Catching PHP errors if XML file is empty

Question

so I'm grabbing some information from an XML file like so:

$url = "http://myurl.blah";
$xml = simplexml_load_file($url);

Except sometimes the XML file is empty and I need the code to fail gracefully but I can't seem to figure out how to catch the PHP error. I tried this:

if(isset(simplexml_load_file($url)));
{
    $xml = simplexml_load_file($url);
    /*rest of code using $xml*/
}
else {
    echo "No info avilable.";
}

But it doesn't work. I guess you can't use ISSET that way. Anyone know how to catch the error?

In general, you can use the try {} catch (exception $e) {} pair. — Scott Stevens
– Scott Stevens, Commented Jul 24, 2012 at 15:10
simplexml_load_file() does not throw exceptions. It raises E_WARNING errors. — Florent
– Florent, Commented Jul 24, 2012 at 15:12
@mellamokb The PHP error informing me that the file is empty. What else? — aadu
– aadu, Commented Jul 24, 2012 at 15:12
To be exact: Warning: simplexml_load_file() [<a href='function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: myurl.blah:1: parser error : Document is empty in blah... — aadu
– aadu, Commented Jul 24, 2012 at 15:14
@AzzyDude: Sorry, I didn't realize simplexml_load_file was built-in... you may find the tip helpful on the [documentation page](php.net/simplexml_load_file): Use libxml_use_internal_errors() to suppress all XML errors, and libxml_get_errors() to iterate over them afterwards. — mellamokb
– mellamokb, Commented Jul 24, 2012 at 15:15

deceze · Accepted Answer · 2012-07-24 15:12:03Z

11

$xml = file_get_contents("http://myurl.blah");
if (trim($xml) == '') {
    die('No content');
}

$xml = simplexml_load_string($xml);

Or, possibly slightly more efficient, but not necessarily recommended because it silences errors:

$xml = @simplexml_load_file($url);
if (!$xml) {
    die('error');
}

answered Jul 24, 2012 at 15:12

deceze♦

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Comments

Florent · Accepted Answer · 2012-07-24 15:11:16Z

1

Don't use isset here.

// Shutdown errors (I know it's bad)
$xml = @simplexml_load_file($url);

// Check you have fetch a response
if (false !== $xml); {
    //rest of code using $xml
} else {
    echo "No info avilable.";
}

answered Jul 24, 2012 at 15:11

Florent

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6 Comments

deceze Over a year ago

Don't use empty here, if ($xml) will do just fine.

deceze Over a year ago

Hmm, false !== is pretty ugly as well IMO, but better than empty.

pamil Over a year ago

@deceze Why do you think it's ugly?

Florent Over a year ago

Yoda conditions are part of a lot framework coding standards (ZF, Symfony, Doctrine, etc). It really prevents being fooled by if ($xml = /* something */) {

deceze Over a year ago

I trust that if ($xml) will always be true if $xml is a SimpleXML object and false otherwise...

|

pamil · Accepted Answer · 2012-07-24 15:12:19Z

1

if (($xml = simplexml_load_file($url)) !== false) {
  // Everything is OK. Use $xml object.
} else {
  // Something has gone wrong!
}

answered Jul 24, 2012 at 15:12

pamil

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Comments

pamil · Accepted Answer · 2012-07-24 15:20:39Z

0

From PHP manual, error handling (click here):

var_dump(libxml_use_internal_errors(true));

// load the document
$doc = new DOMDocument;

if (!$doc->load('file.xml')) {
    foreach (libxml_get_errors() as $error) {
        // handle errors here
    }

    libxml_clear_errors();
}

answered Jul 24, 2012 at 15:20

pamil

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