I was working on a project where I needed the functionality provided by the WordPress PHP function sanitize_title(). Unfortunately, I needed this functionality in JavaScript. As with many problems in programming, this turned out to be more complex than I originally thought it would be. I discovered there were a number of edge-cases that I […]
WordPress Transients
WordPress transients, like most things in programming, are about being lazy. Unfortunately, in this case it isn’t about making the programmers life easier but rather about making the web server’s life easier (and the people who maintain and pay for the web server). Jump to Resources What is the temperature outside? When someone asks what […]
Why I prefer CMB2 over ACF
When working in WordPress, it is common to extend the platform with Custom Fields that go beyond the default functionality. Two popular choices are Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) and CMB2. My Preference My personal preference is CMB2. At the same time, there are many developers I know and respect who prefer ACF and use it […]
CMB2 Dependency with Composer
Here is the short answer for how I installed CMB2 as a dependency with Composer for my plugin. { “require”: { “webdevstudios/cmb2”: “^2.2” }, “autoload” : { “files”: [ “vendor/webdevstudios/cmb2/init.php” ] }, “extra”: { “installer-paths”: { “vendor/webdevstudios/cmb2”: [“webdevstudios/cmb2”] } } } Details of composer.json Require The require section, tells Composer the package (and version) we […]
Move Toolset Metabox Above WYSIWYG Editor
I recently had a request to move a WordPress custom metabox created with the Toolset Types plugin above the WYSIWYG Editor (a.k.a. Visual Editor). While this seems like a simple request, as so often happens in programming this was more complex than expected. The Solution The solution is to check the global variable $wp_meta_boxes early […]
wp_localize_script Explanation
A long time ago a WordPress programmer wanted to use a PHP value in their JavaScript. No problem they said, I’ll add this in my PHP theme code. Using a PHP Value in JavaScript – version 1 <?php $my_php_value = ‘Hello World’; echo ‘<script>’; echo ‘alert( “‘ . $myPHPValue . ‘” );’; echo ‘</script>’; ?> […]
WordPress Development Editor
Recently, the question came up about a good editor for WordPress development. The Editor You Know is the Best Editor WordPress development does not require any specific editor. If you already have an editor you know and like, I suggest sticking with it. If your editor is extensible through plugins or configuration, I would look […]
.gitignore for WordPress
Originally when I started using Git with my WordPress projects, I checked in all the files (WordPress core, plugins, themes, and even uploads). Over time I’ve found that to be less than ideal. My preferred .gitignore file appears below and it ignores everything by default. This allows me to whitelist only those plugins and themes […]
Why Capitalize the P in WordPress?
In the WordPress community, I’ve found there is an over-emphasis on capitalizing the P in WordPress, to the point where there is a function in WordPress to correct the lower-case p (see capital_P_dangit() ). While all this fuss over the size of “P” may seem pedantic and silly to you, it is still worth taking […]
WordPress PHPMailer Vulnerability
There is a vulnerability in the PHPMailer library that affects any version before the critical release of 5.2.18. This PHPMailer vulnerability has been publicly disclosed at legalhackers.com. The PHPMailer library version 5.2.14, a vulnerable version, is included in WordPress 4.7 (the latest version at the time of this writing). In other words, WordPress 4.7 and […]