Question

I have following code in a file with extension .tpl (Smarty template)

{foreach from=$randomSites value=site}
    <a href="{$site|objurl:'siteDetails'}" title="{$site.siteTitle}" >
    <img alt="{$site.siteTitle}" src="{$site.imageSrc}" class="random_image" />
    </a> 
{/foreach}

It produce a list of sites with thumbnails..

Is it possible convert this code in a XML file with a simplexml class or similar?

I must convert in PHP code first?

Answer 1

You have two choices. First, you can use a Smarty template to create your XML, something like this:

<sites>
{foreach from=$randomSites value=site}
  <site>
    <url>{$site|objurl:'siteDetails'|escape:'url'}</url>
    <title>{$site.siteTitle|escape}</title>
    <image-url>{$site.imageSrc|escape:'url'}</image-url>
  </site>
{/foreach}
</sites>

Second, as you suggest, you can build your XML tree in a library like SimpleXML or DOM in memory, then serialize it to disk. The benefit is that the library will prevent any XML markup errors; the disadvantage is that it will be harder for a non-XML-specialist to picture what the output will look like based on the library calls.