Upgrade to Pro
— share decks privately, control downloads, hide ads and more …
Speaker Deck
Features
Speaker Deck
PRO
Sign in
Sign up for free
Search
Search
Intergrating with WordPress via XML-RPC
Search
Sponsored
·
Ship Features Fearlessly
Turn features on and off without deploys. Used by thousands of Ruby developers.
→
Max Cutler
June 09, 2012
Programming
4.7k
3
Share
Intergrating with WordPress via XML-RPC
Talk at WordCamp NYC, June 9, 2012
Max Cutler
June 09, 2012
More Decks by Max Cutler
See All by Max Cutler
Browser Performance - Fundamentals, Tools & Techniques
maxcutler
1
2.1k
XML-RPC and RESTful APIs: Breaking Down the WordPress Silo
maxcutler
0
130
Hack with Me: Unit and Behavioral Tests
maxcutler
2
420
Other Decks in Programming
See All in Programming
cloudnative conference 2026 flyle
azihsoyn
0
170
書き換えて学ぶTemporal #fukts
pirosikick
2
370
〜バイブコーディングを超えて〜 チームで実験し続けたAI駆動開発
tigertora7571
0
200
GitHubCopilotCLIをはじめよう.pdf
htkym
0
330
検索設計から 推論設計への重心移動と Recall-First Retrieval
po3rin
5
1.6k
「OSSがあるなら自作するな」は AI時代も正しいか ── Build vs Adopt の新しい判断基準
kumorn5s
7
2.5k
アクセシビリティ試験の"その後"を仕組み化する
yuuumiravy
1
200
When benchmarks go bad - what I learned from measuring performance wrong
hollycummins
0
380
Kubernetesを使わない環境にもCloud Nativeなデプロイを実現する / Enabling Cloud Native deployments without the complexity of Kubernetes
linyows
3
380
Terraform言語の静的解析 / static analysis of Terraform language
wata727
1
140
実用!Hono RPC2026
yodaka
2
310
Symfony AI in Action - SymfonyLive Berlin 2026
chr_hertel
1
140
Featured
See All Featured
Building a Modern Day E-commerce SEO Strategy
aleyda
45
9k
[RailsConf 2023 Opening Keynote] The Magic of Rails
eileencodes
31
10k
How To Stay Up To Date on Web Technology
chriscoyier
790
250k
How to Get Subject Matter Experts Bought In and Actively Contributing to SEO & PR Initiatives.
livdayseo
0
110
Product Roadmaps are Hard
iamctodd
PRO
55
12k
Tips & Tricks on How to Get Your First Job In Tech
honzajavorek
1
500
Site-Speed That Sticks
csswizardry
13
1.2k
エンジニアに許された特別な時間の終わり
watany
106
240k
Imperfection Machines: The Place of Print at Facebook
scottboms
270
14k
The Limits of Empathy - UXLibs8
cassininazir
1
320
Easily Structure & Communicate Ideas using Wireframe
afnizarnur
194
17k
The Hidden Cost of Media on the Web [PixelPalooza 2025]
tammyeverts
2
290
Transcript
Integrating with WordPress via XML-RPC Max Cutler WordCamp NYC 2012
Who am I? • http://maxcutler.com • @maxcutler • Student •
WordPress for Windows Phone • Core Contributor for XML-RPC in 3.4
Motivation What is XML-RPC? WordPress & XML-RPC Examples Tips for
plugin and theme authors What’s next?
Motivation What is XML-RPC? WordPress & XML-RPC Examples Tips for
plugin and theme authors What’s next?
Cross-system interoperability
Escape the data silo
Motivation What is XML-RPC? WordPress & XML-RPC Examples Tips for
plugin and theme authors What’s next?
