Docs: Clarify get_user_meta() return value for a non-existing meta key on a valid user - #13494
Docs: Clarify get_user_meta() return value for a non-existing meta key on a valid user#13494haritpanchal wants to merge 1 commit into
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…y on a valid user The @return description only covered a non-existing user ID. Per get_metadata_raw()/get_metadata_default(), the same empty-array/empty-string default is also returned when the user exists but the given meta key has no value. Documentation-Issue-Tracker: WordPress/Documentation-Issue-Tracker#2293
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Summary
The
@returndescription forget_user_meta()only documents the empty-array/empty-stringdefault for a non-existing user ID. Tracing through
get_metadata_raw()andget_metadata_default()inwp-includes/meta.php, the same default is returned wheneverget_metadata_raw()resolves tonull— which also happens when the user exists but thegiven meta key simply has no rows in the meta table. There's no code path that distinguishes
"user doesn't exist" from "user exists, key doesn't."
This clarifies the docblock to cover both cases.
Documentation-Issue-Tracker: WordPress/Documentation-Issue-Tracker#2293
Testing
Docs-only change (PHPDoc comment), no functional code touched. Verified
get_metadata_raw()/
get_metadata_default()behavior by readingwp-includes/meta.phpin trunk.