WP_Comment::get_children() – Method | Developer.WordPress.org

Gets the children of a comment.

Parameters

$argsarrayoptional

Array of arguments used to pass to get_comments() and determine format.
Any other argument accepted by WP_Comment_Query::__construct() may also be passed, and is forwarded to get_comments(). Note that parent is always overridden with this comment’s ID.
A $count or $fields query returns the direct children only, and does not populate the comment’s cached children, since that cache holds WP_Comment objects.

format string
Return value format. 'tree' for a hierarchical tree, 'flat' for a flattened array.
Default 'tree'.
status string
Comment status to limit results by. Accepts 'hold' (comment_status=0), 'approve' (comment_status=1), 'all', or a custom comment status.
Default 'all'.
hierarchical string
Whether to include comment descendants in the results.
'threaded' returns a tree, with each comment’s children stored in a children property on the WP_Comment object.
'flat' returns a flat array of found comments plus their children.
Pass false to leave out descendants.
The parameter is ignored (forced to false) when $fields is 'ids' or 'counts'.
Accepts 'threaded', 'flat', or false. Default: 'threaded'.
orderby string|array
Comment status or array of statuses. To use 'meta_value' or 'meta_value_num', $meta_key must also be defined.
To sort by a specific $meta_query clause, use that clause’s array key. Accepts 'comment_agent', 'comment_approved', 'comment_author', 'comment_author_email', 'comment_author_IP', 'comment_author_url', 'comment_content', 'comment_date', 'comment_date_gmt', 'comment_ID', 'comment_karma', 'comment_parent', 'comment_post_ID', 'comment_type', 'user_id', 'comment__in', 'meta_value', 'meta_value_num', the value of $meta_key, and the array keys of $meta_query. Also accepts false, an empty array, or 'none' to disable ORDER BY clause.
fields string
Which fields to return. Accepts 'ids' for comment IDs, or an empty string for full WP_Comment objects.
count bool
Whether to return a comment count rather than comments.
Default false.
type string
Limit results to comments of a given type, such as 'comment', 'pingback', 'trackback', or 'note'. Accepts 'all' for every type.
number int
Maximum number of comments to retrieve. Default empty (no limit).
post_id int
Limit results to comments on a given post. Default 0.
order string
How to order retrieved comments. Accepts 'ASC' or 'DESC'.
Default 'DESC'.

Default:array()

Return

WP_Comment[]|int[]|int Array of WP_Comment objects, an array of comment IDs when $fields is 'ids', or the number of children when $count is true.

Source

public function get_children( $args = array() ) {
	$defaults = array(
		'format'       => 'tree',
		'status'       => 'all',
		'hierarchical' => 'threaded',
		'orderby'      => '',
	);

	/** @var array{ format: 'tree'|'flat', status: string, hierarchical: 'threaded'|'flat'|false, orderby: string|string[]|false, fields?: 'ids'|'', count?: bool, type?: string, number?: int, post_id?: int, order?: 'ASC'|'DESC', ... } $_args */
	$_args           = wp_parse_args( $args, $defaults );
	$_args['parent'] = $this->comment_ID;

	/*
	 * A 'count' or 'ids' query returns an integer or a list of comment IDs rather than
	 * WP_Comment objects. Neither may be written to the children cache, which holds
	 * WP_Comment objects and is read back by add_child(), get_child(), and the 'flat'
	 * format below. Return the result directly and leave the cache untouched. The two
	 * branches must stay separate: each is narrowed independently, and `count` is only
	 * safe to overwrite in the 'ids' branch.
	 */
	if ( ! empty( $_args['count'] ) ) {
		return get_comments( $_args );
	} elseif ( isset( $_args['fields'] ) && 'ids' === $_args['fields'] ) {
		$_args['count'] = false; // For static analysis of the conditional return type.
		return get_comments( $_args );
	}

	// Only WP_Comment objects are returned past this point. Stated positively for static analysis.
	$_args['count']  = false;
	$_args['fields'] = '';

	if ( is_null( $this->children ) ) {
		if ( $this->populated_children ) {
			$this->children = array();
		} else {
			$this->children = get_comments( $_args );
		}
	}

	if ( 'flat' === $_args['format'] ) {
		$children = array();
		foreach ( $this->children as $child ) {
			$child_args           = $_args;
			$child_args['format'] = 'flat';
			// get_children() resets this value automatically.
			unset( $child_args['parent'] );

			$children = array_merge( $children, array( $child ), $child->get_children( $child_args ) );
		}
	} else {
		$children = $this->children;
	}

	return $children;
}

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Uses	Description
get_comments()`wp-includes/comment.php`	Retrieves a list of comments.
wp_parse_args()`wp-includes/functions.php`	Merges user defined arguments into defaults array.

Changelog

Version	Description
7.1.0	A `count` or `fields` query now returns its result directly rather than erroneously storing it in the comment’s children cache.
4.4.0	Introduced.

WP_Comment::get_children( array $args = array() ): WP_Comment[]|int[]|int

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Parameters

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