimpleXMLElement::__toString

(PHP 5 >= 5.3.0, PHP 7, PHP 8)

SimpleXMLElement::__toStringReturns the string content

Beschreibung

public SimpleXMLElement::__toString(): string

Returns text content that is directly in this element. Does not return text content that is inside this element's children.

Parameter-Liste

Diese Funktion besitzt keine Parameter.

Rückgabewerte

Returns the string content on success or an empty string on failure.

Beispiele

Beispiel #1 Get string content

<?php
$xml
= new SimpleXMLElement('<a>1 <b>2 </b>3</a>');
echo
$xml;
?>

Das oben gezeigte Beispiel erzeugt folgende Ausgabe:

1 3

Siehe auch

add a note

User Contributed Notes 2 notes

up
16
mmj at example dot net
7 years ago
__toString() is not intended to be called directly.

Instead, it defines what is returned when the object is cast to string, either explicitly with:

(string)$element

Or implicitly, when used in certain contexts which would cause a conversion to string.
up
11
Patanjali
8 years ago
[Someone remove that other Patanjali's note, because it has errors! :-(]

For those for whom it may not be immediately obvious from the example, the echo is what is forcing __toString() to be used.

However, to assign the text of a node (but not its children) to a variable:

$XML = new SimpleXMLElement('<p>Hello<span> world</span>.<span> Good day!</span></p>');

$Text = $XML->__toString();

is effectively:
$Text = 'Hello.'; // The <span>s are ignored.

Either of:
$Text = $XML->span->__toString();
$Text = $XML->span[0]->__toString();

is effectively:
$Text = ' world'; // Only the first <span> is used.

$Text = $XML->span[1]->__toString();

is effectively:
$Text = ' Good day!'; // Only the second <span> is used.
To Top