WordPress tip: Storing $wp_query for future use

WordPress tip: Storing $wp_query for future use

When working with WordPress queries, it may be very useful to be able to clone, store and restore $wp_query. This is exactly what we’re going to see in this recipe.

With PHP 5, objects can be cloned using the clone operator. The code below is pretty self-explanatory:

 // saving the query
 <?php $temp_query = clone $wp_query; ?>

 <!-- Do stuff... -->  

 //listing out featured articles
 <?php query_posts('category_name=featured&showposts=3'); ?>

 <?php while (have_posts()) : the_post(); ?>
   <!-- Do special_cat stuff... -->

 <?php endwhile; ?>

 // restoring the query so it can be later used to display our posts
 <?php $wp_query = clone $temp_query; ?>

This code comes from an article entitled Multiples WordPress loops explained, written by Cristian Antohe at Cats Who Code.