the_author( string $deprecated = '', bool $deprecated_echo = true ): string
- Since
- 0.71
- Source
wp-includes/author-template.php:61
Description
The behavior of this function is based off of old functionality predating get_the_author(). This function is not deprecated, but is designed to echo the value from get_the_author() and as an result of any old theme that might still use the old behavior will also pass the value from get_the_author().
The normal, expected behavior of this function is to echo the author and not return it. However, backward compatibility has to be maintained.
Compatibility
- WordPress
- since 0.71
- 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
$deprecatedstringoptional- Deprecated.Default:
'' $deprecated_echobooloptional- Deprecated. Use get_the_author(). Echo the string or return it.Default:
true
Return value
string- The author's display name, from get_the_author().
Performance profile
How much work a call to the_author() does, and what it touches: the algorithmic scaling, the Zend instruction count per call across PHP versions, the hooks it hands control to, and the core code that calls it. Measured from the compiled opcodes, not a stopwatch, so every number is identical on any machine running the same PHP version, and every function in core is ranked by cost.
- Cost class
- Trivial
- Scaling
- Constant
- Instructions
- 10–29
- Plugin surface
- None
- Called by
- 0
Touches nothing outside its own arguments.
No loop in the body: the same number of instructions runs whatever you pass in.
Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 29.
Nothing here hands control to plugin code.
Nothing in core calls this; the cost is only what you spend yourself.
What it touches
- hookthird-party callbacks
do_action()one call below the_author()
Further down the call graph this can also reach query, option, cache, serialize and transient. Those are the worst case, several calls deep and usually down an error path, not what a normal call pays.
What one call costs · 8 distinct outcomes
One number would be a lie: the work depends on which branch runs. These are every distinct cost the_author() can have, taken from its control-flow graph on PHP 8.5.
| When | Instructions | Calls it makes |
|---|---|---|
empty($deprecated) && $deprecated_echo is not null, false, long, double, string, array, object, resource | 10 | get_the_author() |
empty($deprecated) && $deprecated_echo is not null, false, long, double, string, array, object, resource | 13 | get_the_author(), get_the_author() |
!empty($deprecated) && $deprecated_echo is not null, false, long, double, string, array, object, resource | 14 | _deprecated_argument(), get_the_author() |
!empty($deprecated) && $deprecated_echo is not null, false, long, double, string, array, object, resource | 17 | _deprecated_argument(), get_the_author(), get_the_author() |
empty($deprecated) && $deprecated_echo is null, false, long, double, string, array, object, resource | 22 | __(), sprintf(), _deprecated_argument(), get_the_author() |
empty($deprecated) && $deprecated_echo is null, false, long, double, string, array, object, resource | 25 | __(), sprintf(), _deprecated_argument(), get_the_author(), get_the_author() |
!empty($deprecated) && $deprecated_echo is null, false, long, double, string, array, object, resource | 26 | _deprecated_argument(), __(), sprintf(), _deprecated_argument(), get_the_author() |
!empty($deprecated) && $deprecated_echo is null, false, long, double, string, array, object, resource | 29 | _deprecated_argument(), __(), sprintf(), _deprecated_argument(), get_the_author(), get_the_author() |
Across PHP versions
Compiles the same on PHP 7.4, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5 and 8.6-dev: 29 instructions, 10–29 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 · 3
- _deprecated_argument()Marks a function argument as deprecated and inform when it has been used.
- __()Retrieves the translation of $text.
- get_the_author()Retrieves the author of the current post.
Source code
function the_author( $deprecated = '', $deprecated_echo = true ) { if ( ! empty( $deprecated ) ) { _deprecated_argument( __FUNCTION__, '2.1.0' ); } if ( true !== $deprecated_echo ) { _deprecated_argument( __FUNCTION__, '1.5.0', sprintf( /* translators: %s: get_the_author() */ __( 'Use %s instead if you do not want the value echoed.' ), '<code>get_the_author()</code>' ) ); } if ( $deprecated_echo ) { echo get_the_author(); } return get_the_author();}Changelog
Introduced in 0.71. 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/author-template.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.