CURL to grab an XML file associated with this URL - php

Question

I am trying to use CURL to grab an XML file associated with this URL, then i am trying to parse the xml file using DOMxPath.
There are no output errors at this point it is just not displaying anything, i tried to catch some errors but i was unable to figure it out, any direction would be amazing.
<?php
if (!function_exists('curl_init')){
die('Sorry cURL is not installed!');
}
function tideTime() {
$ch = curl_init("http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/noaatidepredictions/NOAATidesFacade.jsp?datatype=XML&Stationid=8721138");
$fp = fopen("8721138.xml", "w");
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_FILE, $fp);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HEADER, 0);
curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);
fclose($fp);
$dom = new DOMDocument();
#$dom->loadHTML($ch);
$domx = new DOMXPath($dom);
$entries = $domx->evaluate("//time");
$arr = array();
foreach ($entries as $entry) {
$tide = $entry->nodeValue;
}
echo $tide;
}
?>

Answer 1

Youre trying to load the curl resource handle as the DOM which it is not. the curl functions either output directly or output to string.
$ch = curl_init("http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/noaatidepredictions/NOAATidesFacade.jsp?datatype=XML&Stationid=8721138");
$fp = fopen("8721138.xml", "w");
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_FILE, $fp);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HEADER, 0);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 0);
$data = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);
fclose($fp);
$dom = new DomDocument();
$dom->loadHTML($data);
// the rest of the code

Answer 2

it seems you try to catch some unavailable xpath, make sure you have ("//time"); in the xml file, are you sure that you grab is a xml file ? or you just put into xml ?

Answer 3

if we look at that page, it seems xml generated by javascript, look at the http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/noaatidepredictions/NOAATidesFacade.jsp?datatype=XML&Stationid=8721138&text=datafiles%2F8721138%2F09122011%2F877%2F&imagename=images/8721138/09122011/877/8721138_2011-12-10.gif&bdate=20111209&timelength=daily&timeZone=2&dataUnits=1&interval=&edate=20111210&StationName=Ponce Inlet, Halifax River&Stationid_=8721138&state=FL&primary=Subordinate&datum=MLLW&timeUnits=2&ReferenceStationName=GOVERNMENT CUT, MIAMI HARBOR ENTRANCE&HeightOffsetLow=*1.00&HeightOffsetHigh=* 1.18&TimeOffsetLow=33&TimeOffsetHigh=5&pageview=dayly&print_download=true&Threshold=&thresholdvalue=
may be you can grab that