diff --git a/includes/common.inc b/includes/common.inc
index 8532e46c7097629ea9c6c8ae32be5b845e7c4195..aac56ef14b99df1a16f7201d4eaa09dc28245c2d 100644
--- a/includes/common.inc
+++ b/includes/common.inc
@@ -5527,10 +5527,10 @@ function drupal_flush_all_caches() {
   // If invoked from update.php, we must not update the theme information in the
   // database, or this will result in all themes being disabled.
   if (defined('MAINTENANCE_MODE') && MAINTENANCE_MODE == 'update') {
-    _system_get_theme_data();
+    _system_rebuild_theme_data();
   }
   else {
-    system_get_theme_data();
+    system_rebuild_theme_data();
   }
 
   drupal_theme_rebuild();
diff --git a/includes/install.inc b/includes/install.inc
index 2e1f256d8130674e9286ad00c37981c0e4312da4..69e49c951a51ffd2f3b50a41cc5667befbf2cd1e 100644
--- a/includes/install.inc
+++ b/includes/install.inc
@@ -559,7 +559,7 @@ function drupal_verify_profile($install_state) {
  *   Normally just testing wants to set this to TRUE.
  */
 function drupal_install_modules($module_list = array(), $disable_modules_installed_hook = FALSE) {
-  $files = system_get_module_data();
+  $files = system_rebuild_module_data();
   $module_list = array_flip(array_values($module_list));
   do {
     $moved = FALSE;
@@ -654,7 +654,7 @@ function drupal_install_system() {
     ->execute();
   // Now that we've installed things properly, bootstrap the full Drupal environment
   drupal_bootstrap(DRUPAL_BOOTSTRAP_FULL);
-  system_get_module_data();
+  system_rebuild_module_data();
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/includes/registry.inc b/includes/registry.inc
index cf2c09757206e91693cc38e2551db5354ea18d57..2bc98e0b16e9cf01fad52acfe7a4d5a42b2267ed 100644
--- a/includes/registry.inc
+++ b/includes/registry.inc
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ function _registry_rebuild() {
   require_once DRUPAL_ROOT . '/includes/database/' . $driver . '/query.inc';
 
   // Get current list of modules and their files.
-  $modules = system_get_module_data();
+  $modules = system_rebuild_module_data();
   // Get the list of files we are going to parse.
   $files = array();
   foreach ($modules as &$module) {
diff --git a/includes/theme.inc b/includes/theme.inc
index f17f10155bef58755099dc708fe01f6f7490be52..6edb3c73596d99b310b7719d9159e3c13769dcd4 100644
--- a/includes/theme.inc
+++ b/includes/theme.inc
@@ -569,7 +569,7 @@ function list_themes($refresh = FALSE) {
     }
     else {
       // Scan the installation when the database should not be read.
-      $themes = _system_get_theme_data();
+      $themes = _system_rebuild_theme_data();
     }
 
     foreach ($themes as $theme) {
@@ -2342,7 +2342,7 @@ function template_preprocess_maintenance_page(&$variables) {
 
   global $theme;
   // Retrieve the theme data to list all available regions.
-  $theme_data = _system_get_theme_data();
+  $theme_data = _system_rebuild_theme_data();
   $regions = $theme_data[$theme]->info['regions'];
 
   // Get all region content set with drupal_add_region_content().
diff --git a/includes/update.inc b/includes/update.inc
index a4005d3ef21393502e2c74f38ae1652088714281..f66e734c4a8c9c76973ac8635e5e6100b1f3accc 100644
--- a/includes/update.inc
+++ b/includes/update.inc
@@ -37,8 +37,8 @@ function update_check_incompatibility($name, $type = 'module') {
 
   // Store values of expensive functions for future use.
   if (empty($themes) || empty($modules)) {
-    $themes = _system_get_theme_data();
-    $modules = system_get_module_data();
+    $themes = _system_rebuild_theme_data();
+    $modules = system_rebuild_module_data();
   }
 
   if ($type == 'module' && isset($modules[$name])) {
diff --git a/install.php b/install.php
index 249d40729d594cc5e5301664aedf6b8c55f06684..d727e65fe96e4881751d97a7c97b20575a458024 100644
--- a/install.php
+++ b/install.php
@@ -1296,7 +1296,7 @@ function install_bootstrap_full(&$install_state) {
  */
 function install_profile_modules(&$install_state) {
   $modules = variable_get('install_profile_modules', array());
-  $files = system_get_module_data();
+  $files = system_rebuild_module_data();
   variable_del('install_profile_modules');
   $operations = array();
   foreach ($modules as $module) {
diff --git a/modules/help/help.admin.inc b/modules/help/help.admin.inc
index cb4411f1c9931f1430fa1630f926b99894fadd3f..c05d854f41272c27a9ae12ef74ddf7bbb6d7817c 100644
--- a/modules/help/help.admin.inc
+++ b/modules/help/help.admin.inc
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ function help_page($name) {
 
 function help_links_as_list() {
   $empty_arg = drupal_help_arg();
-  $module_info = system_get_module_data();
+  $module_info = system_rebuild_module_data();
 
