Deprecate string default expressions

greg0ire · greg0ire · commit 9ccca55dd56f · 2025-12-07T20:03:30.000+01:00
Right now, the ORM handles the conversion of strings that happen to be
default expressions for date, time and datetime columns into the
corresponding value objects.

Let us allow users to specify these value objects directly, and
deprecate relying on the aforementioned conversion.
diff --git a/UPGRADE.md b/UPGRADE.md
@@ -29,6 +29,95 @@ and directly start using native lazy objects.
 
 # Upgrade to 3.6
 
+## Deprecate using string expression for default values in mappings
+
+Using a string expression for default values in field mappings is deprecated.
+Use `Doctrine\DBAL\Schema\DefaultExpression` instances instead.
+
+Here is how to address this deprecation when mapping entities using PHP attributes:
+
+```diff
+ use DateTime;
++use Doctrine\DBAL\Schema\DefaultExpression\CurrentDate;
++use Doctrine\DBAL\Schema\DefaultExpression\CurrentTime;
++use Doctrine\DBAL\Schema\DefaultExpression\CurrentTimestamp;
+ use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping as ORM;
+
+ #[ORM\Entity]
+ final class TimeEntity
+ {
+     #[ORM\Id]
+     #[ORM\Column]
+     public int $id;
+
+-    #[ORM\Column(options: ['default' => 'CURRENT_TIMESTAMP'], insertable: false, updatable: false)]
++    #[ORM\Column(options: ['default' => new CurrentTimestamp()], insertable: false, updatable: false)]
+     public DateTime $createdAt;
+
+-    #[ORM\Column(options: ['default' => 'CURRENT_TIME'], insertable: false, updatable: false)]
++    #[ORM\Column(options: ['default' => new CurrentTime()], insertable: false, updatable: false)]
+     public DateTime $createdTime;
+
+-    #[ORM\Column(options: ['default' => 'CURRENT_DATE'], insertable: false, updatable: false)]
++    #[ORM\Column(options: ['default' => new CurrentDate()], insertable: false, updatable: false)]
+     public DateTime $createdDate;
+ }
+```
+
+Here is how to do the same when mapping entities using XML:
+
+```diff
+ <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+
+ <doctrine-mapping xmlns="http://doctrine-project.org/schemas/orm/doctrine-mapping"
+                   xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
+                   xsi:schemaLocation="http://doctrine-project.org/schemas/orm/doctrine-mapping
+                           https://www.doctrine-project.org/schemas/orm/doctrine-mapping.xsd">
+
+     <entity name="Doctrine\Tests\ORM\Functional\XmlTimeEntity">
+         <id name="id" type="integer" column="id">
+             <generator strategy="AUTO"/>
+         </id>
+
+         <field name="createdAt" type="datetime" insertable="false" updatable="false">
+             <options>
+-                <option name="default">CURRENT_TIMESTAMP</option>
++                <option name="default">
++                    <object class="Doctrine\DBAL\Schema\DefaultExpression\CurrentTimestamp"/>
++                </option>
+             </options>
+         </field>
+
+         <field name="createdAtImmutable" type="datetime_immutable" insertable="false" updatable="false">
+             <options>
+-                <option name="default">CURRENT_TIMESTAMP</option>
++                <option name="default">
++                    <object class="Doctrine\DBAL\Schema\DefaultExpression\CurrentTimestamp"/>
++                </option>
+             </options>
+         </field>
+
+         <field name="createdTime" type="time" insertable="false" updatable="false">
+             <options>
+-                <option name="default">CURRENT_TIME</option>
++                <option name="default">
++                    <object class="Doctrine\DBAL\Schema\DefaultExpression\CurrentTime"/>
++                </option>
+             </options>
+         </field>
+         <field name="createdDate" type="date" insertable="false" updatable="false">
+             <options>
+-                <option name="default">CURRENT_DATE</option>
++                <option name="default">
++                    <object class="Doctrine\DBAL\Schema\DefaultExpression\CurrentDate"/>
++                </option>
+             </options>
+         </field>
+     </entity>
+ </doctrine-mapping>
+```
+
+
 ## Deprecate `FieldMapping::$default`
 
 The `default` property of `Doctrine\ORM\Mapping\FieldMapping` is deprecated and
diff --git a/docs/en/reference/basic-mapping.rst b/docs/en/reference/basic-mapping.rst
@@ -190,6 +190,22 @@ PHP class, Doctrine also allows you to specify default values for
 database columns using the ``default`` key in the ``options`` array of
 the ``Column`` attribute.
 
