$re = '/(?<=<)[^>]+(?=>)/m';
$str = '<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!-- Text for testing regex -->
<data type="lorem">
<h3>Improving the lorem in your ipsum</h3>
</data>
<data type="image" number="1"/>
<data type="ipsum">
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt.
</data>';
preg_match_all($re, $str, $matches, PREG_SET_ORDER, 0);
// Print the entire match result
var_dump($matches);
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for PHP, please visit: http://php.net/manual/en/ref.pcre.php