WP_Automatic_Updater::update( string $type, object $item ): null|WP_Error

Compatibility

Present in every tracked release (6.7.7 to 7.1.0), and compiles on PHP 7.4 through 8.6-dev.

Parameters

$typestring

The type of update being checked: 'core', 'theme', 'plugin', 'translation'.

$itemobject

The update offer.

Return value

null|WP_Error

Performance profile

How much work a call to WP_Automatic_Updater::update() does, and what it touches: the algorithmic scaling, the Zend instruction count per call across PHP versions, the hooks it hands control to, and the core code that calls it. Measured from the compiled opcodes, not a stopwatch, so every number is identical on any machine running the same PHP version, and every function in core is ranked by cost.

Cost class

Heavy

Reaches the database via WP_Automatic_Updater::update().

Scaling

Constant

No loop in the body: the same number of instructions runs whatever you pass in.

Instructions

99–206

Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 431.

Plugin surface

1 hook

Third-party callbacks on 'pre_auto_update' run inside this call, and their cost is not bounded by anything here.

Called by

1

1 place in core call this, so the cost is paid more often than your own code shows.

What it touches

• sqldatabase queryWP_Automatic_Updater::update()this function does it
• hookthird-party callbacksdo_action()called directly
• optionoption read or writeget_option()one call below WP_Automatic_Updater::update()

Further down the call graph this can also reach cache, serialize, transient and query. Those are the worst case, several calls deep and usually down an error path, not what a normal call pays.

What one call costs · 182 distinct outcomes

One number would be a lie: the work depends on which branch runs. These are every distinct cost WP_Automatic_Updater::update() can have, taken from its control-flow graph on PHP 8.5.

This body has more branch combinations than are worth enumerating, so the table covers the outcomes found first rather than every one that exists.

Hooks and filters fired · 1

One hook fires while WP_Automatic_Updater::update() runs, in this order:

1. 1
   do_action( pre_auto_update )actionline 401 (+39 into the body)

   Fires immediately prior to an auto-update.

Uses · 17

• add_filter()Adds a callback function to a filter hook.
• get_theme_root()Retrieves path to themes directory.
• do_action()Calls the callback functions that have been added to an action hook.
• __()Retrieves the translation of $text.
• wp_get_theme()Gets a WP_Theme object for a theme.
• get_plugin_data()Parses the plugin contents to retrieve plugin's metadata.
• is_plugin_active()Determines whether a plugin is active.
• is_wp_error()Checks whether the given variable is a WordPress Error.
• is_plugin_inactive()Determines whether the plugin is inactive.
• Automatic_Upgrader_Skin::__construct()
• Core_Upgrader::__construct()
• Plugin_Upgrader::__construct()

Used by · 1

• WP_Automatic_Updater::run()Kicks off the background update process, looping through all pending updates.

Source code

View on Trac ↗View on GitHub ↗

362	public function update( $type, $item ) {363		$skin = new Automatic_Upgrader_Skin();364 365		switch ( $type ) {366			case 'core':367				// The Core upgrader doesn't use the Upgrader's skin during the actual main part of the upgrade, instead, firing a filter.368				add_filter( 'update_feedback', array( $skin, 'feedback' ) );369				$upgrader = new Core_Upgrader( $skin );370				$context  = ABSPATH;371				break;372			case 'plugin':373				$upgrader = new Plugin_Upgrader( $skin );374				$context  = WP_PLUGIN_DIR; // We don't support custom Plugin directories, or updates for WPMU_PLUGIN_DIR.375				break;376			case 'theme':377				$upgrader = new Theme_Upgrader( $skin );378				$context  = get_theme_root( $item->theme );379				break;380			case 'translation':381				$upgrader = new Language_Pack_Upgrader( $skin );382				$context  = WP_CONTENT_DIR; // WP_LANG_DIR;383				break;384		}385 386		// Determine whether we can and should perform this update.387		if ( ! $this->should_update( $type, $item, $context ) ) {388			return false;389		}390 391		/**392		 * Fires immediately prior to an auto-update.393		 *394		 * @since 4.4.0395		 *396		 * @param string $type    The type of update being checked: 'core', 'theme', 'plugin', or 'translation'.397		 * @param object $item    The update offer.398		 * @param string $context The filesystem context (a path) against which filesystem access and status399		 *                        should be checked.400		 */401		do_action( 'pre_auto_update', $type, $item, $context );402 403		$upgrader_item = $item;404		switch ( $type ) {405			case 'core':406				/* translators: %s: WordPress version. */407				$skin->feedback( __( 'Updating to WordPress %s' ), $item->version );408				/* translators: %s: WordPress version. */409				$item_name = sprintf( __( 'WordPress %s' ), $item->version );410				break;411			case 'theme':412				$upgrader_item = $item->theme;413				$theme         = wp_get_theme( $upgrader_item );414				$item_name     = $theme->get( 'Name' );415				// Add the current version so that it can be reported in the notification email.416				$item->current_version = $theme->get( 'Version' );417				if ( empty( $item->current_version ) ) {418					$item->current_version = false;419				}420				/* translators: %s: Theme name. */421				$skin->feedback( __( 'Updating theme: %s' ), $item_name );422				break;423			case 'plugin':424				$upgrader_item = $item->plugin;425				$plugin_data   = get_plugin_data( $context . '/' . $upgrader_item );426				$item_name     = $plugin_data['Name'];427				// Add the current version so that it can be reported in the notification email.428				$item->current_version = $plugin_data['Version'];429				if ( empty( $item->current_version ) ) {430					$item->current_version = false;431				}432				/* translators: %s: Plugin name. */433				$skin->feedback( __( 'Updating plugin: %s' ), $item_name );434				break;435			case 'translation':436				$language_item_name = $upgrader->get_name_for_update( $item );437				/* translators: %s: Project name (plugin, theme, or WordPress). */438				$item_name = sprintf( __( 'Translations for %s' ), $language_item_name );439				/* translators: 1: Project name (plugin, theme, or WordPress), 2: Language. */440				$skin->feedback( sprintf( __( 'Updating translations for %1$s (%2$s)…' ), $language_item_name, $item->language ) );441				break;

Changelog

Introduced in 3.7.0. Unchanged from 6.7.7 through 7.1.0.

1. 6.7.7
2. 6.8.8
3. 6.9.7
4. 7.0.4
5. 7.1.0

Signature, return type and hooks compared across 5 parsed releases.

About this page

Parsed data

Generated from the wordpress-develop 7.1.0 tag, from src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-automatic-updater.php, and regenerated for each WordPress release so it tracks the code rather than a snapshot of it.

Corrections

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