[wp-hackers] Is get_plugin_data "expensive"?

[Stephen Rider]

Heh.  Yeah, I know.  Sometimes I go to extremes with the whole "never  
repeat data" rule.  I hate duplicating this kind of thing, because  
inevitably you do an update and forget that one variable further down  
that _also_ needs to be changed.

Actually, for my purposes, I may only have to update the variable when  
there's a change to the defaults (such as a new option introduced).   
Kind of like $wp_db_version in WP....

Stephen

On Jul 16, 2008, at 10:15 AM, Otto wrote:

> Well, it's certainly more expensive than simply having a variable
> which you update every time you release a new plugin...
>
> $my_version = 1.2;
>
> :)
>
> On Wed, Jul 16, 2008 at 10:04 AM, Stephen Rider
> <wp-hackers at striderweb.com> wrote:
>> Hi all --
>>
>> Question for more experienced PHP users:
>>
>> I'm working on a function whereby a plugin stores the version of  
>> itself that
>> was last used.  This way, if it has been updated it can (for  
>> example) set
>> the defaults on any new options that have been added since the last  
>> version.
>>
>> The plugin's settings are stored in an array in the options table,  
>> and the
>> "last used version" is part of that, so there is no extra call to  
>> the DB
>> since the array is being read out anyway.
>>
>> However, to do the comparison, I have to get the current version of  
>> the
>> plugin too, and to do that I need to use get_plugin_data().
>>
>> The question is:  Is that a bad idea?  get_plugin_data() reads the  
>> actual
>> plugin file for its info -- is that an "expensive" function in  
>> terms of
>> performance?  Would it be bad if several plugins were doing it?
>>
>> (BTW, yes I know I could just hook this to the activation hook, but  
>> when
>> people upgrade plugins by simple upload, that doesn't trigger
>> deactivate/activate.)
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Stephen
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