wp_get_recent_posts( array $args = array(), string $output = ARRAY_A ): array|false
- Since
- 1.0.0
- Source
wp-includes/post.php:4397
Compatibility
- WordPress
- since 1.0.0
- 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
$argsarrayoptional- Arguments to retrieve posts. Default empty array.Default:
array() $outputstringoptional- The required return type. One of OBJECT or ARRAY_A, which correspond to a WP_Post object or an associative array, respectively.
Default ARRAY_A.Default:ARRAY_A
Return value
array|false- Array of recent posts, where the type of each element is determined by the
$outputparameter. Empty array on failure.
Performance profile
How much work a call to wp_get_recent_posts() does, and what it touches: the algorithmic scaling, the Zend instruction count per call across PHP versions, the hooks it hands control to, and the core code that calls it. Measured from the compiled opcodes, not a stopwatch, so every number is identical on any machine running the same PHP version, and every function in core is ranked by cost.
- Cost class
- Heavy
- Scaling
- Scales with input
- Instructions
- 19–35
- Plugin surface
- None
- Called by
- 4
Reaches the database via get_posts().
The body loops, so the work grows with what you pass in.
Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 46.
Nothing here hands control to plugin code.
4 places in core call this, so the cost is paid more often than your own code shows.
What it touches
- querycontent query
get_posts()called directly - hookthird-party callbacks
do_action()one call below wp_get_recent_posts()
Further down the call graph this can also reach option, cache, serialize and transient. Those are the worst case, several calls deep and usually down an error path, not what a normal call pays.
What one call costs · 2 distinct outcomes
One number would be a lie: the work depends on which branch runs. These are every distinct cost wp_get_recent_posts() can have, taken from its control-flow graph on PHP 8.5.
| When | Instructions | Calls it makes |
|---|---|---|
!$args | 19–22 | wp_parse_args(), get_posts() |
$args | 32–35 | __(), _deprecated_argument(), absint(), wp_parse_args(), get_posts() |
Across PHP versions
| PHP | Compiled | Executed | Branches | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.6-dev | 46 | 19–35 | 6 | |
| 8.5 | 46 | 19–35 | 6 | |
| 8.4 | 46 | 19–35 | 6 | 2 fewer instructions than PHP 8.3 |
| 8.3 | 48 | 21–37 | 6 | |
| 8.2 | 48 | 21–37 | 6 | |
| 8.1 | 48 | 21–37 | 6 | |
| 7.4 | 48 | 21–37 | 6 |
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 · 5
- _deprecated_argument()Marks a function argument as deprecated and inform when it has been used.
- __()Retrieves the translation of $text.
- absint()Converts a value to non-negative integer.
- wp_parse_args()Merges user defined arguments into defaults array.
- get_posts()Retrieves an array of the latest posts, or posts matching the given criteria.
Used by · 4
- wp_xmlrpc_server::blogger_getRecentPosts()Retrieves the list of recent posts.
- wp_xmlrpc_server::mt_getRecentPostTitles()Retrieves the post titles of recent posts.
- wp_xmlrpc_server::mw_getRecentPosts()Retrieves list of recent posts.
- wp_xmlrpc_server::wp_getPosts()Retrieves posts.
Source code
function wp_get_recent_posts( $args = array(), $output = ARRAY_A ) { if ( is_numeric( $args ) ) { _deprecated_argument( __FUNCTION__, '3.1.0', __( 'Passing an integer number of posts is deprecated. Pass an array of arguments instead.' ) ); $args = array( 'numberposts' => absint( $args ) ); } // Set default arguments. $defaults = array( 'numberposts' => 10, 'offset' => 0, 'category' => 0, 'orderby' => 'post_date', 'order' => 'DESC', 'include' => '', 'exclude' => '', 'meta_key' => '', 'meta_value' => '', 'post_type' => 'post', 'post_status' => 'draft, publish, future, pending, private', 'suppress_filters' => true, ); $parsed_args = wp_parse_args( $args, $defaults ); $results = get_posts( $parsed_args ); // Backward compatibility. Prior to 3.1 expected posts to be returned in array. if ( ARRAY_A === $output ) { foreach ( $results as $key => $result ) { $results[ $key ] = get_object_vars( $result ); } return $results ? $results : array(); } return $results ? $results : false;}Changelog
Introduced in 1.0.0. 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 7.0.4 tag, from
src/wp-includes/post.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.