Understanding WordPress Metadata Functions
If you’re new to WordPress, you might be curious about how to add or update extra data related to your posts, such as custom fields or other special information. This data, referred to as metadata, can be managed by using certain WordPress functions.
One common question is whether you need to serialize an array before using these functions. Serialization represents an array or object as a single string, preserving its structure and values, which can then be stored or transferred easily. However, when it comes to WordPress metadata functions like add_post_meta() or update_post_meta(), serialization isn’t necessary because these functions do it automatically for you! So, you can go ahead and pass the array as it is.
To retrieve the saved array, you would use the get_post_meta() function. It’s important to set the third parameter to true. This is how you’d do it:
$testarr = get_post_meta($order_id, ‘testing arr’, true);
Handling MetaData in WooCommerce Orders
With WooCommerce, things work a bit differently. WooCommerce, which is a powerful eCommerce plugin for WordPress, has its own way of dealing with orders and their metadata for better compatibility and performance.
Rather than using the WordPress post meta functions directly, you should use the specific methods provided by the WC_Order object. It goes along with WooCommerce’s support for High Performance Orders Storage (HPOS). This mechanism facilitates faster and more efficient handling of large volumes of order data by using custom tables in the database.
To add or update the metadata linked to an order, you’d first create an array representing the data. Then get the WC_Order object and use the update_meta_data() method like so:
$data = array();
$data[‘one’] = 1;
$data[‘two’] = 2;
$data[‘threed’][‘x’] = ‘ex’;
$data[‘threed’][‘y’] = ‘why’;
$order = wc_get_order( $order_id );
$order->update_meta_data( ‘testing_arr’, $data );
$order->save();
To retrieve the array you previously saved, get the WC_Order object and use the get_meta() method:
$order = wc_get_order( $order_id );
$data = $order->get_meta(‘testing_arr’);
By using these WC_Order methods, your WooCommerce setup will be more efficient and robust, especially if you’re dealing with large volumes of data within orders.
In conclusion, managing metadata in WordPress and WooCommerce might feel complex at first, but the built-in functions and methods make the process quite straightforward. Remember, serialization is handled automatically and WooCommerce orders have their own special methods for better performance. Happy WordPressing!