maybe_serialize( string|array|object $data ): mixed
- Since
- 2.0.5
- Source
wp-includes/functions.php:628
Compatibility
- WordPress
- since 2.0.5
- 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
$datastring|array|object- Data that might be serialized.
Return value
mixed- A scalar data.
Performance profile
How much work a call to maybe_serialize() does, and what it touches: the algorithmic scaling, the Zend instruction count per call across PHP versions, the hooks it hands control to, and the core code that calls it. Measured from the compiled opcodes, not a stopwatch, so every number is identical on any machine running the same PHP version, and every function in core is ranked by cost.
- Cost class
- Trivial
- Scaling
- Constant
- Instructions
- 7–14
- Plugin surface
- None
- Called by
- 13
Touches nothing outside its own arguments.
No loop in the body: the same number of instructions runs whatever you pass in.
Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 19.
Nothing here hands control to plugin code.
13 places in core call this, so the cost is paid more often than your own code shows.
What it touches
- serializeserialisation
maybe_serialize()this function does it
What one call costs · 3 distinct outcomes
One number would be a lie: the work depends on which branch runs. These are every distinct cost maybe_serialize() can have, taken from its control-flow graph on PHP 8.5.
| When | Instructions | Calls it makes |
|---|---|---|
| always | 7–9 | serialize() |
!is_array($data) && !is_object($data) && !is_serialized() | 11 | is_serialized() |
!is_array($data) && !is_object($data) && is_serialized() | 14 | is_serialized(), serialize() |
Across PHP versions
Compiles the same on PHP 7.4, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5 and 8.6-dev: 19 instructions, 7–14 executed per call, 3 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.
Uses · 1
- is_serialized()Checks value to find if it was serialized.
Used by · 13
- WP_Customize_Manager::import_theme_starter_content()Imports theme starter content into the customized state.
- WP_Site_Health::get_autoloaded_options_size()Calculates total amount of autoloaded data.
- add_metadata()Adds metadata for the specified object.
- add_network_option()Adds a new network option.
- add_option()Adds a new option.
- delete_metadata()Deletes metadata for the specified object.
- populate_options()Create WordPress options and set the default values.
- update_metadata()Updates metadata for the specified object. If no value already exists for the specified object ID and metadata key, the metadata will be added.
- update_metadata_by_mid()Updates metadata by meta ID.
- update_network_option()Updates the value of a network option that was already added.
- update_option()Updates the value of an option that was already added.
- update_usermeta()Update metadata of user.
Show all 13
- wp_save_post_revision()Creates a revision for the current version of a post.
Source code
function maybe_serialize( $data ) { if ( is_array( $data ) || is_object( $data ) ) { return serialize( $data ); } /* * Double serialization is required for backward compatibility. * See https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/12930 * Also the world will end. See WP 3.6.1. */ if ( is_serialized( $data, false ) ) { return serialize( $data ); } return $data;}Changelog
Introduced in 2.0.5. 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/functions.php, and regenerated for each WordPress release so it tracks the code rather than a snapshot of it. - Corrections
- Something wrong on this page? Report it and it gets fixed in the next regeneration.