Normalize working directory for plug-ins

[shadytrees]

For plug-ins, the working directory can vary for similar actions. comment_post can have a cwd of / (when a guest posts a comment to a post) while delete_comment can have a cwd of /wp-admin (when an administrator deletes a comment).

I ran into this when trying to figure out why a file to which I was (over)writing from a plug-in wasn't changing for all hooks. It (embarrassingly) took me a while to realize the file was in two different locations, / and /wp-admin, depending on the hook.

Could Wordpress normalize the cwd to / or something similar for plug-ins? For example, change the working directory to / before firing plug-in hooks.

Sorry if duplicate; my Trac search-fu isn't up to snuff.

[shadytrees]

An example cache plug-in that could write data to two different places

[RuddO]

I second that case, after submitting the bug "damn, why doesn't my WP find my wp-config.php if WP is built out of symlinks?"

[shadytrees]

Adding has-patch keyword; hoping it'll attract more attention. :)

[shadytrees]

Example patch (just for generating ideas) 3: moving outside the foreach loop

[ryan]

getcwd() and chdir() are unreliable. safe_mode can cripple them, and many hosts disable them.

[shadytrees]

Is there any interest in doing this in alternative ways, or is this ticket moot?

[jacobsantos]

You should use the constants WordPress provides in order to know where your plugin is located. There are other constants that should be used instead of this method.