How to echo XML as simple string? - php

Question

I am not able to understand the behaviour of the code :
Input :
<?php
function polldaddy_choices($choices) {
foreach ($choices as $choice) {
$answer = "<pd:answer>
<pd:text>" . $choice . "</pd:text>
</pd:answer>";
echo $answer;
}
}
$total_choices = array('yes' , 'no' , 'do not know');
$ans = polldaddy_choices($total_choices);
$xml = "world" . $ans . "hello" ;
echo $xml;
?>
Output :
<pd:answer>
<pd:text></pd:text>
</pd:answer><pd:answer>
<pd:text></pd:text>
</pd:answer><pd:answer>
<pd:text></pd:text>
</pd:answer>worldhello
Why the string are coming at the end of the output ?
Here is the link on codepad : http://codepad.org/2dbiCelb

Answer 1

Your function was echoing the xml code straight away. In the code below you will see I create a variable ($answer = "";) and then append the xml at the end of the variable by using ".=". At the end of the function I return the value of $answer.
When you call the function then ($ans = polldaddy_choices($total_choices);), it will place the return value of the function into your $ans variable.
<?php
function polldaddy_choices($choices) {
$answer = "";
foreach ($choices as $choice) {
$answer.= "<pd:answer>
<pd:text>" . $choice . "</pd:text>
</pd:answer>";
}
return $answer;
}
$total_choices = array('yes' , 'no' , 'do not know');
$ans = polldaddy_choices($total_choices);
$xml = "world" . $ans . "hello" ;
echo $xml;
?>

Answer 2

Your function is not retuning anything. You are echoing directly in that function.
So first you call polldaddy_choices, which echos the html. Then, you echo:
$xml = "world" . "" . "hello" ;

Answer 3

Because you are echoing the output in your polldaddy_choices function. So the following:
$ans = polldaddy_choices($total_choices); Is actually printing the XML, and:
$xml = "world" . $ans . "hello"; will simply be printing worldhello, as $ans === null
I think you probably want to be doing something more like:
function polldaddy_choices($choices) {
$answers = array();
foreach ($choices as $choice) {
$answer = "<pd:answer>
<pd:text>" . $choice . "</pd:text>
</pd:answer>";
$answers[] = $answer;
}
return implode("\n", $answers);
}