README

Overview

The Sitemap Parser is a PHP class designed to parse XML sitemaps, whether they are local files or hosted URLs. It can handle both standard sitemaps and sitemap indexes, extracting location URLs and their last modification dates.

Class: Parser

Namespace: AOWD\SitemapParser

Features

• Parse XML sitemaps from local files or URLs
• Support for nested sitemaps (sitemap index files)
• Extract URL locations and last modification dates
• Built-in URL validation
• cURL-based URL content fetching
• Error handling with custom exceptions

Public Methods

parser(string $sitemap_location): array

The main method to parse a sitemap.

Parameters:

• $sitemap_location: String containing either a file path or URL to the sitemap

Returns:

• Array of parsed entries, each containing:
  • location: The URL from the sitemap
  • updated: The last modification date

Example:

$entries = Parser::parser('https://example.com/sitemap.xml');
// or
$entries = Parser::parser('/path/to/local/sitemap.xml');

Error Handling

The class uses a custom ParserException class for error handling. Exceptions are thrown for:

• Invalid XML content
• File reading errors
• URL fetching errors

Requirements

• PHP 8.3 or higher
• cURL extension
• SimpleXML extension

Example Usage

use AOWD\SitemapParser\Parser;
use AOWD\Exceptions\ParserException;

try {
    // Parse a sitemap
    $entries = Parser::parser('https://example.com/sitemap.xml');

    // Access the parsed entries
    foreach ($entries as $entry) {
        echo "URL: " . $entry['location'] . "\n";
        echo "Last Updated: " . $entry['updated'] . "\n";
    }
} catch (ParserException $e) {
    echo "Error: " . $e->getMessage();
}

Technical Details

Entry Format

Each parsed entry is stored as an associative array with the following structure:

[
    'location' => 'https://example.com/page',
    'updated' => '2023-01-01T12:00:00+00:00'
]

Supported Sitemap Types

• Standard XML sitemaps
• Sitemap index files
• Nested sitemaps

Validation

• URL validation using filter_var()
• File extension checking (.xml)
• File existence verification for local files

Best Practices

1. Always wrap parser calls in try-catch blocks
2. Verify sitemap file extensions
3. Ensure proper file permissions for local files
4. Handle potential network issues for remote sitemaps

Limitations

• Only supports XML format sitemaps
• Requires proper XML formatting
• Network dependent for remote sitemaps

This parser provides a robust solution for handling XML sitemaps in PHP applications, with built-in error handling and support for both local and remote sitemap files.