get_the_time( string $format = '', int|WP_Post|null $post = null ): string|int|false
- Since
- 1.5.0
- Source
wp-includes/general-template.php:2852
Compatibility
- WordPress
- since 1.5.0
- 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 written. Accepts 'G', 'U', or PHP date format.
Defaults to the 'time_format' option.Default:'' $postint|WP_Post|nulloptional- Post ID or post object. Default is global
$postobject.Default:null
Return value
string|int|false- Formatted date string or Unix timestamp if
$formatis 'U' or 'G'.
False on failure.
Performance profile
How much work a call to get_the_time() does, and what it touches: the algorithmic scaling, the Zend instruction count per call across PHP versions, the hooks it hands control to, and the core code that calls it. Measured from the compiled opcodes, not a stopwatch, so every number is identical on any machine running the same PHP version, and every function in core is ranked by cost.
- Cost class
- Heavy
- Scaling
- Constant
- Instructions
- 8–28
- Plugin surface
- 1 hook
- Called by
- 13
Reaches the database via get_post().
No loop in the body: the same number of instructions runs whatever you pass in.
Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 31.
Third-party callbacks on 'get_the_time' run inside this call, and their cost is not bounded by anything here.
13 places in core call this, so the cost is paid more often than your own code shows.
What it touches
- querycontent query
get_post()called directly - optionoption read or write
get_option()called directly - hookthird-party callbacks
apply_filters()called directly - cacheobject cache
wp_cache_get()one call below get_the_time() - serializeserialisation
maybe_unserialize()one call below get_the_time()
Further down the call graph this can also reach transient. That is the worst case, several calls deep and usually down an error path, not what a normal call pays.
What one call costs · 3 distinct outcomes
One number would be a lie: the work depends on which branch runs. These are every distinct cost get_the_time() can have, taken from its control-flow graph on PHP 8.5.
| When | Instructions | Calls it makes |
|---|---|---|
| always | 8 | get_post() |
!empty($format) | 26 | get_post(), get_post_time(), apply_filters() |
empty($format) | 28 | get_post(), get_option(), get_post_time(), apply_filters() |
Across PHP versions
| PHP | Compiled | Executed | Branches | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.6-dev | 30 | 8–27 | 2 | 1 fewer instruction than PHP 8.5 |
| 8.5 | 31 | 8–28 | 2 | |
| 8.4 | 31 | 8–28 | 2 | |
| 8.3 | 31 | 8–28 | 2 | |
| 8.2 | 31 | 8–28 | 2 | |
| 8.1 | 31 | 8–28 | 2 | |
| 7.4 | 31 | 8–28 | 2 |
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_the_time() runs, in this order:
Uses · 4
- get_post()Retrieves post data given a post ID or post object.
- get_option()Retrieves an option value based on an option name.
- get_post_time()Retrieves the localized time of the post.
- apply_filters()Calls the callback functions that have been added to a filter hook.
Used by · 13
- WP_Customize_Manager::customize_pane_settings()Prints JavaScript settings for parent window.
- WP_Media_List_Table::column_date()Handles the date column output.
- WP_Posts_List_Table::column_date()Handles the post date column output.
- the_time()Displays the time of the post.
- twentyeleven_posted_on()Prints HTML with meta information for the current post-date/time and author.
- twentyfifteen_entry_meta()Prints HTML with meta information for the categories, tags.
- twentynineteen_posted_on()Prints HTML with meta information for the current post-date/time.
- twentyseventeen_time_link()Gets a nicely formatted string for the published date.
- twentysixteen_entry_date()Prints HTML with date information for current post.
- twentyten_posted_on()Prints HTML with meta information for the current post-date/time and author.
- twentytwelve_entry_meta()Sets up post entry meta.
- wp_dashboard_recent_drafts()Show recent drafts of the user on the dashboard.
Show all 13
- wp_dashboard_recent_posts()Generates Publishing Soon and Recently Published sections.
Source code
function get_the_time( $format = '', $post = null ) { $post = get_post( $post ); if ( ! $post ) { return false; } $_format = ! empty( $format ) ? $format : get_option( 'time_format' ); $the_time = get_post_time( $_format, false, $post, true ); /** * Filters the time of the post. * * @since 1.5.0 * * @param string|int $the_time Formatted date string or Unix timestamp if `$format` is 'U' or 'G'. * @param string $format Format to use for retrieving the time the post * was written. Accepts 'G', 'U', or PHP date format. * @param WP_Post $post Post object. */ return apply_filters( 'get_the_time', $the_time, $format, $post );}Changelog
Introduced in 1.5.0. One change between 6.7.7 and 7.1.0.
Signature, return type and hooks compared across 5 parsed releases.
$post retyped from int|WP_Post to int|WP_Post|null.verified against sourceAbout this page
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src/wp-includes/general-template.php, and regenerated for each WordPress release so it tracks the code rather than a snapshot of it. - Corrections
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