--- CODE:
<?php
$xmlstr = '<?xml version="1.0"?><root/>';
$doc = domxml_open_mem($xmlstr);
$root = $doc->document_element();
$childNodes = $root->child_nodes();
$count = count( $childNodes );
echo 'has_child_nodes is '; echo $root->has_child_nodes() ?  'true' :  'false';
echo "\nnumber of child nodes = $count\n"; 
?>

--- RESULT:
has_child_nodes is false
number of child nodes = 1
--- EXPECTED RESULT
has_child_nodes is false
number of child nodes = 0