[wp-hackers] get_user_meta returning empty string

[Andrew Nacin]

On Thu, Nov 25, 2010 at 11:42 AM, Muro, Matthew <mmuro at advance.ua.edu>wrote:

> Is this because functions are deprecated so much (even though get_user_meta
> has already replaced the deprecated get_usermeta)?
>
> Like I said before, I don't mind switching my methods for the right reasons
> as long as I get WHY.
>
> Thanks for the input, everyone.


Not at all, get_user_meta isn't going anywhere. We rarely deprecate
functions (100 of 4,000 over 7 years), and even when we do so, they
typically remain functional.

However, you're using get_user_meta to fetch internals. What you're doing
isn't much different from a direct SQL call. There's a reason why there's
another layer of abstraction for the roles/capabilities system (as well as
many other APIs) -- so you can use it.

We're very likely to change how roles and capabilities are stored in the
database in a future release, perhaps 3.2 or 3.3. If you continue to use
WP_Role, WP_Roles, WP_User, and related (proper) functions, nothing will
break. If you go straight to the database, I pretty much guarantee your code
will break.

For what it's worth, some sites do not store role definitions in the
database. One more reason to use the API.