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How to Parse and Generate HTML DOM in PHP: Practical Example Tutorial

M66 2025-06-11

How to Parse and Generate HTML DOM in PHP: Practical Example Tutorial

HTML DOM (Document Object Model) is an API used for parsing and manipulating HTML documents. It allows developers to programmatically access the structure, content, and properties of HTML documents. In PHP, there are some common libraries that can help us easily parse and generate HTML DOM. In this article, we will focus on two popular libraries: PHP Simple HTML DOM Parser and PHPQuery, with corresponding code examples.

1. PHP Simple HTML DOM Parser

PHP Simple HTML DOM Parser is a powerful tool for parsing HTML documents. It uses jQuery-like selector syntax, making HTML parsing more intuitive. Below is an example of using PHP Simple HTML DOM Parser to parse an HTML document:

<?php
include('simple_html_dom.php');

// Create a new HTML DOM object
$html = new simple_html_dom();

// Load HTML from a URL
$html->load_file('http://example.com/page.html');

// Use selector syntax to get an element
$element = $html->find('.class-name', 0);

// Get the element's inner text
$text = $element->innertext;

// Output the result
echo $text;

// Clear the HTML DOM object
$html->clear();
?>

The code above first includes the `simple_html_dom.php` file, which contains the PHP Simple HTML DOM Parser library. Then, we create a new HTML DOM object and use the `load_file()` method to load the HTML document from a specified URL. Next, we use the `find('.class-name', 0)` selector syntax to get the first element with the class `class-name`. Finally, we use the `innertext` property to get the text content of that element and output it.

2. PHPQuery

PHPQuery is another powerful HTML parsing library that provides a jQuery-like API for parsing and manipulating HTML documents. Below is an example of using PHPQuery to parse an HTML document:

<?php
require('phpQuery.php');

// Create a new PHPQuery object
$document = phpQuery::newDocumentFileHTML('http://example.com/page.html');

// Use selector syntax to get an element
$element = $document->find('.class-name')->eq(0);

// Get the element's text content
$text = $element->text();

// Output the result
echo $text;

// Unload PHPQuery object
phpQuery::unloadDocuments();
?>

In this code, we first include the `phpQuery.php` file, which contains the PHPQuery library. Then, we use the `newDocumentFileHTML()` method to create a new PHPQuery object and load the HTML document from a specified URL. Next, we use the `find('.class-name')->eq(0)` selector syntax to get the first element with the class `class-name`, and then we use the `text()` method to get its text content and output it.

Summary

Whether using PHP Simple HTML DOM Parser or PHPQuery, both libraries make it easy to parse and generate HTML DOM. These libraries provide rich APIs that make manipulating HTML documents simpler and more flexible. By using selector syntax, you can easily retrieve and manipulate HTML elements. We hope the sample code in this article helps you better understand how to implement HTML DOM parsing and generation in PHP.

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