Xml2Csv Converter PHP class

• Created: 03/21/2013
• latest Update: 03/24/2013
• By: Axel Roszkopf
• praca.webax.sk/xml2csv/
• Email: aasped@gmail.com

Xml2Csv is a helper class for easy XML to CSV conversion.

Introduction

Xml2Csv Converter PHP class

This PHP class is an easy to use, highly customisable XML 2 CSV converter.
You can automatically convert XML to CSV, with only 1 parameter - the XML input (file or string).
Advanved features include custom selection of the output fields, setting CSV delimiter and enclosure character etc.
The output can be written returned as a string or saved to a file.

Features:

• easy conversion with only 1 parameter
• file or string as XML input
• CSV delimiter and enclosure character setting
• custom mapping of XML nodes to CSV fields
• custom export field selection
• setting parameters easily by chained function calls or by accessing them directly
• possibilty to mass-setup of paramters
• set an interval to limit the number of processed items (from, to)

Examples:

Example 1: Easy automatic conversion

This example shows, how easy you can convert a XML file to CSV

<?
  XmlToCsv::convert('example.xml');
?> 

Example 2: Easy convertion from a string

In this example we use string input instead of a XML file

  
  $xml = "
  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
  <Shop>
    <Item>
     <Id>123456789</Id>
     <Desc>Some item description</Desc>
     <Link>http://some.link.com</Link>
     <Category>Category/Subcategory1</Category>
    </Item>
    <Item>
      <Id>96521354</Id>
      <Desc>Some other item description, which is much longer.</Desc>
      <Link>http://some-other.link.com</Link>
      <Category>Category/Subcategory2</Category>
    </Item>
  </Shop>";    

  XmlToCsv::convertString('example.xml');
 

Example 3: Changing convertion settings

It is possible to easily change the convertion settings.
This example shows, how to change the CSV delimiter to the ; character and the output type setting to "file".
We use the URL setting to indicate the XML file we want to use.
At last we call the autoConvert function to run the conversion.

 
  $x = new XmlToCsv();
  $x->url('example.xml')
    ->delimiter(';')
    ->output('file')
    ->autoConvert();

Quick Start

To start converting, just  2 simple steps are needed.

1. Include the Xml2Csv PHP class in your code

<?php
  require_once("Xml2Csv.class.php");
?>

2. Use the convert function to automatically convert your XML file

<?

  // if your file is on the server, just use the path to the file
  XmlToCsv::convert('example.xml');

  // if you want to convert from a remote URL, use the whole URL
  XmlToCsv::convert('http://www.mysite.com/example.xml');

?>

For more advanced examples refer to the Advanced features.

Advanced features

If the simple conversion is not enough for you, you can use the advanced features of the Xml2Csv class.
There are more ways how you can change the conversion settings.

Example 1: Chained parameter settings

You can use function chaining for setting the parameters.
Each paramter function is named as the parameter itself, so if you want to change the URL parameter, just call the url() function, if you want to change the ouput paramter, use the output() function. (for a complete function reference, checkout the function reference). First you have to create an object instance, and then set the parameters. At last, call the autoConvert() function to start the conversion.

    $x = new XmlToCsv();
    echo $x->url('example.xml')
           ->output(false)
           ->autoConvert();

Example 2: Set parameters separately by directly accessing the class variables

You can also set up the parameters by setting each variable separatly. Just create an instance of the class, and set each parameter separately. At last call the autoConvert() function to start the conversion. This example sets the same parameters as in Example 1.

    $x = new XmlToCsv();
    $x->url = 'example.xml';
    $x->output = false;
    echo $x->autoConvert();

Example 3: Set parameters at object creation using an array of options

The last way of setting parameters is at object creation. You can set all needed parameters by passing an array to the constructor. The parameters used are the same as in the examples above.

  
    $x = new XmlToCsv(array(
            'url'=>'example.xml',
            'output'=>'false',
        ));
    echo $x->autoConvert();

Example 4: Combination of all 3 ways of parameter setting

Of course it is possible to combine all methods described above. In this example we have done the same settings as above, and moreover changed the CSV delimiter setting.

    $x = new XmlToCsv(array(
            'url'=>'example.xml',
            ));
    $x->output = false;
    echo $x->delimiter(";")
           ->autoConvert();

For a list of all features and settings refer to the Class reference

Class reference

Here you can find a detailed documentation of all the settings and features of this class.

   <root>
       <item>
           <node1>Text1</node1>
           <node2>Text2</node2>
       </item>
   </root>

     node1,node2
     Text1,Text2

  $this->map = array(
                   'csv1' => 'node1',
                   'csv2' => 'node2',
                )

     csv1,csv2
     Text1,Text2

Live demo

If you want to see the converter in action, check out the live demo:

Simple:

http://praca.webax.sk/xml2csv/simple.php

Advanced:

http://praca.webax.sk/xml2csv/index.php