get_header( string|null $name = null, array $args = array() ): void|false

Description

Compatibility

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

Parameters

$namestring|nulloptional

The name of the specialized header. Default null.Default: null

$argsarrayoptional

Additional arguments passed to the header template.
Default empty array.Default: array()

Return value

void|false

Void on success, false if the template does not exist.

Performance profile

How much work a call to get_header() 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

22–27

Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 28.

Plugin surface

1 hook

Third-party callbacks on 'get_header' 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 callbacksdo_action()called directly

Further down the call graph this can also reach option, 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 · 1 distinct outcome

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

Hooks and filters fired · 1

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

1. 1
   do_action( get_header )actionline 38 (+11 into the body)

   Fires before the header template file is loaded.

Uses · 2

• do_action()Calls the callback functions that have been added to an action hook.
• locate_template()Retrieves the name of the highest priority template file that exists.

Source code

View on Trac ↗View on GitHub ↗

27function get_header( $name = null, $args = array() ) {28	/**29	 * Fires before the header template file is loaded.30	 *31	 * @since 2.1.032	 * @since 2.8.0 The `$name` parameter was added.33	 * @since 5.5.0 The `$args` parameter was added.34	 *35	 * @param string|null $name Name of the specific header file to use. Null for the default header.36	 * @param array       $args Additional arguments passed to the header template.37	 */38	do_action( 'get_header', $name, $args );39 40	$templates = array();41	$name      = (string) $name;42	if ( '' !== $name ) {43		$templates[] = "header-{$name}.php";44	}45 46	$templates[] = 'header.php';47 48	if ( ! locate_template( $templates, true, true, $args ) ) {49		return false;50	}51}

Changelog

Introduced in 1.5.0. One change between 6.7.7 and 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 6.9.7 tag, from src/wp-includes/general-template.php, and regenerated for each WordPress release so it tracks the code rather than a snapshot of it.

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