The export_wp() function inserts empty <wp:comment> data when get_comment() returns a false or empty value

[WPExplorer]

If you wish to exclude comments from the WordPress export you can use the following code:

add_action( 'export_wp', function() {
    add_filter( 'get_comment', '__return_false' );
} );

However, the function will still loop through empty values for the $comments array inserting unnecessary <wp:comment> items.

If you wish to exclude comments from the WordPress export you can use the following code:

add_action( 'export_wp', function() {
    add_filter( 'get_comment', '__return_false' );
} );

However, the function will still loop through empty values for the $comments array inserting unnecessary <wp:comment> items.

[freewebmentor]

Hi @wpexplorer! 👋

Thank you for your contribution to WordPress! 💖

[hellofromTonya]

While scrubbing for 6.6.x minor, dove into which WordPress Version introduced this bug and code. It was in WP 4.4 via [33891].

As it has a clear explanation and patch, moving it into 6.7 cycle for possible resolution.

[lbones]

I am working on testing this one! I am planning on recreating the issue in WP 6.6., and then running the patch to verify if the issue has been resolved. I am using the WordPress Playground, but can test through the CLI or whatever you may need.

In the PlayGround, I did notice that the user is not able to enter an empty comment. To recreate, I wrote a comment, and then went into the WordPress editor and removed the text in the comment.

[lbones]

This is the test that was done using the patch [from PR=6574] which was PHP 8.2 and WP 6.6.2

[lbones]

Another view of the issue in the patch [with PR=6574] using PHP 8.2 and WP 6.6.2

[lbones]

Initially, I thought that the issue was that the comments were coming through whether or not they contained content. I realized upon further investigation that the issue, is if the person wants to run

add_action( 'export_wp', function() {
    add_filter( 'get_comment', '__return_false' );
} );

then the patch, which contains an array_filter does work. Recommendation would be to add an export option without comments instead of the current patch.

Reasoning: This very niche solution makes the entire get_comment call in the wp_export function slower. The array_filter in combination with array_map creates two maps (could probably have a map_reduce like function), and with the for loop, we are going through all of the comments thrice.

P.S. I plan on opening a new ticket with the commenting editing issue I found. I believe the checks on modify_item in the comment controller just needs to be a little more robust.