PHP: Whats's the difference between the SimpleXMLElement() class and SimpleXML_load_string()?

Question

I\'ve seen alot of coders implement SimpleXML_load_string() instead of the SimpleXMLElement() class. Are there any benefits to using the former over th

Answer 1

It's mostly a convenience wrapper. With constructing the base element yourself, you need at least two lines of code to accomplish anything. With simplexml_load_string() a single expression might suffice:

 print simplexml_load_string($xml)->title;

Is shorter than:

 $e = new SimpleXMLElement($xml);
 print $e->title;

And then of course, there is also the slight variation in the function signature.

Update: And exactly the same length as of

print(new SimpleXMLElement($xml))->title;