Which WordPress Developer Documentation is More Up-to-date? codex.wordpress.org or developer.wordpress.org

Question

I have come across WordPress developer documentation at codex.wordpress.org and developer.wordpress.org. They both have documentation on plugins and themes. Since I don't know the history of the wordpress.org website, I don't know which set of documentation is most up-to-date.

Answer 1

developer.wordpress.org is newer and more up-to-date than codex.wordpress.org. The latter exists because it's more complete documentation wise. Codex is likely to go away once the former catches up.

Either one you use should be fine, though. Most deprecated functions have been clearly identified / documented in Codex.

Answer 2

I have now confirmed what @cabrerahector and others have said is correct.

If you are looking for tutorial-like (aka handbook) information (useful when learning WordPress), then developer.wordpress.org does a better job.

If you are looking for reference information then both are useful, in its current state. I usually reach out to developer.wordpress.org first.

I've found that the codex.wordpress.org variation does a better job at listing related functions. When looking at a function reference in developer.wordpress.org, there is a "Related" section that lists the functions used by the function and a list of functions that call the function but it rarely gives a complete list of the related functions. Take the documentation for the get_stylesheet_directory function as an example. See the developer.wordpress.org variation at https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_stylesheet_directory/ and the codex variation at https://codex.wordpress.org/Function_Reference/get_stylesheet_directory. Notice that the developer.wordpress.org variation does NOT list any of the following related functions: get_stylesheet_directory_uri, get_stylesheet_uri, get_template_directory, get_template_directory_uri, get_theme_file_path, or get_theme_file_uri among others.

The developer.wordpress.org variation appears to be auto-generated from the source code. Some functions have an @see annotation which shows up in the online documentation.

The developer.wordpress.org variation includes the source code which has been useful.