   $modules = array();
   foreach (module_implements('help', TRUE) as $module) {
diff --git a/modules/system/system.admin.inc b/modules/system/system.admin.inc
index f2c278f77cc1ab07338a626a4d6e12a03a8b9e7a..e21c114ae403824fc00a6ec4d66c247a333df645 100644
--- a/modules/system/system.admin.inc
+++ b/modules/system/system.admin.inc
@@ -146,12 +146,11 @@ function system_admin_menu_block_page() {
  */
 function system_admin_by_module() {
 
-  $modules = system_get_module_data();
+  $module_info = system_get_info('module');
   $menu_items = array();
   $help_arg = module_exists('help') ? drupal_help_arg() : FALSE;
 
-  foreach ($modules as $file) {
-    $module = $file->name;
+  foreach ($module_info as $module => $info) {
     if ($module == 'help') {
       continue;
     }
@@ -169,7 +168,7 @@ function system_admin_by_module() {
       // Sort.
       ksort($admin_tasks);
 
-      $menu_items[$file->info['name']] = array($file->info['description'], $admin_tasks);
+      $menu_items[$info['name']] = array($info['description'], $admin_tasks);
     }
   }
   return theme('system_admin_by_module', array('menu_items' => $menu_items));
@@ -200,7 +199,7 @@ function system_settings_overview() {
  */
 function system_themes_form() {
   // Get current list of themes.
-  $themes = system_get_theme_data();
+  $themes = system_rebuild_theme_data();
 
   // Remove hidden themes from the display list.
   foreach ($themes as $theme_key => $theme) {
@@ -396,7 +395,7 @@ function system_theme_settings($form, &$form_state, $key = '') {
   if ($key) {
     $settings = theme_get_settings($key);
     $var = str_replace('/', '_', 'theme_' . $key . '_settings');
-    $themes = system_get_theme_data();
+    $themes = system_rebuild_theme_data();
     $features = $themes[$key]->info['features'];
   }
   else {
@@ -643,7 +642,7 @@ function _system_is_incompatible(&$incompatible, $files, $file) {
  */
 function system_modules($form, $form_state = array()) {
   // Get current list of modules.
-  $files = system_get_module_data();
+  $files = system_rebuild_module_data();
 
   // Remove hidden modules from display list.
   foreach ($files as $filename => $file) {
@@ -834,7 +833,7 @@ function _system_modules_build_row($info, $extra) {
  * Display confirmation form for required modules.
  *
  * @param $modules
- *   Array of module file objects as returned from system_get_module_data().
+ *   Array of module file objects as returned from system_rebuild_module_data().
  * @param $storage
  *   The contents of $form_state['storage']; an array with two
  *   elements: the list of required modules and the list of status
@@ -891,7 +890,7 @@ function system_modules_submit($form, &$form_state) {
 
   // Get a list of all modules, it will be used to find which module requires
   // which.
-  $files = system_get_module_data();
+  $files = system_rebuild_module_data();
 
   // The modules to be enabled.
   $modules_to_be_enabled = array();
diff --git a/modules/system/system.api.php b/modules/system/system.api.php
index e8e4f5935706f0956e0e154f0e5a80c438850a08..186899273c45d2f5a2e83d40209198ebd723fb2d 100644
--- a/modules/system/system.api.php
+++ b/modules/system/system.api.php
@@ -720,9 +720,10 @@ function hook_mail_alter(&$message) {
 /**
  * Alter the information parsed from module and theme .info files
  *
- * This hook is invoked in _system_get_module_data() and in _system_get_theme_data().
- * A module may implement this hook in order to add to or alter the data
- * generated by reading the .info file with drupal_parse_info_file().
+ * This hook is invoked in _system_rebuild_module_data() and in
+ * _system_rebuild_theme_data(). A module may implement this hook in order to
+ * add to or alter the data generated by reading the .info file with
+ * drupal_parse_info_file().
  *
  * @param &$info
  *   The .info file contents, passed by reference so that it can be altered.
diff --git a/modules/system/system.install b/modules/system/system.install
index 4febc30e8d90e233a52eb7756a826206174c06cb..08ecacd5e647e449acb1eef3d0c9a609cd0b9945 100644
--- a/modules/system/system.install
+++ b/modules/system/system.install
@@ -345,12 +345,12 @@ function system_install() {
   }
 
   // Clear out module list and hook implementation statics before calling
-  // system_get_theme_data().
+  // system_rebuild_theme_data().
   module_list(TRUE);
   module_implements('', FALSE, TRUE);
 
   // Load system theme data appropriately.
-  system_get_theme_data();
+  system_rebuild_theme_data();
 
