XML Data PHP Example

This article was originally written by Paul Hopkins. The following version has been re-written removing the actual data referent urls from ywam.org for security reasons.

YWAM Staff Opportunities XML Feed Using PHP
Utilising the XML Feed from the GO-manual database to show your countries staffing opportunities Aim: We are going to use PHP to access the XML feed from the GO Manual database that Colin has created. This means that we should be able to get up to date staffing information for every country assuming that the data has been kept up to date! Here is the link to the YWAM England Website utilising this technology. You can view the data as either one long list or I have set it up to view by each YWAM England location. You can choose an opportunity and see it's details, and then access the contact information for that base/team to enquire about the opportunity.

1. Ensure that XSLT processing is enabled on your server. Most modern server packages with php installed will have XSLT processing already enabled. The way to check this is to run a phpinfo script and check that XSLT support is enabled by scrolling down until you find the line:

xslt XSLT support enabled

And check that it is enabled. If it is not, check out here for info on how to activate this, and you will probably need to contact your hosting service to activate it.

2. Put the following code which is a class declaration in a file: 'includes/MM_XSLTransform.class.php'.

params = array; $this->e = array( // MM_XSLTransform errors 		'MM_GEN_ERROR' => 'MM_XSLTransform error. ',	'MM_NO_PROCESSOR_ERROR' =>  'The server could not perform the XSL transformation because an XSLT processor for PHP could not be found. Contact your server administrator and ask them to install an XSLT processor for PHP.',	'MM_XML_EMPTY_ERROR' =>  'The XML source cannot be empty.',	'MM_XSL_EMPTY_ERROR' =>  'The XSLT source cannot be empty.',	'MM_OPEN_REMOTE_ERROR' =>  'Error opening %s.',	'MM_HTTPS_OPEN_ERROR' =>  'Error opening %s. Possible causes are incorrect URL or lack of support for OpenSSL.',	'MM_HTTPS_NOT_SUPPORTED_ERROR' =>  'Error opening %s. HTTPS protocol is supported starting from PHP 4.3.0.',	'MM_OPEN_FILE_ERROR' =>  'The specified file %s could not be found.',	'MM_FILE_NOT_READABLE_ERROR' =>  'The specified file %s is not readable.',	'MM_INVALID_XML_ERROR' =>  '%s is not a valid XML document. ',	'MM_CHECK_VALID_SAB_ERROR' => ' in file %s ', 'MM_CHECK_VALID_D4_TAG_ERROR' => ' tag %s,', 'MM_CHECK_VALID_D4_ERROR' => 'Check%s line %s, column %s in file %s. ',	'MM_CHECK_VALID_D5_ERROR' => ' in file %s. ',	'MM_TRANSFORMATION_ERROR' => 'Transformation Error. ',	'MM_TRANSFORM_SAB_ERROR' => ' in file %s ', 'MM_TRANSFORM_D4_ERROR' => ' in file %s ', 'MM_TRANSFORM_D5_ERROR' => ' in file %s ', // /MM_XSLTransform errors

