Hello me,
I think you figured it out thanks to a kind person on WordPress's bug tracker.
You can extend the Recent Posts widget (its class name is WP_Widget_Recent_Posts) like so:
class RecentPostsWithByline_Widget extends WP_Widget_Recent_Posts {
function RecentPostsWithByline_Widget () {
$widget_ops = array('classname' => 'widget_recent_entries_with_byline', 'description' => __( "The most recent posts on your site with a byline added") );
$this->WP_Widget('recent-posts-with-byline', __('Recent Posts with Byline'), $widget_ops);
$this->alt_option_name = 'widget_recent_entries';
add_action( 'save_post', array(&$this, 'flush_widget_cache') );
add_action( 'deleted_post', array(&$this, 'flush_widget_cache') );
add_action( 'switch_theme', array(&$this, 'flush_widget_cache') );
}
function widget( $args, $instance ) {
$cache = wp_cache_get('widget_recent_posts', 'widget');
if ( !is_array($cache) )
$cache = array();
if ( isset($cache[$args['widget_id']]) ) {
echo $cache[$args['widget_id']];
return;
}
ob_start();
extract($args);
$title = apply_filters('widget_title', empty($instance['title']) ? __('Recent Posts') : $instance['title'], $instance, $this->id_base);
if ( !$number = (int) $instance['number'] )
$number = 10;
else if ( $number < 1 )
$number = 1;
else if ( $number > 15 )
$number = 15;
$r = new WP_Query(array('showposts' => $number, 'nopaging' => 0, 'post_status' => 'publish', 'caller_get_posts' => 1));
if ($r->have_posts()) :
?>
<?php echo $before_widget; ?>
<?php if ( $title ) echo $before_title . $title . $after_title; ?>
<ul>
<?php while ($r->have_posts()) : $r->the_post(); ?>
<li><a href="<?php the_permalink() ?>" title="<?php echo esc_attr(get_the_title() ? get_the_title() : get_the_ID()); ?>"><?php if ( get_the_title() ) the_title(); else the_ID(); ?></a><span class="recent-posts-widget-byline"> by <?php the_author(); ?></span></li>
<?php endwhile; ?>
</ul>
<?php echo $after_widget; ?>
<?php
// Reset the global $the_post as this query will have stomped on it
wp_reset_postdata();
endif;
$cache[$args['widget_id']] = ob_get_flush();
wp_cache_set('widget_recent_posts', $cache, 'widget');
}
}
...if you're doing so in a plugin, you'll have to include the default-widgets.php file. For instance, if your plugin is located in a directory in the plugins folder, you'll need something like this:
include_once ( dirname(__FILE__) . '/../../../wp-includes/default-widgets.php' );
...in your plugin file before you attempt to extend the class (so that the WP_Widget_Recent_Posts class will be available and you don't get a Fatal error: Class 'WP_Widget_Recent_Posts' not found in...).
I hope this helps someone out, me. If anything it keeps you from having to rewrite or copy the entire widget.
...that's... sort of useful, I guess.
Zooney