What PHP array syntax does this accept?

Both modern short-array syntax ([...]) and the older array(...) form, with 'key' => value or "key" => value entries, or bare positional values. It also accepts a full <?php $data = [...]; file, the exact shape the XML to PHP Array Converter produces, stripping the <?php tag and variable assignment automatically.

How are PHP arrays with string keys turned into XML?

Each string key becomes a child element tag name under the root element. An array whose keys form the contiguous sequence 0, 1, 2, ... (a PHP list) is treated as a positional list instead, matching how the JSON to XML Converter repeats a tag per item.

What happens if the top-level value isn't an associative array?

A bare list or scalar at the top level is wrapped under a single item key before conversion, so the output is always valid, single-root XML rather than something with no natural root element name.

Is this the reverse of the XML to PHP Array Converter?

Yes. XML to PHP Array Converter turns XML into a PHP array literal; this tool parses that same literal syntax back into XML, so the two form a round trip (modulo PHP's untyped scalars: XML text content that was originally a number or boolean comes back as a string unless you know to treat it otherwise).

PHP Array to XML Converter

Q: How are PHP arrays with string keys turned into XML?

Each string key becomes a child element tag name under the root element. An array whose keys form the contiguous sequence 0, 1, 2, ... (a PHP list) is treated as a positional list instead, matching how the JSON to XML Converter repeats a tag per item.

Q: What happens if the top-level value isn't an associative array?

A bare list or scalar at the top level is wrapped under a single item key before conversion, so the output is always valid, single-root XML rather than something with no natural root element name.

Q: Is this the reverse of the XML to PHP Array Converter?

Yes. XML to PHP Array Converter turns XML into a PHP array literal; this tool parses that same literal syntax back into XML, so the two form a round trip (modulo PHP's untyped scalars: XML text content that was originally a number or boolean comes back as a string unless you know to treat it otherwise).

Overview

Introduction

The XML to PHP Array Converter in this category turns XML into a ready-to-paste PHP array literal, but going the other direction, taking a PHP array you already have and turning it back into XML, previously meant hand-transcribing it.

This tool closes that loop: paste a PHP array literal and get back a well-formed XML document.

What Is PHP Array to XML Converter?

A hand-rolled parser reads a PHP array literal (short [...] syntax or the older array(...) form) into an equivalent JS value, following the same parsing engine as the JSON category's PHP Array to JSON Converter.

That value is then converted to XML the same way every other structured-data-to-XML converter in this category works: it's handed to the shared JSON-to-XML conversion step with a fixed root element name.

How PHP Array to XML Converter Works

The parser strips an optional leading <?php tag and $variable = ... ; assignment wrapper, then recursively parses the array body: quoted strings (single or double), 'key' => value pairs, bare positional values, nested arrays, numbers, true/false, and null.

Once parsed, an array is classified as a PHP list (its keys form the contiguous sequence 0, 1, 2, ...) or an associative array; the result is JSON-stringified and passed through this category's shared JSON to XML conversion, wrapping bare top-level lists or scalars under a single item element first.

When To Use PHP Array to XML Converter

Use it when you have a PHP array literal, from a config file, a var_export() dump, or hand-written test fixture data, and need it as XML for a legacy system or config loader.

It's also useful for round-tripping through the XML to PHP Array Converter to sanity-check that a hand-edited PHP array still represents the structure you expect.

Often used alongside XML to PHP Array Converter, JSON to XML Converter and XML Validator.

Features

Advantages

Accepts both modern short-array syntax and the older array(...) form in the same input.
Accepts the exact <?php $data = [...]; wrapper the XML to PHP Array Converter produces, so the two tools round-trip directly.
Runs entirely client-side, no PHP interpreter involved.
Reports the exact line and column of a syntax error rather than failing silently.

Limitations

This is a hand-written parser for literal array syntax, not a full PHP interpreter: it can't evaluate expressions, constants, function calls, or variables used as array values.
PHP arrays have no XML-tag-name restrictions, so a string key that isn't a valid XML tag name (spaces, a leading digit) falls back to a generic item tag, the same limitation the JSON to XML Converter has.
PHP scalar types (int vs numeric string, for example) aren't preserved distinctly in XML text content, which is always plain text.

Examples

Converting a nested associative array

Input

[
    'user' => [
        '@id' => '1',
        'name' => 'Ada',
    ],
]

Output

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<root>
  <user>
    <item>1</item>
    <name>Ada</name>
  </user>
</root>

The associative array becomes nested elements under the fixed root element; the @id key isn't a valid XML tag name on its own so it falls back to a generic item tag.

Best Practices & Notes

Best Practices

Paste the exact output of the XML to PHP Array Converter (including the <?php wrapper) if you're round-tripping, it's stripped automatically.
Keep associative array keys as valid XML identifiers (letters, digits, underscore, hyphen, no leading digit or symbol) if you need them preserved as tag names.
Check the error message's line and column if parsing fails, most failures are an unterminated string or a missing comma.

Developer Notes

The parsing engine (single-quoted/double-quoted strings, array(...) and [...] bodies, 'key' => value entries, true/false/null/number literals) is duplicated locally from the JSON category's php-array-to-json.ts rather than imported across the category boundary, matching this codebase's convention of category-local lib files. Serialization reuses the shared jsonToXml helper the same way csv-to-xml-converter.ts, ini-to-xml-converter.ts, and toml-to-xml-converter.ts already do.