 => 		);	}	function setXML($xml) {		$this->xmlname = $xml;	}	function setXSL($xsl) {		$this->xslname = $xsl;	}	function addParameter($paramName, $paramValue) {		$this->params[$paramName] = $paramValue;	}	/**	 * error handlinmg functions	 */	function setError($error) {		$this->myError = $error;	}	function hasError {		if (strlen(trim($this->myError)) > 0) {			return true;		}		return false;	}	function getError {		return $this->getErrorFromCode('MM_GEN_ERROR') . $this->myError;	}		function getRawError {			return $this->myError;		}		function getErrorFromCode($errCode, $args = array) {			$error = $this->e[$errCode];			if ( count($args) > 0 ) {				array_unshift($args, $error);				$error = call_user_func_array('sprintf', $args);			}			return $error;		}	/**	 * check for valid xml / xsl processors	 */	function checkProcessor {		$extensions = get_loaded_extensions;		if (substr(PHP_VERSION, 0, 1) == '5') { if ( in_array('dom', $extensions) && in_array('xsl', $extensions) && class_exists('DOMDocument') && class_exists('XSLTProcessor') ) { $this->processor = 'domxml5'; return; }		}		if (substr(PHP_VERSION, 0, 1) == '4' && substr(PHP_VERSION, 2, 1) > '2') { if ( in_array('xslt', $extensions) && function_exists('xslt_create')) { $this->processor = 'sablotron'; return; }			if ( in_array('domxml', $extensions) && function_exists('domxml_open_mem') && function_exists('domxml_xslt_stylesheet') ) { $this->processor = 'domxml4'; return; }		}		if (substr(PHP_VERSION, 0, 1) == '4' && substr(PHP_VERSION, 2, 1) < '3') { if ( in_array('xslt', $extensions) && function_exists('xslt_create')) { $this->processor = 'sablotron'; return; }		}		$this->processor = 'undefined'; $this->setError($this->getErrorFromCode('MM_NO_PROCESSOR_ERROR')); return; }	/**	 * utilities */	function util_htmlentities($content) { return ' '. htmlentities($content). ''; }	function util_errorHandler($errNo, $errStr, $errFile, $errLine) { if (!$this->hasError) { $myError = $errStr; } else { $myError = $this->getRawError; $myError .= ' '. $errStr; }		$this->setError($myError); return; }	/**	 * core functions */	function checkInput { if (!isset($this->xmlname) || strlen(trim($this->xmlname)) == 0) { $this->setError($this->getErrorFromCode('MM_XML_EMPTY_ERROR')); }		if (!isset($this->xslname) || strlen(trim($this->xslname)) == 0) { $this->setError($this->getErrorFromCode('MM_XSL_EMPTY_ERROR')); }	}	function isURL(&$src) { $url_prefixes = array('http', 'https'); $pos = strpos($src, '://'); if ( $pos !== false && in_array(strtolower(substr($src, 0, $pos)), $url_prefixes) ) { return true; }		return false; }	function getRemoteFile(&$src) { $fileContent = ''; $pos = strpos($src, '://'); $protocol = strtolower(substr($src, 0, $pos)); // avoid protocol upper case $mySrc = $protocol. substr($src, $pos); $magic_quotes_runtime_orig = get_magic_quotes_runtime; set_magic_quotes_runtime(0); if ($myFile = @fopen($mySrc, 'rb')) { while ($data = fread($myFile, 2048)) { $fileContent .= $data; }			fclose($myFile); } else { $this->setError($this->getErrorFromCode('MM_OPEN_REMOTE_ERROR', array($src))); if ($protocol == 'https') { $this->setError($this->getErrorFromCode('MM_HTTPS_OPEN_ERROR', array($src))); if ( (substr(PHP_VERSION, 0, 1) < 5) && (substr(PHP_VERSION, 2, 1) < 3) ) { $this->setError($this->getErrorFromCode('MM_HTTPS_NOT_SUPPORTED_ERROR', array($src))); }			}		}		set_magic_quotes_runtime($magic_quotes_runtime_orig); return $fileContent; }	function getLocalFile(&$src) { $fileContent = ''; $mySrc = realpath($src); if (!file_exists($mySrc)) { $this->setError($this->getErrorFromCode('MM_OPEN_FILE_ERROR', array($src))); return $fileContent; }		clearstatcache; if (!is_readable($mySrc)) { $this->setError($this->getErrorFromCode('MM_FILE_NOT_READABLE_ERROR', array($src))); return $fileContent; }		$magic_quotes_runtime_orig = get_magic_quotes_runtime; set_magic_quotes_runtime(0); if ($myFile = fopen($mySrc, 'rb')) { while ($data = fread($myFile, 4096)) { $fileContent .= $data; }			fclose($myFile); }		set_magic_quotes_runtime($magic_quotes_runtime_orig); return $fileContent; }	/**	 * wrapper */	function checkValid(&$src, &$content, $type) { switch ($this->processor) { case 'domxml5': return $this->checkValid_domxml5($src, $content, $type); break; case 'domxml4': return $this->checkValid_domxml4($src, $content, $type); break; case 'sablotron': return $this->checkValid_sablotron($src, $content, $type); break; }	}		function checkValid_sablotron(&$src, &$content, $type) { $myError = ''; $magic_quotes_runtime_orig = get_magic_quotes_runtime; set_magic_quotes_runtime(0); $proc = xslt_create; $procArguments = array('/_xml' => $content, '/_xsl' => ''); @xslt_process($proc, 'arg:/_xml', 'arg:/_xsl', NULL, $procArguments); $myError = xslt_error($proc); xslt_free($proc); if ( strlen(trim($myError)) > 0 ) { if ($type == "xml") { $myError = $this->getErrorFromCode('MM_INVALID_XML_ERROR', array($src)). $myError; } else { $myError = $this->getErrorFromCode('MM_INVALID_XSL_ERROR', array($src)). $myError; }				$myError .= $this->getErrorFromCode('MM_CHECK_VALID_SAB_ERROR'); $myError .= $this->util_htmlentities($content); $this->setError($myError, array($src)); }			set_magic_quotes_runtime($magic_quotes_runtime_orig); return; }		function checkValid_domxml4(&$src, &$content, $type) { $errors = array; $magic_quotes_runtime_orig = get_magic_quotes_runtime; set_magic_quotes_runtime(0); // PHP > 43 $old_error_reporting = error_reporting(E_ALL); $old_error_handler = set_error_handler(array(&$this, 'util_errorHandler')); if ($xml = @domxml_open_mem($content, DOMXML_LOAD_PARSING, $errors)) { if (method_exists($xml, 'free')) { $xml->free; }			}			restore_error_handler; error_reporting($old_error_reporting); set_magic_quotes_runtime($magic_quotes_runtime_orig); if (!