Taxonomy: Add a search_columns argument to WP_Term_Query.

[tan7vir]

WP_Query supports a search_columns argument and a post_search_columns filter, but WP_Term_Query has no equivalent: term search is a hard-coded name/slug LIKE with no way to also search the description or otherwise adjust the searched columns. This reconciles that inconsistency between post and term search.

Changes to WP_Term_Query:

• Adds a search_columns query argument accepting name, slug, and description.
• Adds a term_search_columns filter that mirrors WP_Query's post_search_columns (same ( $columns, $search_term, $query ) signature).

Default behaviour is unchanged: when search_columns is not provided, only name and slug are searched, and the generated SQL is identical to before. Because the default query is untouched, there is no additional cost for existing searches — the wider column set is strictly opt-in. (This is intended to address the performance concern raised earlier on the ticket: there is no change to default search behaviour.)

New unit tests in tests/phpunit/tests/term/query.php cover: defaults unchanged (description is not searched by default), opting into description, and the term_search_columns filter. The Tests_Term_Query suite passes (45/45) and the change is WPCS-clean.

Note on the single phpcs:ignore: the WordPress.DB.PreparedSQL.InterpolatedNotPrepared annotation follows the established core idiom (e.g. WP_Meta_Query and WP_Query) — the interpolated column name comes only from an internal whitelist (array_intersect against name/slug/description), never from user input, and all values are still passed through $wpdb->prepare().

Trac ticket: https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/32824

Use of AI Tools

AI assistance: Yes
Tool(s): Claude Code
Model(s): Claude Opus 4.8
Used for: Analysing the WP_Query vs WP_Term_Query search implementations and the ticket history, drafting the implementation and unit tests, and running PHPUnit and PHPCS. All changes were reviewed, tested, and are owned by me.

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