Wordpress Simple Actions & Filters

Curse the gods, this simple functionality can seem complicated. I think its a combination of the terminology and word choice being so unhelpful. Do I add , apply or do a filter or action? What is a hook here? Or maybe I need to register it? It's all very vague, and I constantly forget.

Anyway, here's some pretty pictures instead. I've made it as basic as possible, more for remembering which one to use and where.

🧗🏻‍♀️ Basic Actions

TL; DR : Plug in new code at a specific point.

1. Once you've registered your code, you're now 'hooked' into the action 'do_something_here'
   
2. Whenever the code gets to the do_action('do_something_here'), it'll now run your function 'run_action_function'.
   
3. No need to return anything.

🔍 Basic Filters

TL;DR : Pass in a value, change the value, pass new value back.

1. Once you've registered your code, you're now 'hooked' into the filter 'do_something_here'.
2. Whenever the code gets to the add_filter('run_a_filter_on'), it'll now run your function 'run_filter_function'.
3. Pass the old value $value into the function.
4. MUST return something (the new value).

Closing.

Filters and actions have more arguments to them and are very versatile.

I suggest you look at:

🔗 Filter Links:

https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/apply_filters/

https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/add_filter/

🔗 Action Links:

https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/do_action/

https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/add_action/