What are the differences between accessing XML data directly and using var_dump to display XML object data in PHP?

When accessing XML data directly, you need to navigate through the XML structure using methods like `getElementsByTagName()` or `attributes`. On the other hand, using `var_dump` to display XML object data in PHP will give you a more structured and detailed view of the data, making it easier to understand the XML structure and contents. 

$xmlString = '<root><item id="1">Item 1</item><item id="2">Item 2</item></root>';
$xml = simplexml_load_string($xmlString);

// Accessing XML data directly
$item1 = $xml->item[0]->attributes()['id'];
echo $item1; // Output: 1

// Using var_dump to display XML object data
var_dump($xml);

Keywords

XML data var_dump PHP object data differences

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