- simplexml_load_string: documentation ( source)
<?php
// Does NOT work as expected.
$sxml = simplexml_load_string('<test><num>20.5</num><den>1</den></test>');
$ans = $sxml->num / $sxml->den;
echo "XML Test:\n";
echo "{$sxml->num} / {$sxml->den} = {$ans}\n";
// Output: 20.5 / 1 = 20
$ans = (string)$sxml->num / (string)$sxml->den;
echo "{$sxml->num} / {$sxml->den} = {$ans}\n";
// Works as expected.
$num = "20.5";
$den = "1";
$ans = $num / $den;
echo "String Test:\n";
echo "{$num} / {$den} = {$ans}\n";
// Output: 20.5 / 1 = 20.5