Proper way to use the content.

Hello Chad,

Ultimately, Magic Parser is not ideally suited to the second type of XML (the hotel information) as it contains different "types" of repeating records - services, images, rooms, and then within each room you have rates and promos. Magic Parser is designed to extract into a single, flat array, each record of an XML feed that has multiple records that you need to process individually.

For example, in your first file, it is a list of HOTEL records; so you would use Magic Parser with the format string:

Here's an example that just extracts each hotel id, name and lowestrate into a global array, which you can use late:

View Output

However, in your application, it may be more appropriate simply to render the output HTML that you require for each hotel within the myRecordHandler function itself. Processing of the second file (hotel information) can be done quite easilyy with Magic Parser provided that there is only ever going to be one hotel in the entire file. You can then process it separately for each block of information you require, for example:

etc. etc.

Are you intending to create a single page with all the information contained within it?

The way you would go about this, in conjunction with the above example (but outputing some HTML this time); is to start with code similar to the above, then loop through each hotel in the array and then parse that file out for each block of information you need.

The following example will display the list of hotels, and the pictures for each one, although in this case only the first hotel. To "pretend" to construct the URL for the individual hotel data, what i've done here is greate a file called "hotel_565.xml", which is constructed from the ID value in the $hotels array.

View Output

To display more information, simply copy the way the services / pictures have been handled above, with additional calls to MagicParser_parse() for each one.

Regarding your implementation; obviously since this involves parsing the second, hotel info feed multiple times, it would not be a good idea, either for performance or resources on your hotel partner; to keep requesting the remote XML by URL for each section. Instead, what you should do here is read the XML into a local variable, and then parse the local variable using Magic Parser's built in "string://" protocol handler instead of the actual URL.

To show you what I mean, where you have the following code in the above example:

...it would be worth considering doing something like this (although I don't know the actual URL...):

Quite a bit to take in there i'm afraid, but I hope this helps! If ultimately because of this you decide that Magic Parser is not suitable for your application I will of course refund your purchase.

Cheers,
David.

I do appreciate the response and it has helped me a bit. i do have the record handler going into an XML value. The problem now is that i cannot extract the attribute for Meal Plan, which if I understand should be $record["ROOM-MEAL_PLAN"].

Please help.

I am using a combination of your script and a free one. that's where the $h_id->value comes from.

Hi Chad,

You do have the key correct "ROOM-MEAL_PLAN", however looking at your code I think you meant to use $meal instead of $mp; so rather than:

try:

However, before that would work, you will also need to declare $meal_options as global within the myRecordHandler function, otherwise the value will be empty as it is considered a local variable:

Hope this helps!
Cheers,
David.

We're almost there. Now I only have one, which is a good start, I need the other plans for the other rooms too. The output is only giving me the first meal plan for the first room.

There are a bunch of attributes, but each of the Room has with the XX being something unique to each.

Any ideas?

Hi Chad,

In the example XML above there is only one room with one meal plan (I think). Can you post a snipped of a room XML where there is more than one meal plan?

Cheers,
David.

Here it is with more than one room and more than one meal plan.

Thanks, Chad.

Of the multiple ROOM records; what indicates the same room with a different plan?

Each record has:

...but I don't see any where type_Id is the same with a different meal_plan...

If there were, is this how it would be represented; eg:

Cheers,
David.

I don't even care about the type_id's right now, just the meal plans. I need a list of meal plans for each hotel based on the Hotel ID.

Hi Chad,

I'm with you.

This can be sorted by using a lower level format string. It was working before because there was only one room. Instead of:

...use:

...for example:

That should be the only change you need to make the key will be the same...

Cheers,
David.

Does this parser return arrays or loops already? I ask because this code :

Returns :

Room with Meal Plans Array ( [0] => Room with Meal Plans ) Room with Meal Plans Array ( [0] => Room with Meal Plans )

Hi Chad,

$record is a flat, associative array with each field.

The reason your code works is because you are adding this to another array, and then looping through that array; however there will only ever be one value your new arrary, so it's actually unnecessary.

You can simply access $record["ROOM-MEAL_PLAN"] for example within the record handler function.

The record handler function will be called once for every record in the XML.

Cheers,
David.

I think I am missing something that is blatantly obvious ... if they already come out in an associative array, how do I use the values in a foreach loop? All this does is print out the values.

Hi Chad,

The record handler function is called multiple times, once for every record in the feed - that's how it works.

Have a look at the following BBC News Headlines example. You will see how within the record handler function you are only printing one item, but when you run the script you will see how every record in the RSS feed is displayed...

http://www.magicparser.com/node/26

Cheers,
David.