Inspect XML created by PHP SoapClient call before/without sending the request

I found this thread while working on the same problem, and was bummed because I was using classes that already extended the SoapClient() class and didn't want to screw around with it too much.

However if you add the "exceptions"=>0 tag when you initiate the class, it won't throw a Fatal Error (though it will print an exception):

SoapClient($soapURL, array("trace" => 1, "exceptions" => 0));

Doing that allowed me to run __getLastRequest() and analyze the XML I was sending.

Upfront remark: In order to use the __getLastRequest() method successfully, you have to set the 'trace' option to true on client construction:

$client = new SoapClient('wsdldoc.asmx?WSDL', array('trace' => TRUE));

This way, your request will still be sent (and therefore still fail), but you can inspect the sent xml afterwards by calling $client->__getLastRequest().

---

Main answer:

To get access to the generated XML before/without sending the request, you'd need to subclass the SoapClient in order to override the __doRequest() method:

class SoapClientDebug extends SoapClient
{
  public function __doRequest($request, $location, $action, $version, $one_way = 0) {
      // Add code to inspect/dissect/debug/adjust the XML given in $request here

      // Uncomment the following line, if you actually want to do the request
      // return parent::__doRequest($request, $location, $action, $version, $one_way);
  }
}

You'd then use this extended class instead of the original SoapClient while debugging your problem.