Category: PHP

WordPress recently added some “helpful” error messages warning you when you’re not doing certain things correctly. Specifically, adding scripts and/or styles incorrectly using the wp_enqueue_* function.

However, even though it appears they tell you where things went wrong (via trigger_error), it actually just points you to the _doing_it_wrong function.

Fortunately, those hook-crazy developers threw us a bone in that function:
[php]
do_action( ‘doing_it_wrong_run’, $function, $message, $version );
//
[/php]

Now we can figure out the offender ourselves with a hook:
[php highlight=”13″]
/**
* Because new WP 3.3 “doing it wrong” warnings don’t really tell you where you screwed up…
* @param string $function The function that was called.
* @param string $message A message explaining what has been done incorrectly.
* @param string $version The version of WordPress where the message was added.
*/
function abt_doing_it_wrong_helper($function, $message, $version){
$before = <<<EOD
<strong>$function:</strong> v$version
EOD;
debug_whereat(3, 5, $before);
}
add_action( ‘doing_it_wrong_run’, ‘abt_doing_it_wrong_helper’, 10, 3 );
//
[/php]

And the helper function for printing debug_backtrace (use your own flavor):
[php]
/**
* Pretty-print debug_backtrace()
* @param int $limit {optional} when to stop printing – how many recursions up/down
* @param int $skip {optional} when to start printing – how many calls to skip over
* @param string $before {optional} extra html to print before the table, inside debug container
* @param string $after {optional} extra html to print before the table, inside debug container
* */
function debug_whereat($limit = false, $skip = false, $before = ”, $after = ”){
static $debug_whereat_counter; if( !$debug_whereat_counter) $debug_whereat_counter = 0;
$uid = $debug_whereat_counter++;
?>
<div class=”debug trace”>
<?php echo $before; ?>
<table>
<thead><tr>
<th id=”th-index-<?=$uid?>”><i>nth</i></th>
<th id=”th-line-<?=$uid?>”>Line</th>
<th id=”th-file-<?=$uid?>”>File</th>
<th id=”th-method-<?=$uid?>”>Method</th>
</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<?php

$backtrace = debug_backtrace();
if( $skip ) $backtrace = array_slice($backtrace, $skip);

foreach($backtrace as $index => $trace){
//force quit
if($limit !== false && $index == $limit){
?>
<tr><td colspan=”4″><em>—– FORCE STOP RECURSION —–</em></td></tr>
<?php
break;
}

?>
<tr class=”trace-item”>
<th headers=”th-index-<?=$uid?>”><?=$index?></th>
<td headers=”th-line-<?=$uid?>” class=”line”><?=$trace[‘line’]?></td>
<td headers=”th-file-<?=$uid?>” class=”file”><?=$trace[‘file’]?></td>
<td headers=”th-method-<?=$uid?>” class=”method”>
<code><?=$trace[‘function’]?></code>
<?php
if(!empty($trace[‘args’])){
echo ‘<br />’;
while(!empty($trace[‘args’])){
?> {<i><?php print_r(array_shift($trace[‘args’]) ); ?></i>} <?php
}// while !empty $trace[‘args’]
}
?>
</td>
</tr>
<?php
}
?>
</tbody></table><?php echo $after; ?></div>
<?php

}// function debug_whereat
[/php]

If you find yourself scratching your head over why your shortcodes have stopped working in WordPress 3.3, we’ve discovered a funny quirk. Granted, this fix may actually be the right way to call all shortcodes, but previously we’ve been able to lazily call it directly from our functions.php file and no one cared. But, now it seems, with the upgrade, that WordPress 3.3 does care. It requires your add_shortcode() function to be called within their init() hook. Calling it directly after your newly declared shortcode function won’t work anymore.

The lazy method we got away with before:

[php]
function abtcore_shortcode_button( $atts, $content = null ) {
extract( shortcode_atts( array(
‘color’ => ‘blue’
), $atts ) );
return ‘<p>’ . $content . ‘</p>’;
}

add_shortcode( ‘button’, ‘abtcore_shortcode_button’ );
[/php]

The better way that is now required by WordPress 3.3:

[php highlight=”7″]
function abtcore_shortcode_button( $atts, $content = null ) {
extract( shortcode_atts( array(
‘color’ => ‘blue’
), $atts ) );
return ‘<p>’ . $content . ‘</p>’;
}
add_action(‘init’, ‘abtcore_register_my_shortcodes’, 100);
function abtcore_register_my_shortcodes() {
add_shortcode( ‘button’, ‘abtcore_shortcode_button’ );
}
[/php]

Notice the add_action() call on the ‘init’ on line 7. This will properly register your shortcode function when WordPress initiates.

I hope this helps.