[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #38323: Reconsider $object_subtype handling in `register_meta()`

[WordPress Trac]

#38323: Reconsider $object_subtype handling in `register_meta()`
-------------------------------------------------+-------------------------
 Reporter:  flixos90                             |       Owner:  flixos90
     Type:  enhancement                          |      Status:  assigned
 Priority:  normal                               |   Milestone:  5.0
Component:  Options, Meta APIs                   |     Version:
 Severity:  normal                               |  Resolution:
 Keywords:  has-patch needs-unit-tests needs-    |     Focuses:  rest-api
  dev-note                                       |
-------------------------------------------------+-------------------------

Comment (by johnjamesjacoby):

 I don’t like the “subtype” naming:

 * it doesn’t exist anywhere in the database schema or code
 * it conveys there is only 1 additional layer of variation
 * we would not want subsubsub types
 * it’s too ambiguous - what a “subtype” means for a post is different than
 a taxonomy and a user and a comment and so on

 I’m +1 that register_meta needs a way to understand object variations, but
 I’m -1 on all of the current suggested approaches. They are too limiting,
 and only serve very specific purposes.

 I would much prefer a way to provide an array of arguments that get parsed
 and compared against the object, making the “subtype” more of a set of
 properties than just a hard-coded restriction.

 For example, I want to register meta that’s only for posts of a certain
 type and status. If the type and status are not a match, then don’t do
 anything.

 This is bigger than types or subtypes. This is a meta variation, or a meta
 model, or a meta map. I’m not sure exactly on what it should be called,
 but subtypes locks us into it being a omething it shouldn’t be.

-- 
Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/38323#comment:46>
WordPress Trac <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/>
WordPress publishing platform