PHP | SimpleXMLElement saveXML() Function

The SimpleXMLElement::saveXML() function is an inbuilt function in PHP which return well-formed XML string from a SimpleXML object. It is an alias of SimpleXMLElement::asXML() function.
Syntax:
mixed SimpleXMLElement::saveXML( string $filename )
Parameter: This function accepts single parameter $filename which is optional. It specified this function save data to the file instead of returning as XML.
Return Value: This function returns a string representing the data and filename if it is specified on success or returns False on failure.
Note: This function is available for PHP 5.0.1 and newer version.
Below programs illustrate the SimpleXMLElement::saveXML() function in PHP:
Program 1:
<?php // Loading XML document to $user $user = <<<XML <user> <username> user123 </username> <name> firstname lastname </name> <phone> +91-9876543210 </phone> <detail> I am John Doe. Live in Kolkata, India. </detail> </user> XML; // Creating new SimpleXMLElement object from $user $xml = new SimpleXMLElement($user); // Printing as XML echo $xml->saveXML(); echo $xml->saveXML('savexmltofile.xml'); ?> |
Output:
user123 firstname lastname +91-9876543210 I am John Doe. Live in Kolkata, India. 1
Saved XML file:
Program 2: Save XML filename by using sample.xml
<?xml version="1.0"?> <user> <username> user123 </username> <name> firstname lastname </name> <phone> +91-9876543210 </phone> <detail> I am John Doe. Live in Kolkata, India. </detail> </user> |
index.php
<?php // Loading XML document from sample.xml to $user // and creating new SimpleXMLElement object $xml = new SimpleXMLElement("sample.xml", 0, TRUE); // Printing data as xml document echo $xml->saveXML(); echo $xml->saveXML('savexmltofile.xml'); ?> |
Output:
user123 firstname lastname +91-9876543210 I am John Doe. Live in Kolkata, India. 1
saved XML file:
Reference: https://www.php.net/manual/en/simplexmlelement.asxml.php




