query_posts( array|string $query ): WP_Post[]|int[]
- Since
- 1.5.0
- Source
wp-includes/query.php:97
Description
Note: This function will completely override the main query and isn't intended for use by plugins or themes. Its overly-simplistic approach to modifying the main query can be problematic and should be avoided wherever possible. In most cases, there are better, more performant options for modifying the main query such as via the 'pre_get_posts' action within WP_Query.
This must not be used within the WordPress Loop.
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
$queryarray|string- Array or string of WP_Query arguments.
Return value
WP_Post[]|int[]- Array of post objects or post IDs.
Performance profile
How much work a call to query_posts() 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
- 10
- Plugin surface
- None
- Called by
- 0
Reaches the database via ->query().
No loop in the body: the same number of instructions runs whatever you pass in.
Executed per call on PHP 8.5. The body compiles to 10.
Nothing here hands control to plugin code.
Nothing in core calls this; the cost is only what you spend yourself.
What it touches
- sqldatabase query
->query()called directly
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 query_posts() can have, taken from its control-flow graph on PHP 8.5.
| When | Instructions | Calls it makes |
|---|---|---|
| always | 10 | ->query() |
Across PHP versions
| PHP | Compiled | Executed | Branches | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.6-dev | 10 | 10 | 0 | |
| 8.5 | 10 | 10 | 0 | |
| 8.4 | 10 | 10 | 0 | |
| 8.3 | 10 | 10 | 0 | |
| 8.2 | 10 | 10 | 0 | |
| 8.1 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 2 fewer instructions than PHP 7.4 |
| 7.4 | 12 | 12 | 0 |
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
- WP_Query::__construct()Constructor.
Source code
function query_posts( $query ) { $GLOBALS['wp_query'] = new WP_Query(); return $GLOBALS['wp_query']->query( $query );}Changelog
Introduced in 1.5.0. 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 6.8.8 tag, from
src/wp-includes/query.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.