PHP SimpleXMLIterator - key() Method

The PHP SimpleXMLIterator::key() method returns current key. This method gets the XML tag name of the current element.

Syntax

public SimpleXMLIterator::key()

Parameters

No parameter is required.

Return Value

Returns the XML tag name of the element referenced by the current SimpleXMLIterator object or false.

Example: get the current XML tag key

The example below shows the usage of SimpleXMLIterator::key() method.

<?php
$xml = <<<XML
<mail> 
  <To>John Smith</To>
  <From>Marry G.</From>
  <Subject>Happy Birthday</Subject>
  <body>Happy birthday. Live your life with smiles.</body>
</mail> 
XML;

$xmlIterator  = new SimpleXMLElement($xml);

echo var_dump($xmlIterator->key());

//rewind to the first element
$xmlIterator->rewind(); 

echo var_dump($xmlIterator->key());

//advance to the next element
$xmlIterator->next(); 

echo var_dump($xmlIterator->key());

//advance to the next element
$xmlIterator->next(); 

echo var_dump($xmlIterator->key());

//advance to the next element
$xmlIterator->next(); 

echo var_dump($xmlIterator->key());
?>

The output of the above code will be:

bool(false)
string(2) "To"
string(4) "From"
string(7) "Subject"
string(4) "body"

❮ PHP SimpleXML Reference