[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #37893: Implementation of is_registered_sidebar() doesn't match its documented signature

[WordPress Trac]

#37893: Implementation of is_registered_sidebar() doesn't match its documented
signature
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 Reporter:  mdgl          |       Owner:  welcher
     Type:  defect (bug)  |      Status:  assigned
 Priority:  normal        |   Milestone:  Awaiting Review
Component:  Widgets       |     Version:  4.4
 Severity:  normal        |  Resolution:
 Keywords:  needs-patch   |     Focuses:
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Changes (by mdgl):

 * keywords:  needs-patch reporter-feedback => needs-patch


Comment:

 It's not clear what question is being asked of the reporter here.  The
 "bug" was raised to try and make the widget functions a bit more
 consistent and correspond to the documentation.  But this may not be
 possible due to backwards compatibility concerns.  From a development
 perspective, however I think there are two questions:

 '''Should global `wp_registered_sidebars` be part of the public interface
 of the widgets "module"?'''

 This ticket was really a response to #24878 which added a new function to
 try and hide the global `wp_registered_sidebars` from the rest of the
 codebase.  At the same time, a few references to the global were updated
 to use the new function, but unfortunately this was left incomplete and
 parts of the admin tool, customizer and unit tests were not updated.  The
 principles of good design would suggest we try and eliminate external
 dependencies on global variables such as this, but full backwards
 compatibility may prevent us from doing so.

 '''Should the `id` referencing each widget be of mixed `int`/`string` type
 or just `string`?'''

 The codebase is inconsistent as to the treatment of the `id` parameter for
 widgets. The code for many widget functions along with the unit tests all
 assume that the `id` can be either `int` or `string`, although this is
 often not matched by the accompanying documentation.  Functions
 `dynamic_sidebar` and `is_active_sidebar` on the other hand purport to
 allow either `int` or `string` but in practice these are not compatible
 with the other functions and if an `int` is passed, this is converted
 immediately into a `string` of the form "sidebar-$id".  In effect, these
 two functions only allow the widget `id` to be a `string`.

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Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/37893#comment:18>
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