“Simple cross-platform distributed computing, based on the standards of the
Internet.” xmlrpc.com
RPC using XML serialization
Sample Exchange - Request POST /xmlrpc.php HTTP/1.0 User-Agent: Max’s API
Client Host: maxcutler.com Content-Type: text/xml <?xml version="1.0"?> <methodCall> <methodName>wp.getUsersBlogs</methodName> <params> <param><value>maxcutler</value></param> <param><value>L1nk3d1nr0ck$</value></param> </params> </methodCall>
Sample Exchange - Response HTTP/1.0 200 OK Content-Type: text/xml <?xml
version="1.0"?> <methodResponse> <params><param><value><array><data><value><struct> <member><name>isAdmin</name> <value><boolean>1</boolean></value></member> <member><name>url</name> <value>http://www.maxcutler.com/</value></member> <member><name>blogid</name> <value>1</value></member> <member><name>blogName</name> <value>Max Cutler</value></member> <member><name>xmlrpc</name> <value>http://www.maxcutler.com/xmlrpc.php</value></member> </struct></value></data></array></value></param></params> </methodResponse>
Libraries for every language • PHP/WordPress – IXR • Python
– xmlrpclib • Ruby – XMLRPC::Client • Perl – RPC::XML • C# - XML-RPC.NET • Java – ws-xmlrpc • JavaScript – Mimic, node-xmlrpc • And many more…
Motivation What is XML-RPC? WordPress & XML-RPC Examples Tips for
plugin and theme authors What’s next?
xmlrpc.php • WordPress.com • Off-by-default on WordPress.org • wp-includes/class- wp-xmlrpc-server.php
History • r1348 (May 2004) – xmlrpc.php born • 1.5
– Blogger, MovableType, metaWeblog, and pingback APIs • 2.2 - Pages • 2.5 – Categories, Custom Fields • 2.6 – Options/Settings • 2.7 – Comments • 3.1 – Media Library (read or upload)
History – 3.3 blogger.getUsersBlogs blogger.getUserInfo blogger.getPost blogger.getRecentPosts blogger.newPost blogger.editPost blogger.deletePost
metaWeblog.newPost metaWeblog.editPost metaWeblog.deletePost metaWeblog.getPost metaWeblog.getRecentPosts metaWeblog.getCategories metaWeblog.newMediaObject metaWeblog.getUsersBlogs pingback.ping pingback.extensions mt.getCategoryList mt.getRecentPostTitles mt.getPostCategories mt.setPostCategories mt.publishPost mt.getTrackbackPings wp.getUsersBlogs wp.getAuthors wp.getPage wp.getPages wp.newPage wp.editPage wp.deletePage wp.getPageList wp.getPageTemplates wp.getPageStatusList wp.getCategories wp.getTags wp.newCategory wp.deleteCategory wp.suggestCategories wp.getCommentCount wp.getComment wp.getComments wp.newComment wp.getCommentStatusList wp.getOptions wp.setOptions wp.uploadFile wp.getMediaItem wp.getMediaLibrary wp.getPostFormats wp.getPostStatusList demo.sayHello demo.addTwoNumbers system.listMethods
Can we clean this up? • Limited or no support
for 3.x core features • Widespread inconsistency of parameters and return values • Abuse of legacy method fields postid title description dateCreated date_created_gmt permaLink link title description mt_excerpt mt_text_more wp_more_text mt_allow_comments mt_allow_pings mt_keywords categories wp_slug wp_password userid wp_author_id wp_author_display_name post_status custom_fields wp_post_format sticky enclosure
Today – 3.4 • Unified post types • Unified taxonomies
• More useful media • Actions & filters • Bug-fixes • Unit tests (!!!) http://codex.wordpress.org/XML-RPC_WordPress_API wp.getPost wp.getPosts wp.newPost wp.editPost wp.deletePost wp.getPostType wp.getPostTypes wp.getPostFormats wp.getPostStatusList wp.getTaxonomy wp.getTaxonomies wp.getTerm wp.getTerms wp.newTerm wp.editTerm wp.deleteTerm wp.getMediaItem wp.getMediaLibrary wp.uploadFile wp.getCommentCount wp.getComment wp.getComments wp.newComment wp.editComment wp.deleteComment wp.getCommentStatusList wp.getOptions wp.setOptions wp.getUsersBlogs wp.getAuthors
Method analogies WordPress Core API XML-RPC Method get_posts wp.getPost, wp.getPosts
wp_insert_post wp.newPost, wp.editPost get_taxonomy wp.getTaxonomy, wp.getTaxonomies get_terms wp.getTerm, wp.getTerms wp_insert_term wp.newTerm wp_update_term wp.editTerm get_post_types wp.getPostType, wp.getPostTypes get_comments wp.getComment, wp.getComments
Motivation What is XML-RPC? WordPress & XML-RPC Examples Tips for
plugin and theme authors What’s next?
