Question

I am having problems unsetting a SimpleXML node when using a variable index instead of a numerical one.

Here is my code that calls the simpleXML:

$highlights = new SimpleXMLElement($prj['project_xmldata']);
$node=$_POST['node'];
if(count($highlights->highlights->highlight)>0) {
   unset($highlights->highlights->highlight[$node]);
   print_r($highlights);
}

The contents of the print_r statement still shows the original XML data. however, if I were do unset the node using a numeric index instead of the variable $node I get the correct response, with the removal of the node I unset.

I’ve tried encapsulating the variable with double quotes as well, and made sure the $_POST[‘node’] is a correct value. Am I doing something wrong, or can I not put a variable inside square braces?

Answer 1

Change your code to this and let me know what it says:

$highlights = new SimpleXMLElement($prj['project_xmldata']); 
$node=$_POST['node']; 
if(isset($highlights->highlights->highlight[$node])) {    
    unset($highlights->highlights->highlight[$node]);    
    print_r($highlights); 
} 
else
    echo $node." = ".gettype($node);

Make sure that node is correct. Make sure that it is being registered as an int and not a string.

$variable[0] is different than $variable[“0”]