[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #20138: What happens to get_current_theme()?

[WordPress Trac]

#20138: What happens to get_current_theme()?
--------------------------+------------------
 Reporter:  nacin         |       Owner:
     Type:  defect (bug)  |      Status:  new
 Priority:  normal        |   Milestone:  3.4
Component:  Themes        |     Version:
 Severity:  normal        |  Resolution:
 Keywords:                |
--------------------------+------------------
Description changed by nacin:

Old description:

> After #20103, get_current_theme() is only useful for returning the theme
> name untranslated. It no longer serves as a key anywhere (like for
> get_themes()), and we previously phased it out in the theme mod
> functions.
>
> The question is, what to do with it?
>
> No theme in http://wpcom-themes.svn.automattic.com uses
> get_current_theme() in the footer (only on theme options pages), but that
> doesn't mean some other theme isn't doing exactly that. On one hand, if
> we eliminate the current_theme option, get_current_theme() will force
> style.css to be read, which normally does not happen on the frontend.
> But, if we keep the current_theme option, the name will not be
> translated.
>
> My current thought is this:
>  1. Deprecate get_current_theme(). Have it call
> wp_get_theme()->get('Name'), as it does now, but remove the current_theme
> option all together. No more caching the style.css read.
>  2. Introduce a new way to get a theme name.
>
> Point 2 is interesting. I think it could be solved with a fancy
> __toString() method on WP_Theme, which means that `echo wp_get_theme()`
> could actually echo `wp_get_theme()->display('Name')`. Or, another
> function.
>
> Both points leave a conundrum, though — whether style.css reads (a single
> style.css read, not every theme) are not the end of the world on the
> frontend.
>
> I had a cursory thought about forcing WP_Theme, wp_get_themes(), and
> wp_get_theme() to only be used in the admin, and force the
> includes/admin.php bootstrap to load for the very few situations where
> we'll need it (update checks, switch_theme(), the new customizer, and
> deprecated compat).
>
> I am going to do some profiling to see how bad the fread is. We already
> do plenty of file_exists checks as part of the template loader, so one or
> two more of those are not the end of the world.

New description:

 After #20103, get_current_theme() is only useful for returning the theme
 name untranslated. It no longer serves as a key anywhere (like for
 get_themes()), and we previously phased it out in the theme mod functions.

 The question is, what to do with it?

 No theme in http://wpcom-themes.svn.automattic.com uses
 get_current_theme() in the footer (only on theme options pages), but that
 doesn't mean some other theme isn't doing exactly that. On one hand, if we
 eliminate the current_theme option, get_current_theme() will force
 style.css to be read, which normally does not happen on the frontend. But,
 if we keep the current_theme option, the name will not be translated.

 My current thought is this:
  1. Deprecate get_current_theme(). Have it call
 wp_get_theme()->get('Name'), as it does now, but remove the current_theme
 option all together. No more caching the style.css read.
  2. Introduce a new way to get a theme name.

 Point 2 is interesting. I think it could be solved with a fancy
 `__toString()` method on WP_Theme, which means that `echo wp_get_theme()`
 could actually echo `wp_get_theme()->display('Name')`. Or, another
 function.

 Both points leave a conundrum, though — whether style.css reads (a single
 style.css read, not every theme) are not the end of the world on the
 frontend.

 I had a cursory thought about forcing WP_Theme, wp_get_themes(), and
 wp_get_theme() to only be used in the admin, and force the
 includes/admin.php bootstrap to load for the very few situations where
 we'll need it (update checks, switch_theme(), the new customizer, and
 deprecated compat).

 I am going to do some profiling to see how bad the fread is. We already do
 plenty of file_exists checks as part of the template loader, so one or two
 more of those are not the end of the world.

--

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Ticket URL: <http://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/20138#comment:1>
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