- print_r: documentation ( source)
<?php
$string = <<<XML
<a>
text
</a>
XML;
$xml = new SimpleXMLElement($string);
$result = $xml->xpath('/a');
foreach ($result as $r)
{
if (!empty($r))
{
print_r((string)$r);
}
else
{
//print_r((string)$r);
echo 'empty';
}
}