Show last 5 posts from specific category

Question

I'm trying to show the last 5 posts from a specific category, which will be linked to a function so i can insert the shortcode in a Wordpress page. The code i have is as below, it does everything i need (although i want to add featured image too) except it does not show posts from a specific category.

I've tried numerous things, but cannot find a working fix.

function Last5posts()
{
$args = array( "showposts" => 5, "category" => 3 );                  
query_posts($args);

$content = "";

if( have_posts() ) : 

    while( have_posts() ) :

        the_post();
        $link = get_permalink();
        $title = get_the_title();
        $date = get_the_date();                              

        $content .= "<div class='latest-posts'>";
        $content .= "<h3><a href='$link' target='_top'>$title / $date</a </h3>\n";
        $content .= "<p class='excerpt'>" . get_the_excerpt() . "</p>";
        $content .= "</div>";

    endwhile;

    wp_reset_query(); 

endif;

return $content;
}

add_shortcode('Last5Posts', 'Last5posts' );   

I have tried replacing lines 3 and 4 with the code below, but it throws an error "syntax error, unexpected '}' on line 31".

$catquery = new WP_Query( 'cat=3&posts_per_page=10' );
while($catquery->have_posts()) : $catquery->the_post(); 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Here is the correct way to run this. I am using 'category_name' in theme code lately as it is much easier to read and remember. It uses the category slug. Here I am retrieving the last 5 posts in "uncategorized".

function Last5posts()   {
    $args = array( 'posts_per_page' => 5, 'category_name' => 'uncategorized');                  
    $last_5_posts_query = new WP_Query( $args );
    while($last_5_posts_query->have_posts()) : 
        $last_5_posts_query->the_post();
        $link = get_permalink();
        $title = get_the_title();
        $date = get_the_date();                              

        $content .= '<div class="latest-posts">';
        $content .= '<h3><a href='.$link.' target="_top">'.$title.' / '.$date. '</a></h3>';
        $content .= '<p class="excerpt">' .get_the_excerpt(). '</p>';
        $content .= '</div>';
    endwhile;

return $content;
}

add_shortcode('Last5Posts', 'Last5posts' );

Answer 2

Just simply replace the $args with this one.

$args = array('posts_per_page' => 5, 'post_type' => 'post', 'post_status' => 'publish','orderby'=>'ASC' );

And this show you last 5 posts.