Monday, December 22, 2025
HomeLanguagesPHP | XMLReader next() Function

PHP | XMLReader next() Function

The XMLReader::next() function is an inbuilt function in PHP which is used to move cursor to next node skipping all subtrees. Another usage of this function is it accepts the name of the node to directly move to the element.
Syntax: 
 

bool XMLReader::next( string $localname )

Parameters: This function accepts a single parameter $localname which holds the name of the next node where to move.
Return Value: This function returns TRUE on success or FALSE on failure.
Below programs illustrate the XMLReader::next() function in PHP:
Program 1: In this program, we will walk through the XML tree. 
Filename: data.xml 
 

html




<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<div1>
    <h1> Foo Bar </h1>
    <div2>
        <h1> Foo Bar </h1>
    </div2>
</div1>


Filename: index.php 
 

php




<?php
 
// Create a new XMLReader instance
$XMLReader = new XMLReader();
 
// Open the XML file
$XMLReader->open('data.xml');
 
// Iterate through the XML nodes
// to reach the h1 node
$XMLReader->read();
$XMLReader->read();
$XMLReader->next();
 
 
// Print name of element
echo "Before:<br> We are currently"
   . " at: $XMLReader->name<br>";
 
// Move to next node which is
// text "Foo Bar"
$XMLReader->next();
 
// Move to next element
// which is div2
$XMLReader->next();
 
// Print name of element
echo "After:<br> We are currently"
    . " at: $XMLReader->name";
?>


Output: 
Before: 
 

We are currently at: h1

After: 
 

We are currently at: div2

Program 2: In this program, we will move to a specific node in the XML tree.
Filename:data.xml 
 

html




<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<div1>
    <h1> Foo Bar </h1>
    <div2>
        <h1> Foo Bar </h1>
    </div2>
    <div3> Hello </div3>
</div1>


Filename: index.php 
 

php




<?php
 
// Create a new XMLReader instance
$XMLReader = new XMLReader();
 
// Open the XML file
$XMLReader->open('data.xml');
 
// Iterate through the XML nodes to
// reach the subtrees of div1
$XMLReader->read();
$XMLReader->read();
$XMLReader->next("div2");
 
// Print name of element
echo "Before:<br> We are currently"
      . "at: $XMLReader->name<br>";
 
// Move to next node which is
// text "Foo Bar"
$XMLReader->next();
 
// Move to next element which is div2
$XMLReader->next();
 
// Print name of element
echo "After:<br> We are currently"
    . " at: $XMLReader->name";
?>


Output: 
Before: 
 

We are currently at: div2

After: 
 

We are currently at: div3

Reference: https://www.php.net/manual/en/xmlreader.next.php
 

RELATED ARTICLES

Most Popular

Dominic
32456 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Milvus
111 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Nango Kala
6823 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Nicole Veronica
11958 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Nokonwaba Nkukhwana
12038 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Shaida Kate Naidoo
6958 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Ted Musemwa
7203 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Thapelo Manthata
6911 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Umr Jansen
6890 POSTS0 COMMENTS