Clients • Language • Standard Library • 3rd-party libraries &
wrappers – PHP: IXR_Client (ships with WordPress) – Python: python-wordpress-xmlrpc – Node.js: node-wordpress – C#/.NET: JoeBlogs
Post Querying • wp.getPosts – Filter • post_type, number, offset,
order, orderby – Fields • Meta-fields: post, taxonomies, custom_fields • Individual fields – post_id, post_title, post_date, post_date_gmt, post_modified, post_modified_gmt, post_status, post_type, post_name, post_author, post_password, post_excerpt, post_content, link, comment_status, ping_status, sticky, post_format, terms, custom_fields, enclosure
Post Querying wp.getPosts( 0, username, password, array( ‘post_type’ => ‘product’,
‘orderby’ => ‘title’, ‘order’ => ‘ASC’ ), array( ‘post_title’, ‘date_modified_gmt’, ‘link’ ) )
Post Creation wp.newPost( 0, username, password, array( ‘post_title’ => ‘Hello
world’, ‘post_content’ => …, ‘terms_names’ => array( ‘post_tag’ => array( ‘day1’ ), ‘category’ => array( ‘introductions’ ) ) ) )
Post Creation (2) wp.newPost( 0, username, password, array( ‘post_type’ =>
‘product’, ‘post_title’ => ‘ACME’, ‘post_content’ => …, ‘custom_fields’ => array( array( ‘key’ => ‘price’, ‘value’ => 15 ) ) ) )
Real world examples
Mobile Apps http://wordpress.org/extend/mobile/
Offline Writing Applications Windows Live Writer, MarsEdit, ecto, etc.
Jetpack
Chicago Tribune News Apps Varnish Caching Unit Tests http://blog.apps.chicagotribune.com/2011/06/28/dont-break-the-homepage-using-unit-tests- to-validate-your-wordpress-varnish-caching-strategy/
Generate WordPress site using build tools https://github.com/scottgonzalez/grunt-wordpress github.com/jquery/api.jquery.com (XML files
in git repo) grunt-wordpress (XML-RPC bridge) api.jquery.com (WordPress site)
External Search Django + Haystack + Solr
Camayak Editorial content production with multiple-site remote publishing Camayak WordPress
InDesign NITF Drupal
Motivation What is XML-RPC? WordPress & XML-RPC Examples Tips for
plugin and theme authors What’s next?
http://codex.wordpress.org/ XML-RPC_Support http://codex.wordpress.org/ XML-RPC_Extending
Add/remove methods xmlrpc_methods filter function mynamespace_subtractTwoNumbers( $args ) { $number1
= (int) $args[0]; $number2 = (int) $args[1]; return $number1 - $number2; } function mynamespace_new_xmlrpc_methods( $methods ) { $methods['mynamespace.subtractTwoNumbers'] = 'mynamespace_subtractTwoNumbers'; return $methods; } add_filter( 'xmlrpc_methods', mynamespace_new_xmlrpc_methods');
Adjust return values • xmlrpc_default_*_fields – post, posttype, taxonomy •
xmlrpc_prepare_* – post, post_type, taxonomy, term, media_item, comment, page • xmlrpc_blog_options • wp_handle_upload • Use the source, Luke!
PSA: Omit Trailing “?>”
Motivation What is XML-RPC? WordPress & XML-RPC Examples Tips for
plugin and theme authors What’s next?
Using 3.3 or earlier? Shim for 3.4 additions in my
plugin: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins /xml-rpc-modernization/
WordPress 3.5? User management Even more media enhancements Improved custom
fields JSON Serialization
REST API v1 on http://developer.wordpress.com v2 in core? TBD
http://codex.wordpress.org/ XML-RPC_Support
Thanks! Q&A