Symfony, serialize object with arrays as XML preserving attributes and structure - php

Question

I am using Symfony2 and trying to serialize different collections of objects into XML. For the sake of brevity, let's assume I am trying to list and unlist entities and this is the XML I want to get as a result:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<r someattribute="value">
<data_list>
<item id="9" type="a"><![CDATA[list data 1]></item>
<item id="10" type="a"><![CDATA[list data 2]></item>
<item id="11" type="b"><![CDATA[list data 3]></item>
</data_list>
<data_unlist>
<uitem id="9" type="a" />
</data_unlist>
</r>
Here are my classes: Item for the "item" nodes, Uitem for the "uitem" nodes
and Model, to contain them all:
class Item
{
private $data=array();
public function getData() {return $this->data;}
public function __construct($id, $type, $value)
{
$this->data["#id"]=$id;
$this->data["#type"]=$type;
//How do I put $value as the node value????
}
}
class UItem
{
private $data=array();
public function getData() {return $this->data;}
public function __construct($id, $type)
{
$this->data["#id"]=$id;
$this->data["#type"]=$type;
}
}
class Model
{
private $data_list=array();
private $data_unlist=array();
public function getDataList() {return $this->data_list;}
public function getDataUnlist() {return $this->data_unlist;}
public function __construct()
{
$this->data_list[]=new Item(9, 'a', 'list data 1');
$this->data_list[]=new Item(10, 'a', 'list data 2');
$this->data_list[]=new Item(11, 'b', 'list data 3');
$this->data_unlist[]=new UItem(9, 'a');
}
}
Save for the problem I left commented in the Item class (how to put the node value there) I think that should serialize correctly so...
$model=new Model();
$encoders=array(new XmlEncoder());
$normalizers=array(new GetSetMethodNormalizer());
$serializer=new Serializer($normalizers, $encoders);
$contents_xml=$serializer->serialize($model, 'xml');
This is the result I am getting:
<response>
<data_list>
<item id="9" type="a" />
</data_list>
<data_list>
<item id="11" type="b" />
</data_list>
<data_unlist>
<uitem id="9" type="a" />
</data_unlist>
</response>
As you can see, two separate nodes for "data_list" have been created instead of grouping them into one single node.
Here are my questions:
Can I put the two "item" into a single "data_list"?. If so, how?.
How can I specify the value of a item node (instead of its attributes only) preserving the desired structure?.
How do I alter the root node name and add attributes to it?.
For the record, I am using the vanilla serializer, no JMS here.
Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Using Symfony XmlEncoder I am able to build an array and turn it into xml using the encode method. Any array items which are named as #something are turned into attributes of the wrapping element rather than child elements, so:
$encoder = new \Symfony\Component\Serializer\Encoder\XmlEncoder();
$data = [
'something' => [
'#foo' => 'bar',
'yoo' => 'bar',
]
];
$xml = $encoder->encode($data, 'xml');
Gives me:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<response>
<something foo="bar">
<yoo>bar</yoo>
</something>
</response>

Answer 2

JMSSerializer was created for these purposes. And I think you should start to use it in your project. It has no overhead and is easy to use.
You can control your serializing options with annotations:
http://jmsyst.com/libs/serializer/master/reference/annotations