Problems with meta_compare=”>=” shortcode parameter in WordPress 4.0

We’ve just upgraded a couple of sites to WordPress 4.0, including this one and noticed a problem with certain shortcodes not producing any results. The problem is associated with wptexturize() and any shortcode parameters which contain something like this.

Workaround

Disable wptexturize() on the_content filter.

remove_filter( 'the_content', 'wptexturize' );
 

Original long term solution ( 10 Sep)

This was the original proposal.

• Rather than rely on a fix to WordPress, we intend to allow character representations for parameters that accept comparison operators: EQ, GT, GE, LT, LE, NE.
• We may also detect and correct unexpected texturization – stripping HTML entities that shouldn’t have been created.
• Or even defer the filter hook’s processing until after shortcode expansion.

New long term solution

There was another bug that caused WordPress to crash. The fix for this other bug has been developed for 4.0.1. Ticket #29608 has been closed as a duplicate, as the fix also corrects the problem reported here.

For more information

• https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/29608#ticket
• [bw_related]

Shortcode examples affected

While no workaround is implemented on this site, these are known to produce invalid results:

• bw_related by date

The problem should go away when WordPress 4.0.1 is available.