Feature: #109494 - Auto-map TCA "ctrl" fields to Extbase models 

Description 

TCA capabilities defined in the ctrl section are now automatically mapped to Extbase domain model properties, even if they are not defined in the TCA columns section. This applies to the system capabilities for which the Core does not create a default columns definition:

• tstamp (capability UpdatedAt)
• crdate (capability CreatedAt)
• deleted (capability SoftDelete)
• sorting (capability SortByField)

Other ctrl fields such as hidden, starttime, endtime, fe_group, editlock and the description column already receive an automatically created columns definition since TYPO3 v13.3 and were therefore already readable by Extbase before this change.

DataMapFactory now creates a passthrough column map for every system capability that has no explicit columns definition. An explicit columns definition still takes precedence and keeps its previous behaviour. The DataMapper then hydrates these fields like any other column.

These fields belong to the Core and are managed by it, so Extbase only reads them: they are mapped read-only and are never written back to the database, not even when the corresponding model property is changed.

Example 

Before, tstamp and crdate had to be duplicated in the columns section to be readable by Extbase:

// TCA
'ctrl' => [
    'tstamp' => 'tstamp',
    'crdate' => 'crdate',
],
'columns' => [
    'tstamp' => ['config' => ['type' => 'passthrough']],
    'crdate' => ['config' => ['type' => 'passthrough']],
],

// Extbase model
class MyModel extends \TYPO3\CMS\Extbase\DomainObject\AbstractEntity
{
    protected ?int $tstamp = null;
    protected ?int $crdate = null;
}

After the change, only the ctrl definition is needed and the redundant columns definitions can be removed:

// TCA - no need to define tstamp/crdate in columns
'ctrl' => [
    'tstamp' => 'tstamp',
    'crdate' => 'crdate',
],

// Extbase model - unchanged, both properties are now hydrated
class MyModel extends \TYPO3\CMS\Extbase\DomainObject\AbstractEntity
{
    protected ?int $tstamp = null;
    protected ?int $crdate = null;
}

Impact 

Extension developers can now remove redundant TCA columns definitions for tstamp, crdate, deleted and sorting, reducing maintenance effort.

The automatically mapped fields are read-only for Extbase. They are available on the model after a record has been loaded, but changes to them are not persisted. In particular, deleted cannot be set through a model property: use RepositoryInterface::remove() or PersistenceManager::remove() to soft-delete a record. crdate is set once when a record is created, while tstamp is still updated automatically by the persistence layer on every change. The in-memory model is not synchronized with these values: reload the record after persisting if the current values are needed.

Because the fields are now mapped, a model property with one of these names is hydrated from the database even if it was not declared in columns before. Properties named tstamp, crdate, deleted or sorting that Extbase previously ignored now receive the value of the corresponding system field. Rename or remove such a property if it is not meant to represent that field.

A model property with one of these names must have a single, resolvable property type: an untyped, union or intersection typed property now causes an UnknownPropertyTypeException while a row is mapped.

Models that declare these fields in the TCA columns section are not affected: an explicit columns definition takes precedence, so such fields keep their previous read and write behaviour.