$xml || count($errors) > 0 || $this->hasError) { if ($type == "xml") { $myError = $this->getErrorFromCode('MM_INVALID_XML_ERROR', array($src)); } else { $myError = $this->getErrorFromCode('MM_INVALID_XSL_ERROR', array($src)); }				if (count($errors) == 0) { $myError .= $this->getRawError; }				foreach ($errors as $error) { $tag = ''; if (isset($error['nodename'])) { $tag = $this->getErrorFromCode('MM_CHECK_VALID_D4_TAG_ERROR', array($error['nodename'])); }					$myError .= trim($error['errormessage']). '. ' . $this->getErrorFromCode('MM_CHECK_VALID_D4_ERROR', array($tag, $error['line'], $error['col'], $src)); }				$this->setError($myError . $this->util_htmlentities($content)); }			return; }		function checkValid_domxml5(&$src, &$content, $type) { $myError = ''; $magic_quotes_runtime_orig = get_magic_quotes_runtime; set_magic_quotes_runtime(0); $old_error_reporting = error_reporting(E_ALL); $old_error_handler = set_error_handler(array(&$this, 'util_errorHandler')); $xml = DOMDocument::loadXML($content); restore_error_handler; error_reporting($old_error_reporting); set_magic_quotes_runtime($magic_quotes_runtime_orig); if ($this->hasError) { if ($type == "xml") { $myError = $this->getErrorFromCode('MM_INVALID_XML_ERROR', array($src)); } else { $myError = $this->getErrorFromCode('MM_INVALID_XSL_ERROR', array($src)); }				$myError .= $this->getRawError; $this->setError($myError . $this->getErrorFromCode('MM_CHECK_VALID_D5_ERROR', array($src)) . $this->util_htmlentities($content)); }			return; }	/**	 * wrapper */	function transformDocument(&$xml, &$xsl, &$params) { switch ($this->processor) { case 'domxml5': return $this->transformDocument_domxml5($xml, $xsl, $params); break; case 'domxml4': return $this->transformDocument_domxml4($xml, $xsl, $params); break; case 'sablotron': return $this->transformDocument_sablotron($xml, $xsl, $params); break; }	}		function transformDocument_sablotron(&$xml, &$xsl, &$params) { $myError = ''; $magic_quotes_runtime_orig = get_magic_quotes_runtime; set_magic_quotes_runtime(0); $proc = xslt_create; $procArguments = array('/_xml' => $xml, '/_xsl' => $xsl); $output = @xslt_process($proc, 'arg:/_xml', 'arg:/_xsl', NULL, $procArguments, $params); $myError = xslt_error($proc); xslt_free($proc); set_magic_quotes_runtime($magic_quotes_runtime_orig); if ( strlen(trim($myError)) > 0 ) { $myError = $this->getErrorFromCode('MM_TRANSFORMATION_ERROR'). $myError; $myError .= $this->getErrorFromCode('MM_TRANSFORM_SAB_ERROR', array($this->xslname)); $myError .= $this->util_htmlentities($xsl); $this->setError($myError); return; }			return $output; }		function transformDocument_domxml4(&$xml, &$xsl, &$params) { $magic_quotes_runtime_orig = get_magic_quotes_runtime; set_magic_quotes_runtime(0); $xmlDom = domxml_open_mem($xml); $xslDom = domxml_open_mem($xsl); $old_error_reporting = error_reporting(E_ALL); $old_error_handler = set_error_handler(array(&$this, 'util_errorHandler')); $xslDoc = domxml_xslt_stylesheet_doc($xslDom); $result = $xslDoc->process($xmlDom, $params); restore_error_handler; error_reporting($old_error_reporting); if ($this->hasError) { $myError = $this->getErrorFromCode('MM_TRANSFORMATION_ERROR'); $myError .= $this->getRawError; $myError .= $this->getErrorFromCode('MM_TRANSFORM_D4_ERROR', array($this->xslname)); $myError .= $this->util_htmlentities($xsl); $this->setError($myError); set_magic_quotes_runtime($magic_quotes_runtime_orig); return; }			$output = $result->dump_mem; if (method_exists($xmlDom, 'free')) { $xmlDom->free; $xslDom->free; $result->free; }			set_magic_quotes_runtime($magic_quotes_runtime_orig); return $output; }		function transformDocument_domxml5(&$xml, &$xsl, &$params) { $magic_quotes_runtime_orig = get_magic_quotes_runtime; set_magic_quotes_runtime(0); $xmlDom = new DOMDocument; $xslDom = new DOMDocument; $xmlDom->loadXML($xml); $xslDom->loadXML($xsl); $proc = new XSLTProcessor; foreach ($params as $key => $value) { $proc->setParameter('', $key, $value); }			$old_error_reporting = error_reporting(E_ALL); $old_error_handler = set_error_handler(array(&$this, 'util_errorHandler')); $proc->importStyleSheet($xslDom); $result = $proc->transformToDoc($xmlDom); restore_error_handler; error_reporting($old_error_reporting); if ($this->hasError) { $myError = $this->getErrorFromCode('MM_TRANSFORMATION_ERROR'); $myError .= $this->getRawError; $myError .= $this->getErrorFromCode('MM_TRANSFORM_D5_ERROR', array($this->xslname)); $myError .= $this->util_htmlentities($xsl); $this->setError($myError); set_magic_quotes_runtime($magic_quotes_runtime_orig); return; }			$output = $result->saveXML; set_magic_quotes_runtime($magic_quotes_runtime_orig); return $output; }	function Transform { $this->checkProcessor; if ($this->hasError) { return $this->getError; }		$this->checkInput; if ($this->hasError) { return $this->getError; }		if ($this->isURL($this->xmlname)) { $xml = $this->getRemoteFile($this->xmlname); } else { $xml = $this->getLocalFile($this->xmlname); }		if ($this->hasError) { return $this->getError; }		$xsl = $this->getLocalFile($this->xslname); if ($this->hasError) { return $this->getError; }		$this->checkValid($this->xmlname, $xml, 'xml'); if ($this->hasError) { return $this->getError; }		$this->checkValid($this->xslname, $xsl, 'xsl'); if ($this->hasError) { return $this->getError; }		$output = $this->transformDocument($xml, $xsl, $this->params); if ($this->hasError) { return $this->getError; }		return $output; } }

