WP_Date_Query::validate_column( string $column ): string
- Since
- 3.7.0
- Source
wp-includes/class-wp-date-query.php:476
Description
Column names without a table prefix (like 'post_date') are checked against a list of allowed and known tables, and then, if found, have a table prefix (such as 'wp_posts.') prepended. Prefixed column names (such as 'wp_posts.post_date') bypass this allowed check, and are only sanitized to remove illegal characters.
Compatibility
- WordPress
- since 3.7.0
- PHP
- 7.4–8.6-dev
- 6.7.7
- 6.8.8
- 6.9.7
- 7.0.4
- 7.1.0
Present in every tracked release (6.7.7 to 7.1.0), and compiles on PHP 7.4 through 8.6-dev.
Parameters
$columnstring- The user-supplied column name.
Return value
string- A validated column name value.
Performance profile
How much work a call to WP_Date_Query::validate_column() 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
- Light
- Scaling
- Scales with input
- Instructions
- 11–43
- Plugin surface
- 1 hook
- Called by
- 2
Touches nothing outside its own arguments.
The body loops, so the work grows with what you pass in.
Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 43.
Third-party callbacks on 'date_query_valid_columns' run inside this call, and their cost is not bounded by anything here.
2 places in core call this, so the cost is paid more often than your own code shows.
What it touches
- hookthird-party callbacks
apply_filters()called directly
What one call costs · 2 distinct outcomes
One number would be a lie: the work depends on which branch runs. These are every distinct cost WP_Date_Query::validate_column() can have, taken from its control-flow graph on PHP 8.5.
| When | Instructions | Calls it makes |
|---|---|---|
$column | 11–12 | is_multisite() |
!$column | 30–43 | is_multisite(), apply_filters(), is_multisite() |
Across PHP versions
| PHP | Compiled | Executed | Branches | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.6-dev | 43 | 11–43 | 7 | |
| 8.5 | 43 | 11–43 | 7 | |
| 8.4 | 43 | 11–43 | 7 | 12 fewer instructions than PHP 8.3 |
| 8.3 | 55 | 17–55 | 7 | |
| 8.2 | 55 | 17–55 | 7 | |
| 8.1 | 55 | 17–55 | 7 | |
| 7.4 | 55 | 17–55 | 7 |
An instruction is not a fixed amount of time, so a matching count is not necessarily the same speed; what it rules out is a difference in the work itself.
Hooks and filters fired · 1
One hook fires while WP_Date_Query::validate_column() runs, in this order:
- apply_filters( date_query_valid_columns )filterline 513 (+37 into the body)
Filters the list of valid date query columns.
Uses · 3
- is_multisite()Determines whether Multisite is enabled.
- str_contains()Polyfill for `str_contains()` function added in PHP 8.0.
- apply_filters()Calls the callback functions that have been added to a filter hook.
Used by · 2
- WP_Date_Query::__construct()Constructor.
- WP_Date_Query::get_sql_for_clause()Turns a first-order date query into SQL for a WHERE clause.
Source code
public function validate_column( $column ) { global $wpdb; $valid_columns = array( 'post_date', // Part of $wpdb->posts. 'post_date_gmt', // Part of $wpdb->posts. 'post_modified', // Part of $wpdb->posts. 'post_modified_gmt', // Part of $wpdb->posts. 'comment_date', // Part of $wpdb->comments. 'comment_date_gmt', // Part of $wpdb->comments. 'user_registered', // Part of $wpdb->users. ); if ( is_multisite() ) { $valid_columns = array_merge( $valid_columns, array( 'registered', // Part of $wpdb->blogs. 'last_updated', // Part of $wpdb->blogs. ) ); } // Attempt to detect a table prefix. if ( ! str_contains( $column, '.' ) ) { /** * Filters the list of valid date query columns. * * @since 3.7.0 * @since 4.1.0 Added 'user_registered' to the default recognized columns. * @since 4.6.0 Added 'registered' and 'last_updated' to the default recognized columns. * * @param string[] $valid_columns An array of valid date query columns. Defaults * are 'post_date', 'post_date_gmt', 'post_modified', * 'post_modified_gmt', 'comment_date', 'comment_date_gmt', * 'user_registered', 'registered', 'last_updated'. */ if ( ! in_array( $column, apply_filters( 'date_query_valid_columns', $valid_columns ), true ) ) { $column = 'post_date'; } $known_columns = array( $wpdb->posts => array( 'post_date', 'post_date_gmt', 'post_modified', 'post_modified_gmt', ), $wpdb->comments => array( 'comment_date', 'comment_date_gmt', ), $wpdb->users => array( 'user_registered', ), ); if ( is_multisite() ) { $known_columns[ $wpdb->blogs ] = array( 'registered', 'last_updated', ); } // If it's a known column name, add the appropriate table prefix. foreach ( $known_columns as $table_name => $table_columns ) { if ( in_array( $column, $table_columns, true ) ) { $column = $table_name . '.' . $column; break; } } } // Remove unsafe characters. return preg_replace( '/[^a-zA-Z0-9_$\.]/', '', $column ); }Changelog
Introduced in 3.7.0. Unchanged from 6.7.7 through 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-includes/class-wp-date-query.php, and regenerated for each WordPress release so it tracks the code rather than a snapshot of it. - Corrections
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