   // Inserting uid 0 here confuses MySQL -- the next user might be created as
   // uid 2 which is not what we want. So we insert the first user here, the
@@ -2212,7 +2212,7 @@ function system_update_7021() {
   variable_del('site_footer');
 
   // Rebuild theme data, so the new 'help' region is identified.
-  system_get_theme_data();
+  system_rebuild_theme_data();
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/modules/system/system.module b/modules/system/system.module
index 8ddfea03f71cd1d1f699d7765ee693ca080c9a80..483ea86437d6a8f3bbf98620c0262cf7e676cead 100644
--- a/modules/system/system.module
+++ b/modules/system/system.module
@@ -1846,13 +1846,36 @@ function system_update_files_database(&$files, $type) {
   $query->execute();
 }
 
+/**
+ * Returns an array of information about active modules or themes.
+ *
+ * This function returns the information from the {system} table corresponding
+ * to the cached contents of the .info file for each active module or theme.
+ *
+ * @param $type
+ *   Either 'module' or 'theme'.
+ * @return
+ *   An associative array of module or theme information keyed by name.
+ *
+ * @see system_rebuild_module_data()
+ * @see system_rebuild_theme_data()
+ */
+function system_get_info($type) {
+  $info = array();
+  $result = db_query('SELECT name, info FROM {system} WHERE type = :type AND status = 1', array(':type' => $type));
+  foreach ($result as $item) {
+    $info[$item->name] = unserialize($item->info);
+  }
+  return $info;
+}
+
 /**
  * Helper function to scan and collect module .info data.
  *
  * @return
  *   An associative array of module information.
  */
-function _system_get_module_data() {
+function _system_rebuild_module_data() {
   // Find modules
   $modules = drupal_system_listing('/\.module$/', 'modules', 'name', 0);
 
@@ -1903,13 +1926,13 @@ function _system_get_module_data() {
 }
 
 /**
- * Collect data about all currently available modules.
+ * Rebuild, save, and return data about all currently available modules.
  *
  * @return
  *   Array of all available modules and their data.
  */
-function system_get_module_data() {
-  $modules = _system_get_module_data();
+function system_rebuild_module_data() {
+  $modules = _system_rebuild_module_data();
   ksort($modules);
   system_get_files_database($modules, 'module');
   system_update_files_database($modules, 'module');
@@ -1939,7 +1962,7 @@ function system_get_module_data() {
  * @return
  *   An associative array of themes information.
  */
-function _system_get_theme_data() {
+function _system_rebuild_theme_data() {
   $themes_info = &drupal_static(__FUNCTION__, array());
 
   if (empty($themes_info)) {
@@ -2065,13 +2088,13 @@ function _system_get_theme_data() {
 }
 
 /**
- * Collect data about all currently available themes.
+ * Rebuild, save, and return data about all currently available themes.
  *
  * @return
  *   Array of all available themes and their data.
  */
-function system_get_theme_data() {
-  $themes = _system_get_theme_data();
+function system_rebuild_theme_data() {
+  $themes = _system_rebuild_theme_data();
   ksort($themes);
   system_get_files_database($themes, 'theme');
   system_update_files_database($themes, 'theme');
diff --git a/modules/update/update.compare.inc b/modules/update/update.compare.inc
index 389c30d7625e40bc67516b8898eb59d9d4f55260..337d5eb6e7fc68b8c004cc6f6f700984d495ae51 100644
--- a/modules/update/update.compare.inc
+++ b/modules/update/update.compare.inc
@@ -36,8 +36,8 @@ function update_get_projects() {
     $projects = update_project_cache('update_project_projects');
     if (empty($projects)) {
       // Still empty, so we have to rebuild the cache.
-      $module_data = system_get_module_data();
-      $theme_data = system_get_theme_data();
+      $module_data = system_rebuild_module_data();
+      $theme_data = system_rebuild_theme_data();
       _update_process_info_list($projects, $module_data, 'module', TRUE);
       _update_process_info_list($projects, $theme_data, 'theme', TRUE);
       if (variable_get('update_check_disabled', FALSE)) {
diff --git a/modules/update/update.test b/modules/update/update.test
index 7c5a2f0f871884c12bcfb20857ae6f923cb1dfc9..220c814945967ae9c9c2f6a3d35299e47e00460f 100644
--- a/modules/update/update.test
+++ b/modules/update/update.test
@@ -250,7 +250,7 @@ class UpdateTestContribCase extends UpdateTestHelper {
    * "CCC Update test" project. We need to make sure that we see the "BBB"
    * project before the "CCC" project, even though "CCC" includes a module
    * that's processed first if you sort alphabetically by module name (which
-   * is the order we see things inside system_get_module_data() for example).
+   * is the order we see things inside system_rebuild_module_data() for example).
    */
   function testUpdateContribOrder() {
     // We want core to be version 7.0.