Wordpress Recent Posts Widget

/**
*
*   Recent Posts Widget
*   Note* - The WP_Widget class is located in wp-includes/class-wp-widget.php.
*/

//Add Custom Excerpt Length
function excerpt($limit) {
      $excerpt = explode(' ', get_the_excerpt(), $limit);

      if (count($excerpt) >= $limit) {
          array_pop($excerpt);
          $excerpt = implode(" ", $excerpt) . '...';
      } else {
          $excerpt = implode(" ", $excerpt);
      }

      $excerpt = preg_replace('`\[[^\]]*\]`', '', $excerpt);

      return $excerpt;

      //example use: echo excerpt(25); 
}


//Create Recent Posts Widget Class
class Recent_Posts_Widget extends WP_Widget {

	/**
	 * Register Widget With Wordpress
	 */
	public function __construct() {
		parent::__construct(
			'recent_posts_widget', // Base ID
			__('Recent Posts Widget', 'text_domain'), // Widget name
			array( 'description' => __( 'Recent Posts Widget', 'text_domain' ), )
        );
	}

	/**
	 * Back-end widget form.
	 *
	 * @see WP_Widget::form()
	 *
	 * @param array $instance Previously saved values from database.
	 */

	public function form( $instance ) {
 
        // if text contain a value, save it to $num_posts
        if ( isset( $instance[ 'num_posts' ] ) ) {
            $num_posts = $instance[ 'num_posts' ];
        }              

        // if title contain a value, save it to $title
        if ( isset( $instance[ 'title' ] ) ) {
            $title = $instance[ 'title' ];
        }

        else {
            // else set the $title to string 'Recent Posts'
            $title = __( 'Recent Posts', 'text_domain' );
        }
        ?>

        <p>
        <label for="<?php echo $this->get_field_id( 'title' ); ?>"><?php _e( 'Title:' ); ?></label> 
        <input class="widefat" id="<?php echo $this->get_field_id( 'title' ); ?>" name="<?php echo $this->get_field_name( 'title' ); ?>" type="text" value="<?php echo esc_attr( $title ); ?>">
        </p>        

        <p>
        <label for="<?php echo $this->get_field_id( 'num_posts' ); ?>"><?php _e( 'Number of Posts:' ); ?></label> 
        <input class="widefat" id="<?php echo $this->get_field_id( 'num_posts' ); ?>" name="<?php echo $this->get_field_name( 'num_posts' ); ?>" type="text" value="<?php echo esc_attr( $num_posts ); ?>">
        </p>
        <?php 
    }

	    // array $instance Stores values from database.
	    public function widget( $args, $instance ) {
	        $title = apply_filters( 'widget_title', $instance['title'] );
	 
	        echo $args['before_widget'];

	        if ( ! empty( $title ) )
	            echo $args['before_title'] . '<h3 class=">' . 'rp-banner-title">' . $title . '</h3>' . $args['after_title']; ?>
            
            <?php //Place Recent Posts Function Here ?>

			<style>#gr-recent-posts {position:relative;width:100%;max-width:300px;margin: 0 0 30px 0;padding: 10px 20px 10px 0;}#gr-recent-posts p {margin: 0 0 20px 0;font-size: 12px;}.recent-post-thumbnail {float: left;padding:0;margin: 0 6px 15px 0;}.wp-post-image {width: 40px;height: 40px;border: 3px solid #555;}#gr-recent-posts a{box-shadow:none !important;text-decoration:none !important;}#gr-recent-posts a:hover{box-shadow:none !important;text-decoration:none !important;}.rp-title{float:left;}.rp-excerpt{font-size:13px;margin:0 0 10px 47px;}</style>
            
           <?php $rp_post_count = $instance['num_posts']; ?>
			
			<div id="gr-recent-posts">

				<?php $custom_query = new WP_Query('posts_per_page=' . $rp_post_count); // exclude category 9
                	while($custom_query->have_posts()) : $custom_query->the_post(); ?>

				<div class="recent-post-thumbnail">
					<?php if ( has_post_thumbnail() ) { ?>
						<a href="<?php the_permalink(); ?>"> <?php the_post_thumbnail(); ?></a>
					<?php } else { ?>
						<a href="<?php the_permalink(); ?>"> <img src="http://via.placeholder.com/40x40" /></a>
					<?php } ?>
			    </div>

			<a href="<?php the_permalink(); ?>">

			<span class="rp-title"><?php the_title(); ?></span></a><br/>

			<div class="rp-excerpt"><?php echo excerpt(15); ?></div>
			
			<?php endwhile; ?>
            <?php wp_reset_postdata(); // reset the query ?>

			</div>
			<!-- End Recent Posts -->


        <?php echo $args['after_widget'];  } 

	/**
	 * Sanitize widget form values as they are saved.
	 *
	 * @see WP_Widget::update()
	 *
	 * @param array $new_instance Values just sent to be saved.
	 * @param array $old_instance Previously saved values from database.
	 *
	 * @return array Updated safe values to be saved.
	 */

		public function update( $new_instance, $old_instance ) {
		        $instance = array();

		        $instance['title'] = ( ! empty( $new_instance['title'] ) ) ? strip_tags( $new_instance['title'] ) : '';	        

		        $instance['num_posts'] = ( ! empty( $new_instance['num_posts'] ) ) ? strip_tags( $new_instance['num_posts'] ) : '';
		 
		        return $instance;
		}

} // Recent Posts Widget Class

add_action( 'widgets_init', function() {
	register_widget( 'Recent_Posts_Widget' );
});