WP_Meta_Query::get_sql( string $type, string $primary_table, string $primary_id_column, object $context = null ): string[]|false

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

Type of meta. Possible values include but are not limited to 'post', 'comment', 'blog', 'term', and 'user'.

$primary_tablestring

Database table where the object being filtered is stored (eg wp_users).

$primary_id_columnstring

ID column for the filtered object in $primary_table.

$contextobjectoptional

The main query object that corresponds to the type, for example a WP_Query, WP_User_Query, or WP_Site_Query.
Default null.Default: null

Return value

string[]|false

Array containing JOIN and WHERE SQL clauses to append to the main query, or false if no table exists for the requested meta type.

• $joinstring

  SQL fragment to append to the main JOIN clause.

• $wherestring

  SQL fragment to append to the main WHERE clause.

Performance profile

How much work a call to WP_Meta_Query::get_sql() 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

Trivial

Touches nothing outside its own arguments.

Scaling

Constant

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

Instructions

10–46

Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 47.

Plugin surface

1 hook

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

Called by

0

Nothing in core calls this; the cost is only what you spend yourself.

What it touches

• hookthird-party callbacksapply_filters_ref_array()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_Meta_Query::get_sql() can have, taken from its control-flow graph on PHP 8.5.

Hooks and filters fired · 1

One hook fires while WP_Meta_Query::get_sql() runs, in this order:

1. 1
   apply_filters( get_meta_sql )filterline 395 (+38 into the body)

   Filters the meta query's generated SQL.

Uses · 5

• _get_meta_table()Retrieves the name of the metadata table for the specified object type.
• sanitize_key()Sanitizes a string key.
• str_contains()Polyfill for `str_contains()` function added in PHP 8.0.
• apply_filters_ref_array()Calls the callback functions that have been added to a filter hook, specifying arguments in an array.
• WP_Meta_Query::get_sql_clauses()Generates SQL clauses to be appended to a main query.

Source code

View on Trac ↗View on GitHub ↗

357	public function get_sql( $type, $primary_table, $primary_id_column, $context = null ) {358		$meta_table = _get_meta_table( $type );359		if ( ! $meta_table ) {360			return false;361		}362 363		$this->table_aliases = array();364 365		$this->meta_table     = $meta_table;366		$this->meta_id_column = sanitize_key( $type . '_id' );367 368		$this->primary_table     = $primary_table;369		$this->primary_id_column = $primary_id_column;370 371		$sql = $this->get_sql_clauses();372 373		/*374		 * If any JOINs are LEFT JOINs (as in the case of NOT EXISTS), then all JOINs should375		 * be LEFT. Otherwise posts with no metadata will be excluded from results.376		 */377		if ( str_contains( $sql['join'], 'LEFT JOIN' ) ) {378			$sql['join'] = str_replace( 'INNER JOIN', 'LEFT JOIN', $sql['join'] );379		}380 381		/**382		 * Filters the meta query's generated SQL.383		 *384		 * @since 3.1.0385		 *386		 * @param string[] $sql               Array containing the query's JOIN and WHERE clauses.387		 * @param array    $queries           Array of meta queries.388		 * @param string   $type              Type of meta. Possible values include but are not limited389		 *                                    to 'post', 'comment', 'blog', 'term', and 'user'.390		 * @param string   $primary_table     Primary table.391		 * @param string   $primary_id_column Primary column ID.392		 * @param object   $context           The main query object that corresponds to the type, for393		 *                                    example a `WP_Query`, `WP_User_Query`, or `WP_Site_Query`.394		 */395		return apply_filters_ref_array( 'get_meta_sql', array( $sql, $this->queries, $type, $primary_table, $primary_id_column, $context ) );396	}

Changelog

Introduced in 3.2.0. 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 6.7.7 tag, from src/wp-includes/class-wp-meta-query.php, and regenerated for each WordPress release so it tracks the code rather than a snapshot of it.

Corrections

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