+When using XML, you can specify object instances using the ``<object>``
+element:
+
+.. code-block:: xml
+
+    <field name="createdAt" type="datetime" insertable="false" updatable="false">
+        <options>
+            <option name="default">
+                <object class="Doctrine\DBAL\Schema\DefaultExpression\CurrentTimestamp"/>
+            </option>
+        </options>
+    </field>
+
+The ``<object>`` element requires a ``class`` attribute specifying the
+fully qualified class name to instantiate.
+
 .. configuration-block::
    .. literalinclude:: basic-mapping/DefaultValues.php
        :language: attribute
diff --git a/docs/en/reference/basic-mapping/DefaultValues.php b/docs/en/reference/basic-mapping/DefaultValues.php
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@
 
 namespace App\Entity;
 
+use DateTime;
+use Doctrine\DBAL\Schema\DefaultExpression\CurrentTimestamp;
 use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping\Column;
 use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping\Entity;
 
@@ -12,4 +14,7 @@ class Message
 {
     #[Column(options: ['default' => 'Hello World!'])]
     private string $text;
+
+    #[Column(options: ['default' => new CurrentTimestamp()], insertable: false, updatable: false)]
+    private DateTime $createdAt;
 }
diff --git a/docs/en/reference/basic-mapping/default-values.xml b/docs/en/reference/basic-mapping/default-values.xml
@@ -5,5 +5,12 @@
         <option name="default">Hello World!</option>
       </options>
     </field>
+    <field name="createdAt" insertable="false" updatable="false">
+      <options>
+        <option name="default">
+            <object class="Doctrine\DBAL\Schema\DefaultExpression\CurrentTimestamp"/>
+        </option>
+      </options>
+    </field>
   </entity>
 </doctrine-mapping>
diff --git a/doctrine-mapping.xsd b/doctrine-mapping.xsd
@@ -155,9 +155,15 @@
     </xs:restriction>
   </xs:simpleType>
 
+  <xs:complexType name="object">
+    <xs:attribute name="class" type="xs:string" use="required"/>
+    <xs:anyAttribute namespace="##other"/>
+  </xs:complexType>
+
   <xs:complexType name="option" mixed="true">
     <xs:choice minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded">
       <xs:element name="option" type="orm:option"/>
+      <xs:element name="object" type="orm:object"/>
       <xs:any minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded" namespace="##other"/>
     </xs:choice>
     <xs:attribute name="name" type="xs:NMTOKEN" use="required"/>
diff --git a/phpstan-baseline.neon b/phpstan-baseline.neon
@@ -1441,7 +1441,7 @@ parameters:
 			path: src/Mapping/Driver/XmlDriver.php
 
 		-
-			message: '#^Parameter \#1 \$columnDef of method Doctrine\\ORM\\Mapping\\ClassMetadata\<T of object\>\:\:setDiscriminatorColumn\(\) expects array\{name\: string\|null, fieldName\?\: string\|null, type\?\: string\|null, length\?\: int\|null, columnDefinition\?\: string\|null, enumType\?\: class\-string\<BackedEnum\>\|null, options\?\: array\<string, mixed\>\|null\}\|Doctrine\\ORM\\Mapping\\DiscriminatorColumnMapping\|null, array\{name\: string\|null, type\: string, length\: int, columnDefinition\: string\|null, enumType\: string\|null, options\?\: array\<int\|string, array\<int\|string, mixed\>\|bool\|string\>\} given\.$#'
+			message: '#^Parameter \#1 \$columnDef of method Doctrine\\ORM\\Mapping\\ClassMetadata\<T of object\>\:\:setDiscriminatorColumn\(\) expects array\{name\: string\|null, fieldName\?\: string\|null, type\?\: string\|null, length\?\: int\|null, columnDefinition\?\: string\|null, enumType\?\: class\-string\<BackedEnum\>\|null, options\?\: array\<string, mixed\>\|null\}\|Doctrine\\ORM\\Mapping\\DiscriminatorColumnMapping\|null, array\{name\: string\|null, type\: string, length\: int, columnDefinition\: string\|null, enumType\: string\|null, options\?\: array\<int\|string, array\<int\|string, mixed\>\|bool\|object\|string\>\} given\.$#'
 			identifier: argument.type
 			count: 1
 			path: src/Mapping/Driver/XmlDriver.php
@@ -1471,7 +1471,7 @@ parameters:
 			path: src/Mapping/Driver/XmlDriver.php
 
 		-
-			message: '#^Property Doctrine\\ORM\\Mapping\\ClassMetadata\<T of object\>\:\:\$table \(array\{name\: string, schema\?\: string, indexes\?\: array, uniqueConstraints\?\: array, options\?\: array\<string, mixed\>, quoted\?\: bool\}\) does not accept array\{name\: string, schema\?\: string, indexes\?\: array, uniqueConstraints\?\: array, options\: array\<int\|string, array\<int\|string, mixed\>\|bool\|string\>, quoted\?\: bool\}\.$#'
+			message: '#^Property Doctrine\\ORM\\Mapping\\ClassMetadata\<T of object\>\:\:\$table \(array\{name\: string, schema\?\: string, indexes\?\: array, uniqueConstraints\?\: array, options\?\: array\<string, mixed\>, quoted\?\: bool\}\) does not accept array\{name\: string, schema\?\: string, indexes\?\: array, uniqueConstraints\?\: array, options\: array\<int\|string, array\<int\|string, mixed\>\|bool\|object\|string\>, quoted\?\: bool\}\.$#'
 			identifier: assign.propertyType
 			count: 1
 			path: src/Mapping/Driver/XmlDriver.php
diff --git a/src/Mapping/Driver/XmlDriver.php b/src/Mapping/Driver/XmlDriver.php
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 use SimpleXMLElement;
 
