Looking for a decent tutorial on using libxml with PHP

I have searched and searched and searched --- if I am to parse XML with PHP, libxml is what I have to use (for better or for worse) because that is what the hosting service has installed - whether I like it or not.

Problem is --- my search for a tutorial turns up nothing that I can make any sense of. There's several copies around of the "manual" for libxml -- but they all seem to be a vague description of the functions that may help for someone who already understands LibXML --- but is not at all comprehensible to a LibXML novice.

Then there is this document http://ift.tt/1IY8yfP that actually gives an example --- but it is way too obfuscated for me, an XML beginner, to make any sense of it.

I know there exist a few better-documented XML parsers for PHP --- but I probably don't have the authority to re-compile my hosting-service's Apache module - so I'm stuck with what they offer.

The question is --- does anyone know of any documents online that can come to my rescue?

Much thanks in advance.