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wp_find_hierarchy_loop_tortoise_hare( callable $callback, int $start, array $override = array(), array $callback_args = array(), bool $_return_loop = false ): mixed

Since
3.1.0
Source
wp-includes/functions.php:7242
Uses the "The Tortoise and the Hare" algorithm to detect loops.

Description

For every step of the algorithm, the hare takes two steps and the tortoise one.
If the hare ever laps the tortoise, there must be a loop.

Compatibility

WordPress
since 3.1.0
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

$callbackcallable
Function that accepts ( ID, callback_arg, ... ) and outputs parent_ID.
$startint
The ID to start the loop check at.
$overridearrayoptional
An array of ( ID => parent_ID, ... ) to use instead of $callback.
Default empty array.Default: array()
$callback_argsarrayoptional
Additional arguments to send to $callback. Default empty array.Default: array()
$_return_loopbooloptional
Return loop members or just detect presence of loop? Only set to true if you already know the given $start is part of a loop (otherwise the returned array might include branches). Default false.Default: false

Return value

mixed
Scalar ID of some arbitrary member of the loop, or array of IDs of all members of loop if $_return_loop

Performance profile

How much work a call to wp_find_hierarchy_loop_tortoise_hare() 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
Light

Touches nothing outside its own arguments.

Scaling
Scales with input

The body loops, so the work grows with what you pass in.

Instructions
12–52

Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 67.

Plugin surface
None

Nothing here hands control to plugin code.

Called by
1

1 place in core call this, so the cost is paid more often than your own code shows.

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 wp_find_hierarchy_loop_tortoise_hare() can have, taken from its control-flow graph on PHP 8.5.

WhenInstructionsCalls it makes
always12–32none
$start && $override26–42array_merge()
$start && $override40–52array_merge(), array_merge()

Across PHP versions

PHPCompiledExecutedBranchesNotes
8.6-dev6412–50103 fewer instructions than PHP 8.5
8.56712–5210
8.46712–5210
8.36712–5210
8.26712–5210
8.16712–52103 more instructions than PHP 7.4
7.46412–5010

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.

Used by · 1

Source code

function wp_find_hierarchy_loop_tortoise_hare( $callback, $start, $override = array(), $callback_args = array(), $_return_loop = false ) {	$tortoise        = $start;	$hare            = $start;	$evanescent_hare = $start;	$return          = array(); 	// Set evanescent_hare to one past hare. Increment hare two steps.	while (		$tortoise	&&		( $evanescent_hare = $override[ $hare ] ?? call_user_func_array( $callback, array_merge( array( $hare ), $callback_args ) ) )	&&		( $hare = $override[ $evanescent_hare ] ?? call_user_func_array( $callback, array_merge( array( $evanescent_hare ), $callback_args ) ) )	) {		if ( $_return_loop ) {			$return[ $tortoise ]        = true;			$return[ $evanescent_hare ] = true;			$return[ $hare ]            = true;		} 		// Tortoise got lapped - must be a loop.		if ( $tortoise === $evanescent_hare || $tortoise === $hare ) {			return $_return_loop ? $return : $tortoise;		} 		// Increment tortoise by one step.		$tortoise = $override[ $tortoise ] ?? call_user_func_array( $callback, array_merge( array( $tortoise ), $callback_args ) );	} 	return false;}

Changelog

Introduced in 3.1.0. 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.

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.
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