is_active_widget() incorrect logic

[valllabh]

is_active_widget() only returns 'true' only if widget used inside sidebar.

But there is a provision to use widget directly using the_widget() function. I believe there is a need of alter the logic of just checking inside sidebars.

[csixty4]

I'm not sure this can be addressed practically. is_active_widget() just checks to see if a widget is assigned to a sidebar, and the reporter is right that the_widget() can render an arbitrary widget anywhere in a theme or plugin.

If a widget is assigned to a sidebar, then is_active_widget() knows its state at start of rendering the page. But if something calls is_active_widget() on a widget before the_widget() has been called to render it, WordPress can't see into the future.

A couple possible solutions:

1. Keep the existing code as-is
2. Deprecate is_active_widget() and rename it to is_widget_assigned_to_sidebar() or something does the exact same thing, but better reflects what it tests.
3. Make is_active_widget() return true if the_widget() has been called for a widget type in the current page so far. I could see this being confusing.
4. Provide a way for themes & plugins to declare what widgets they invoke directly. But that sets a precedent I'm not comfortable with, and the widgets can be rendered on a per-page basis which makes this kind of moot.