Author Functions

the_author() Function

This function returns the author's display name as a string, or echos it.

the_author_link() Function

This function will echo either the author's link or their name.

Differences/Similarities

the_author() function is designed to echo the value from get_the_author(), but will also pass the value to maintain compatibility with older themes. It echos/returns only the author's name, whereas the_author_link() will echo the HTML of the author's home page (if set), otherwise it will just echo their name.

Summary

the_author() can be used to echo the post author's name, whereas the_author_link() will echo an HTML link to their page, or their name.