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the_shortlink( string $text = '', string $title = '', string $before = '', string $after = '' )

Since
3.0.0, 6.8.0
Source
wp-includes/link-template.php:4265
Displays the shortlink for a post.

Description

Must be called from inside "The Loop"

Call like the_shortlink( __( 'Shortlinkage FTW' ) )

Compatibility

WordPress
since 6.8.0
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

$textstringoptional
The link text or HTML to be displayed. Defaults to 'This is the short link.'Default: ''
$titlestringoptional
Unused.Default: ''
$beforestringoptional
HTML to display before the link. Default empty.Default: ''
$afterstringoptional
HTML to display after the link. Default empty.Default: ''

Performance profile

How much work a call to the_shortlink() 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
18–40

Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 40.

Plugin surface
1 hook

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

Called by
0

Nothing in core calls this; the cost is only what you spend yourself.

What it touches

  • querycontent queryget_post()called directly
  • hookthird-party callbacksapply_filters()called directly
  • optionoption read or writeget_option()one call below the_shortlink()

Further down the call graph this can also reach 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 · 4 distinct outcomes

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

WhenInstructionsCalls it makes
!empty($text) && empty($shortlink)18get_post(), wp_get_shortlink()
empty($text) && empty($shortlink)22get_post(), __(), wp_get_shortlink()
!empty($text) && !empty($shortlink)36get_post(), wp_get_shortlink(), esc_url(), apply_filters()
empty($text) && !empty($shortlink)40get_post(), __(), wp_get_shortlink(), esc_url(), 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: 40 instructions, 18–40 executed per call, 2 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 the_shortlink() runs, in this order:

  1. apply_filters( the_shortlink )filterline 4287 (+22 into the body)

    Filters the short link anchor tag for a post.

Uses · 5

  • get_post()Retrieves post data given a post ID or post object.
  • __()Retrieves the translation of $text.
  • wp_get_shortlink()Returns a shortlink for a post, page, attachment, or site.
  • esc_url()Checks and cleans a URL.
  • apply_filters()Calls the callback functions that have been added to a filter hook.

Source code

function the_shortlink( $text = '', $title = '', $before = '', $after = '' ) {	$post = get_post(); 	if ( empty( $text ) ) {		$text = __( 'This is the short link.' );	} 	$shortlink = wp_get_shortlink( $post->ID ); 	if ( ! empty( $shortlink ) ) {		$link = '<a rel="shortlink" href="' . esc_url( $shortlink ) . '">' . $text . '</a>'; 		/**		 * Filters the short link anchor tag for a post.		 *		 * @since 3.0.0		 *		 * @param string $link      Shortlink anchor tag.		 * @param string $shortlink Shortlink URL.		 * @param string $text      Shortlink's text.		 * @param string $title     Shortlink's title attribute. Unused.		 */		$link = apply_filters( 'the_shortlink', $link, $shortlink, $text, $title );		echo $before, $link, $after;	}}

Changelog

Introduced in 3.0.0. Unchanged from 6.7.7 through 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.

6.8.0
Removed title attribute.from the docblock
3.0.0
Introduced.from the docblock

About this page

Parsed data
Generated from the wordpress-develop 7.0.4 tag, from src/wp-includes/link-template.php, and regenerated for each WordPress release so it tracks the code rather than a snapshot of it.
Corrections
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