simple xml, differences

[Hailwood]

hi guys

 

so, can anyone tell me why i end up with different results with each of these

<product_display_price> </product_display_price> = 
[product_display_price] => SimpleXMLElement Object
               (
                   [0] =>
               )

 

 

<product_display_price>Ham $5.00</product_display_price> = 
[product_display_price] => Ham $5.00

 

 

<product_display_price/> = 
[product_display_price] => SimpleXMLElement Object
               (
               )

 

all i did was

 

$xml = simplexml_load_string($this->xml_data);

 

        echo '<pre>';

        print_r($xml->xpath('/menu/products_list/product'));

        die('</pre>');

 

so, why does an empty element give me an empty object

^ expected

 

a element with a string in it give me a string

^expected

 

yet a element with a " " string gives me an object with a " " string in it

^not expected

 

i would have expected it to act as either a string or an empty element

[Hailwood]

bump

[helptar]

I would give more details if you expect help.    This would be a stab in the dark otherwise. 

[salathe]

All of the values will be instances of SimpleXMLElement, they just vary in the way that print_r outputs them due to the magic of SimpleXML.