dump xml string verbatim to mysql db

Question

Hi everyone, I need to dump an xml string (coming into a web service as a POST param), directly into a Mysql DB. The column into which I am writing is currently of type 'text', though I have tried blob as well.

Right now, when I save the string and retrieve it later on using sql, it comes back in a serialized like format, like this:

a:1:{s:14:"<?xml_encoding";s:1502:"UTF-8?><record>
                <nodes></nodes>
              </record>";}

Whereas, I need to parse that xml as a simplexml object, and hence need it to be better formed.

This is what I am doing codewise:

• Accept Post Param in web service

• Serialize and store it in DB using doctrine ORM, kind of like

  $record->xml_rec = serialize($_POST)

• Retrieve it and echo it.

Oddly enough, if I unserialize and echo is upon retrial, I get an array. The array looks like this upon print_f

Array
(
[<?xml_encoding] => UTF-8?><record>
                <nodes></nodes>
              </record>
)

Still not parse-able by simplexml.

Is this a mysql storage problem or am I doing something wrong with the POST params? I've tried htmlspecialchars to save the string in the db, but similar problems remain.

any help is appreciated, thanks