From 67a42dc7ca56c88b2bc8510bce21220c7699bb83 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: jalexiscv <jalexiscv@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 17 May 2026 21:57:35 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] fix: toRawArray() converts DateTime objects to strings

Fixes #8302

When a date field is set on an Entity, __set() converts it to a Time
object via mutateDate(). However, toRawArray() returned attributes
directly without converting Time/DateTime objects back to strings.

This fixes toRawArray() to return primitive types by converting
DateTimeInterface objects to strings via __toString(). The underlying
$this->attributes remain unchanged (still contain Time objects).
toArray() behavior is preserved (still returns Time objects).

Changes:
- Entity::toRawArray(): DateTimeInterface objects converted to strings
- Added test verifying:
  * toRawArray() returns strings for date fields
  * $this->attributes still contain Time objects
  * toArray() still returns Time objects (no regression)

Ref: https://github.com/codeigniter4/CodeIgniter4/issues/8302
---
 system/Entity/Entity.php           | 11 ++++++----
 tests/system/Entity/EntityTest.php | 35 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 42 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/system/Entity/Entity.php b/system/Entity/Entity.php
index e3733bd0fc02..0d8bccbc3cd1 100644
--- a/system/Entity/Entity.php
+++ b/system/Entity/Entity.php
@@ -233,6 +233,11 @@ public function toArray(bool $onlyChanged = false, bool $cast = true, bool $recu
     public function toRawArray(bool $onlyChanged = false, bool $recursive = false): array
     {
         $convert = static function ($value) use (&$convert, $recursive) {
+            // Always convert DateTime objects to string for raw output
+            if ($value instanceof DateTimeInterface) {
+                return (string) $value;
+            }
+
             if (! $recursive) {
                 return $value;
             }
@@ -261,9 +266,7 @@ public function toRawArray(bool $onlyChanged = false, bool $recursive = false):
 
         // When returning everything
         if (! $onlyChanged) {
-            return $recursive
-                ? array_map($convert, $this->attributes)
-                : $this->attributes;
+            return array_map($convert, $this->attributes);
         }
 
         // When filtering by changed values only
@@ -335,7 +338,7 @@ public function toRawArray(bool $onlyChanged = false, bool $recursive = false):
             }
 
             // non-recursive changed value
-            $return[$key] = $value;
+            $return[$key] = $convert($value);
         }
 
         return $return;
diff --git a/tests/system/Entity/EntityTest.php b/tests/system/Entity/EntityTest.php
index 52d1de2f5a8b..c13bf1453aa9 100644
--- a/tests/system/Entity/EntityTest.php
+++ b/tests/system/Entity/EntityTest.php
@@ -367,6 +367,41 @@ public function testDateMutationTimeToTime(): void
         $this->assertCloseEnoughString($dt->format('Y-m-d H:i:s'), $time->format('Y-m-d H:i:s'));
     }
 
+    public function testToRawArrayConvertsDateTimeToString(): void
+    {
+        $entity = new class () extends Entity {
+            protected $attributes = [
+                'created_at' => null,
+                'updated_at' => null,
+            ];
+            protected $original = [
+                'created_at' => null,
+                'updated_at' => null,
+            ];
+        };
+
+        $entity->created_at = '2023-12-12 12:12:12';
+        $entity->updated_at = '2023-12-13 13:13:13';
+
+        $raw = $entity->toRawArray();
+
+        // toRawArray() should return primitive types, not objects
+        $this->assertIsString($raw['created_at']);
+        $this->assertSame('2023-12-12 12:12:12', $raw['created_at']);
+        $this->assertIsString($raw['updated_at']);
+        $this->assertSame('2023-12-13 13:13:13', $raw['updated_at']);
+
+        // Attributes themselves should still contain Time objects
+        $attrs = $this->getPrivateProperty($entity, 'attributes');
+        $this->assertInstanceOf(Time::class, $attrs['created_at']);
+        $this->assertInstanceOf(Time::class, $attrs['updated_at']);
+
+        // toArray() should still return Time objects (no regression)
+        $array = $entity->toArray();
+        $this->assertInstanceOf(Time::class, $array['created_at']);
+        $this->assertInstanceOf(Time::class, $array['updated_at']);
+    }
+
     public function testCastInteger(): void
     {
         $entity = $this->getCastEntity();