NuCleuZ wrote in to tell us about some SimpleXML documentation that has yet to reach the manual.

These pages give you an idea of the power that the SimpleXML extension will wield in PHP5. Functions such as simplexml_load_string() and loadXML() create an environment that's not only robust, but also very easy to use. Attributes and XPath difficulties will just about vanish with this new functionality, and those that have struggled with XML and PHP in the past will be glad for the break.

One item of particular note from these docs is the fact that not only will the SimpleXML code make life easier for PHP programmers out there, but it will also play nice with the DOM XML extension as well...