How can PHP developers effectively handle errors or lack of access when trying to retrieve data from an XML array using simplexml?

When trying to retrieve data from an XML array using simplexml in PHP, developers can effectively handle errors or lack of access by checking if the desired element exists before trying to access its value. This can prevent errors such as "Trying to get property of non-object" or "Undefined index" when accessing non-existent elements.

$xml = simplexml_load_file('data.xml');

if(isset($xml->desired_element)) {
    $desired_value = (string) $xml->desired_element;
    // Use $desired_value as needed
} else {
    // Handle the case where desired_element does not exist
}