wppaste
WordPress

get_post_modified_time( string $format = 'U', bool $gmt = false, int|WP_Post $post = null, bool $translate = false ): string|int|false

Since
2.0.0
Source
wp-includes/general-template.php:3067
Retrieves the time at which the post was last modified.

Compatibility

WordPress
since 2.0.0
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

$formatstringoptional
Format to use for retrieving the time the post was modified. Accepts 'G', 'U', or PHP date format. Default 'U'.Default: 'U'
$gmtbooloptional
Whether to retrieve the GMT time. Default false.Default: false
$postint|WP_Postoptional
Post ID or post object. Default is global $post object.Default: null
$translatebooloptional
Whether to translate the time string. Default false.Default: false

Return value

string|int|false
Formatted date string or Unix timestamp if $format is 'U' or 'G'.
False on failure.

Performance profile

How much work a call to get_post_modified_time() 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 get_post().

Scaling
Constant

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

Instructions
10–48

Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 72.

Plugin surface
1 hook

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

Called by
2

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

What it touches

  • querycontent queryget_post()called directly
  • hookthird-party callbacksapply_filters()called directly

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

What one call costs · 7 distinct outcomes

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

WhenInstructionsCalls it makes
always10get_post()
$datetime === false21–22get_post(), get_post_datetime()
$datetime !== false33–44get_post(), get_post_datetime(), ->getTimestamp(), apply_filters()
$datetime !== false && $format !== "U" && $format !== "G"37–38get_post(), get_post_datetime(), ->format(), apply_filters()
$datetime !== false37–40get_post(), get_post_datetime(), ->getTimestamp(), ->getOffset(), apply_filters()
$datetime !== false && $format !== "U" && $format !== "G"44–45get_post(), get_post_datetime(), ->setTimezone(), ->format(), apply_filters()
$datetime !== false && $format !== "U" && $format !== "G"47–48get_post(), get_post_datetime(), ->getTimestamp(), wp_date(), apply_filters()

Across PHP versions

Compiles the same on PHP 7.4, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5 and 8.6-dev: 72 instructions, 10–48 executed per call, 9 branches. The work does not change between versions.

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 get_post_modified_time() runs, in this order:

  1. apply_filters( get_post_modified_time )filterline 3108 (+41 into the body)

    Filters the localized time a post was last modified.

Uses · 5

  • get_post()Retrieves post data given a post ID or post object.
  • get_post_datetime()Retrieves post published or modified time as a `DateTimeImmutable` object instance.
  • wp_date()Retrieves the date, in localized format.
  • apply_filters()Calls the callback functions that have been added to a filter hook.
  • DateTimeZone::__construct()

Used by · 2

Source code

function get_post_modified_time( $format = 'U', $gmt = false, $post = null, $translate = false ) {	$post = get_post( $post ); 	if ( ! $post ) {		return false;	} 	$source   = ( $gmt ) ? 'gmt' : 'local';	$datetime = get_post_datetime( $post, 'modified', $source ); 	if ( false === $datetime ) {		return false;	} 	if ( 'U' === $format || 'G' === $format ) {		$time = $datetime->getTimestamp(); 		// Returns a sum of timestamp with timezone offset. Ideally should never be used.		if ( ! $gmt ) {			$time += $datetime->getOffset();		}	} elseif ( $translate ) {		$time = wp_date( $format, $datetime->getTimestamp(), $gmt ? new DateTimeZone( 'UTC' ) : null );	} else {		if ( $gmt ) {			$datetime = $datetime->setTimezone( new DateTimeZone( 'UTC' ) );		} 		$time = $datetime->format( $format );	} 	/**	 * Filters the localized time a post was last modified.	 *	 * @since 2.8.0	 *	 * @param string|int $time   Formatted date string or Unix timestamp if `$format` is 'U' or 'G'.	 * @param string     $format Format to use for retrieving the time the post was modified.	 *                           Accepts 'G', 'U', or PHP date format. Default 'U'.	 * @param bool       $gmt    Whether to retrieve the GMT time. Default false.	 */	return apply_filters( 'get_post_modified_time', $time, $format, $gmt );}

Changelog

Introduced in 2.0.0. 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.

7.0.4
Parameter $post retyped from int|WP_Post to int|WP_Post|null.verified against source
2.0.0
Introduced.from the docblock

About this page

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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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