unset() Not Working For XML

Question

Currently I am using unset() for removing a parent node in simpleXML, and writing it back to the XML file

I tried this code and it was working a while ago, after cleaning my code I can't find why it doesn't work all of the sudden,

The debugging approaches I took: the file can be accessed, I can enter the loop and if statement, the file gets saved (notepad++ asks me to reload), but the <systemInfo></systemInfo> does not get deleted

Here is my sample Code:

        $userorig = $_POST['user'];
        $userinfos = simplexml_load_file('userInfo.xml'); // Opens the user XML file

        foreach ($userinfos->userinfo->account as $account) 
        {       
            // Checks if the user in this iteration of the loop is the same as $userorig (the user i want to find)
            if($account->user == $userorig)
            {
                echo "hello";
                $rootSystem = $account->systemInfo;
                unset($rootSystem);
            }
        }
        $userinfos->saveXML('userInfo.xml');

My XML File:

<userinfos>
  <userinfo>
   <account>
     <user>TIGERBOY-PC</user>
     <toDump>2014-03-15 03:20:44</toDump>
     <toDumpDone>0</toDumpDone>
     <initialCheck>0</initialCheck>
     <lastChecked>2014-03-16 07:12:17</lastChecked>
     <alert>1</alert>
     <systemInfo>
          ... (many nodes and sub nodes here) ...
     </systemInfo>
   </account>
  </userinfo>
</userinfos>

score 1 · Answer 1 · edited May 23 '17 at 10:25

1

Rather than iterating over the whole xml, use xpath to select the node:

$userorig = $_POST['user'];
$userinfos = simplexml_load_file('userInfo.xml'); // Opens the user XML file

$deletethisuser = $userinfos->xpath("/userinfos/userinfo/account[user = '$userorig']/systemInfo")[0];
unset($deletethisuser[0]);

Comments:

the [0] in the xpath... line requires PHP >= 5.4, in case you are running on a lower version, either update or go:

$deletethisuser = $userinfos->xpath("/userinfos/userinfo/account[user = '$userorig']/systemInfo");
unset($deletethisuser[0][0]);

Advised reading: hakre's answer in this thread: Remove a child with a specific attribute, in SimpleXML for PHP

edited May 23 '17 at 10:25

Community

1
1

answered Mar 16 '14 at 17:58

michi

6,565
4
33
56

I really actually need to iterate to the whole XML to find the user, I edit values too and run them, this code is a very short version of a 500 line one =)) ,so the foreach loop helps me get cleaner code, by the way, thanks for this tip, I never knew about xpath, I just cluelessly use XML (since it's easier to parse with the functions out there) – Fukkatsu Mar 16 '14 at 19:52
@SaggerAl-Saadi you can of course select a node with `xpath`and change it, no iteration required. – michi Mar 16 '14 at 21:54

score -1 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 16 '14 at 03:54

-1

It worked again, sorry, I did not know why it worked, I keep running it on multiple instances, and now it works, the program has weird behavior, but tried it for around 15 tries, it did its job

answered Mar 16 '14 at 03:54

Fukkatsu

149
1
12

unset() Not Working For XML

2 Answers2