refactor: Rework Entity class

[neznaika0]

Description
I keep track of entity changes. At the moment, I don't see any conflicts when using 'attributes' as the column name.
There was also a bug with the restore of $_cast.

Question: Do I need to get rid of the DataCaster object? For example, I completely disabled casting in the Entity and transform it into a Model. But the object is always being created.

I could, under the condition $_cast = false, not create it or destroy it when calling $this->cast(false). We can simplify by calling getDataCaster() "on the fly", although it's no better to create an object every time. Suggestions?

It is also planned to update the DateCast to use the interface, since it does not always set DateTime, but also DateTimeImmutable.

PR should be taken after #9877 But we can discuss it now.

Checklist:

• Securely signed commits
• Component(s) with PHPDoc blocks, only if necessary or adds value (without duplication)
• Unit testing, with >80% coverage
• User guide updated
• Conforms to style guide

[neznaika0]

An actual note? We can already have the 'attributes' field

https://github.com/neznaika0/codeigniter-dev/blob/9ac23b4c207c6bea12b4ebb1a085d3ab57942baf/user_guide_src/source/models/entities.rst?plain=1#L43

[michalsn]

Some initial comments added.

If you fix a bug, it should be mentioned in the changelog as well.

[neznaika0]

If you fix a bug, it should be mentioned in the changelog as well.

I've lost the changes. I'll fix it

[michalsn]

Suggested change

	if (! $this->_cast) {
	if ($this->casts === []) {

IMO, this is a better approach. Since $_cast is true by default, the DataCaster is always instantiated during construction, defeating the optimization purpose.

• $this->casts === []: Structural question - "Is there anything defined to cast?"
• $_cast: Runtime toggle - "Should casting be active right now?"

[neznaika0]

I didn't find any cases when we need $_cast and an empty array.

I wanted to rely on the array at first, but then I thought you don't often approve of surface changes. So I delved into the code 😄

I'll test the new version.

[michalsn]

Suggested change

	- **Entity:** The protected property ``CodeIgniter\Entity\Entity::$dataCaster`` can be nullable.
	- **Entity:** The protected property ``CodeIgniter\Entity\Entity::$dataCaster`` type has been changed from ``DataCaster`` to ``?DataCaster`` (nullable).

This should go under "Method Signature Changes" section, or even better, we can create "Property Signature Changes" subsection within that category.