# SimpleXMLElement->addChild()

(PHP 5 >= 5.1.3)

SimpleXMLElement->addChild() — Adds a child element to the XML node

### Description

SimpleXMLElement
SimpleXMLElement addChild ( string `$name` [, string `$value` [, string `$namespace` ]] )

Adds a child element to the node and returns a SimpleXMLElement of the child.

### Parameters

`name`

  The name of the child element to add.

`value`

  If specified, the value of the child element.

`namespace`

  If specified, the namespace to which the child element belongs.

### Return Values

The addChild method returns a SimpleXMLElement object representing the child added to the XML node.

### Examples

Example#1 Add attributes and children to a SimpleXML element

`<?php
include 'example.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();
?>`

### See Also

- SimpleXMLElement->addAttribute()