Valid XML for SimpleXML

[bleen]

I'm trying to use SimpleXML but I've run into a conundrum. Every day
an XML file is generated that this script grabs and manipulates. How
can I check that the XML has no problems before creating my
SimpleXMLelement object. Here's what I mean:

// this is the code in question:
$file_topstory = /some/xml/file.xml
$top_story_xml = new SimpleXMLElement($file_topstory, NULL, TRUE);

If the XML doc contains (for example) a URL with an '&' in it then the
script fails. I'd like to do something like this:

if(is_valid_xml($file_topstory)){
$top_story_xml = new SimpleXMLElement($file_topstory, NULL, TRUE);
}else{
// ERROR
}

How can i accomplish this?

[Janwillem Borleffs]

bleen wrote:

I'm trying to use SimpleXML but I've run into a conundrum. Every day
an XML file is generated that this script grabs and manipulates. How
can I check that the XML has no problems before creating my
SimpleXMLelement object.

SimpleXMLElement throws an exception when the XML is invalid:

try {
$xml = new SimpleXMLElement(.....);
} catch (Exception $e) {
// Unparseable XML
}
JW

[=?ISO-8859-15?Q?Iv=E1n_S=E1nchez_Ortega?=]

bleen wrote:

How can I check that the XML has no problems before creating my
SimpleXMLelement object.

Try tidy. Either as a standalone program, or as a PHP module.

--
----------------------------------
Iván Sánchez Ortega -ivansanchez-algarroba-escomposlinux-punto-org-

"You know "that look" women get when they want sex? Me neither."
--Steve Martin

[ZeldorBlat]

On Jul 18, 3:53 pm, bleen <[e-mail]:

I'm trying to use SimpleXML but I've run into a conundrum. Every day
an XML file is generated that this script grabs and manipulates. How
can I check that the XML has no problems before creating my
SimpleXMLelement object. Here's what I mean:

// this is the code in question:
$file_topstory = /some/xml/file.xml
$top_story_xml = new SimpleXMLElement($file_topstory, NULL, TRUE);

If the XML doc contains (for example) a URL with an '&' in it then the
script fails. I'd like to do something like this:

if(is_valid_xml($file_topstory)){
$top_story_xml = new SimpleXMLElement($file_topstory, NULL, TRUE);

}else{
// ERROR
}

How can i accomplish this?

According to the manual at <http://www.php.net/manual/en/
function.simplexml-element-construct.php>

"Produces an E_WARNING error message for each error found in the XML
data and throws an exception if errors were detected."

So, suppress the error and catch the exception:

try {
$top_story_xml = @new SimpleXMLElement($file_topstory, NULL,
TRUE);
} catch (Exception $e) {
//some error occured
}