I'm trying to determine the best course of action for the display of data for a project I'm working on. My client is currently using a proprietary CMS geared towards managing real estate. It easily lets you add properties, square footage, price, location, etc. The company that runs this CMS provides the data in a pretty straightforward XML file that they say offers access to all of the data my client enters.
I've read up on PHP5's SimpleXML feature and I grasp the basic concepts well enough, but my question is: can I access the XML data in a similar fashion as if I were querying a MySQL database?
For instance, assuming each entry has a unique ID, will I be able to set up a view and display just that record using a URL variable like: http://example.com/apartment.php?id=14
Can you also display results based on values within strings? I'm thinking a form submit that returns only two bedroom properties in this case.
Sorry in advance if this is a noob question. I'd rather not build a custom CMS for my client if for no other reason than they'd only have to login to one location and update accordingly.