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<SimpleXMLElementSimpleXMLElement::addChild>
^SimpleXMLElementLast updated: Mon, 26 Oct 2026

SimpleXMLElement::addAttribute

(PHP 5 >= 5.1.3, PHP 7, PHP 8)

SimpleXMLElement::addAttribute — Adds an attribute to the SimpleXML element

Description

public function SimpleXMLElement::addAttribute(string $qualifiedName, string $value, ?string $namespace = null): void

Adds an attribute to the SimpleXML element.

Parameters

qualifiedName

The name of the attribute to add.

value

The value of the attribute.

namespace

If specified, the namespace to which the attribute belongs.

Return Values

No value is returned.

Examples

Note:

Listed examples may include examples/simplexml-data.php, which refers to the XML string found in the first example of the basic usage guide.

Example #1 Add attributes and children to a SimpleXML element

<?php

include 'examples/simplexml-data.php';
 
$sxe = new SimpleXMLElement($xmlstr);
$sxe->addAttribute('type', 'documentary');

$movie = $sxe->addChild('movie');
$movie->addChild('title', 'PHP2: More Parser Stories');
$movie->addChild('plot', 'This is all about the people who make it work.');

$characters = $movie->addChild('characters');
$character  = $characters->addChild('character');
$character->addChild('name', 'Mr. Parser');
$character->addChild('actor', 'John Doe');

$rating = $movie->addChild('rating', '5');
$rating->addAttribute('type', 'stars');
 
echo $sxe->asXML();

?>

The above example will output something similar to:

<?xml version="1.0" standalone="yes"?>
<movies type="documentary">
 <movie>
  <title>PHP: Behind the Parser</title>
  <characters>
   <character>
    <name>Ms. Coder</name>
    <actor>Onlivia Actora</actor>
   </character>
   <character>
    <name>Mr. Coder</name>
    <actor>El Act&#xD3;r</actor>
   </character>
  </characters>
  <plot>
   So, this language. It's like, a programming language. Or is it a
   scripting language? All is revealed in this thrilling horror spoof
   of a documentary.
  </plot>
  <great-lines>
   <line>PHP solves all my web problems</line>
  </great-lines>
  <rating type="thumbs">7</rating>
  <rating type="stars">5</rating>
 </movie>
 <movie>
  <title>PHP2: More Parser Stories</title>
  <plot>This is all about the people who make it work.</plot>
  <characters>
   <character>
    <name>Mr. Parser</name>
    <actor>John Doe</actor>
   </character>
  </characters>
  <rating type="stars">5</rating>
 </movie>
</movies>

See Also


<SimpleXMLElementSimpleXMLElement::addChild>
^SimpleXMLElementLast updated: Mon, 26 Oct 2026