Pre-requisite: Read XML Basics
The SimpleXMLElement::count() function is an inbuilt function in PHP which counts number of child element in a SimpleXML object.
Syntax:
int SimpleXMLElement::count()
Parameter: This function does not accept any parameters.
Return Value: This function returns number of children of an element.
Note: This function is available for PHP 5.3.0 and newer version.
Example 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);   // Counting and printing number of // child of the XML document echo $xml->count();   ?> |
Output:
4
Example 2: Counting children of child element of the XML document.
<?php   // Loading XML document to $user $user = <<<XML <users>     <user name="user1">         <username> user123 </username>         <name> firstname lastname </name>         <phone> +91-9876543210 </phone>         <detail> I am John Doe. Live in Kolkata, India. </detail>         <ins>             <ins_name>neveropen for neveropen</ins_name>             <ins_type>educational</ins_type>             <ins_url>geeksforgeeks.org</ins_url>         </ins>     </user>     <user name="user2">         <username> user123 </username>         <name> firstname lastname </name>         <phone> +91-9876543210 </phone>         <detail> I am John Doe. Live in Kolkata, India. </detail>         <ins>             <ins_name>neveropen for neveropen</ins_name>             <ins_type>educational</ins_type>             <ins_url>geeksforgeeks.org</ins_url>         </ins>     </user>    </users> XML;   // Creating new SimpleXMLElement // object from $user $xml = new SimpleXMLElement($user);   echo $xml->count();   foreach($xml as $child){     echo "<br>".$child['name'] . " has "         . $child->count()." child."; }   ?> |
Output:
2 user1 has 5 child. user2 has 5 child.
Reference: https://www.php.net/manual/en/simplexmlelement.count.php
