If the XML element in question contains attributes, you can also access the SimpleXMLElement as a PHP associative array, where each key in the array represents an attribute on the XML element.

When the probe fires, you increment an associative array element for the given PID and process name.

At the end of a successful XML tree walk, this function will convert and store all the XML elements (the root element and all the child elements) in a PHP associative array.