?>

3. Open a new php page (or work with a php page from your website that you are adding this to) and put the following code at the top of the page(BEFORE the DOC declaration) 

This calls the XSLTransform class into the document. Now the php page is ready to do some xsl work for you!

4. In the Body of the page we need to add some php that will call in the correct xsl document. Copy this code into the body of your php file. Note the url below has been changed to protect against unauthorized access to ywam.org data setXML( "http://www.example.com/data/xml/staffopps_by_name.xml?cid=52" ); $mm_xsl->setXSL("opportunities.xsl"); ?>

This code snippet loads some xml which is referenced as "http://www.example.com/data/xml/staffopps_by_name.xml?cid=52". (Note this url has been changed to protect against unauthorized access to ywam.org data) This is an important address as it is where Colin has put the xml feed called staffopps_by_name.xml that draws from the GO-manual database and orders the opportunities by name. You will notice it also passes a parameter called 'cid' which has the value for 52. 'cid' stands for Country ID, and for the UK it is 52. For any other country you need to find out from Colin Forbes at Harpenden what your Country ID is and change the value in the code.

Note:the xsl document referenced is called 'opportunities.xsl'. This means that in this tutorial, the XSL document we will later be calling, needs to have this name to work.

5. The php file is ready to go, and wherever you add the following code: Transform;?>

the specified xsl document will be loaded in and do it's wonder.

6. So now we have the php framework, we need to create the actual xsl document that draws on the xml feed. If you remember, the php document is calling an xsl file called 'opportunities.xsl' (see point 4). Create a blank file and copy and paste the following code into it:       opportunties xsl  

This xsl file processes and formats the xml feed that the php file called upon. It is beyond the scope of this short tutorial to teach you xsl. Examine the code and you will see it is not that unusual. Make sure that you save this file as 'opportunities.xsl'.

7. Now, if you upload all your files to the server then when you type in 'opportunities.php' you should get something like this.

8. You will notice I have included links to that go to two other pages, the opportunity details and the contact details of the base/team where the opportunity is. Examine the code which you can download below, and you will notice that each page calls in a separate xml feed that Colin has provided and uses it's own xsl file to format the information. They also pass parameters to the pages to say which opportunity or location is being enquired about.

9. For Details, Code Download etc. contact Paul Hopkins.

5th July, 2007. Paul Hopkins