 use function assert;
+use function class_exists;
 use function constant;
 use function count;
 use function defined;
@@ -656,15 +657,30 @@ public function loadMetadataForClass($className, PersistenceClassMetadata $metad
      * Parses (nested) option elements.
      *
      * @return mixed[] The options array.
-     * @phpstan-return array<int|string, array<int|string, mixed|string>|bool|string>
+     * @phpstan-return array<int|string, array<int|string, mixed|string>|bool|string|object>
      */
     private function parseOptions(SimpleXMLElement|null $options): array
     {
         $array = [];
 
         foreach ($options ?? [] as $option) {
+            $value = null;
             if ($option->count()) {
-                $value = $this->parseOptions($option->children());
+                // Check if this option contains an <object> element
+                $children         = $option->children();
+                $hasObjectElement = false;
+
+                foreach ($children as $child) {
+                    if ($child->getName() === 'object') {
+                        $value            = $this->parseObjectElement($child);
+                        $hasObjectElement = true;
+                        break;
+                    }
+                }
+
+                if (! $hasObjectElement) {
+                    $value = $this->parseOptions($children);
+                }
             } else {
                 $value = (string) $option;
             }
@@ -684,6 +700,33 @@ private function parseOptions(SimpleXMLElement|null $options): array
         return $array;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Parses an <object> element and returns the instantiated object.
+     *
+     * @param SimpleXMLElement $objectElement The XML element.
+     *
+     * @return object The instantiated object.
+     *
+     * @throws MappingException If the object specification is invalid.
+     * @throws InvalidArgumentException If the class does not exist.
+     */
+    private function parseObjectElement(SimpleXMLElement $objectElement): object
+    {
+        $attributes = $objectElement->attributes();
+
+        if (! isset($attributes->class)) {
+            throw MappingException::missingRequiredOption('object', 'class');
+        }
+
+        $className = (string) $attributes->class;
+
+        if (! class_exists($className)) {
+            throw new InvalidArgumentException(sprintf('Class "%s" does not exist', $className));
+        }
+
+        return new $className();
+    }
+
     /**
      * Constructs a joinColumn mapping array based on the information
      * found in the given SimpleXMLElement.
diff --git a/src/Tools/SchemaTool.php b/src/Tools/SchemaTool.php
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 use Doctrine\DBAL\Schema\Schema;
 use Doctrine\DBAL\Schema\Table;
 use Doctrine\DBAL\Types\Types;
+use Doctrine\Deprecations\Deprecation;
 use Doctrine\ORM\EntityManagerInterface;
 use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping\AssociationMapping;
 use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping\ClassMetadata;
@@ -507,20 +508,50 @@ private function gatherColumn(
                 ], true)
                 && $options['default'] === $this->platform->getCurrentTimestampSQL()
             ) {
+                Deprecation::trigger(
+                    'doctrine/orm',
+                    'https://github.com/doctrine/orm/issues/12252',
+                    <<<'DEPRECATION'
+                    Using "%s" as a default value for datetime fields is deprecated and
+                    will not be supported in Doctrine ORM 4.0.
+                    Pass a `Doctrine\DBAL\Schema\DefaultExpression\CurrentTimestamp` instance instead.
+                    DEPRECATION,
+                    $this->platform->getCurrentTimestampSQL(),
+                );
                 $options['default'] = new CurrentTimestamp();
             }
 
             if (
                 in_array($mapping->type, [Types::TIME_MUTABLE, Types::TIME_IMMUTABLE], true)
                 && $options['default'] === $this->platform->getCurrentTimeSQL()
             ) {
+                Deprecation::trigger(
+                    'doctrine/orm',
+                    'https://github.com/doctrine/orm/issues/12252',
+                    <<<'DEPRECATION'
+                    Using "%s" as a default value for time fields is deprecated and
+                    will not be supported in Doctrine ORM 4.0.
+                    Pass a `Doctrine\DBAL\Schema\DefaultExpression\CurrentTime` instance instead.
+                    DEPRECATION,
+                    $this->platform->getCurrentTimeSQL(),
+                );
                 $options['default'] = new CurrentTime();
             }
 
             if (
                 in_array($mapping->type, [Types::DATE_MUTABLE, Types::DATE_IMMUTABLE], true)
                 && $options['default'] === $this->platform->getCurrentDateSQL()
             ) {
+                Deprecation::trigger(
+                    'doctrine/orm',
+                    'https://github.com/doctrine/orm/issues/12252',
+                    <<<'DEPRECATION'
+                    Using "%s" as a default value for date fields is deprecated and
+                    will not be supported in Doctrine ORM 4.0.
+                    Pass a `Doctrine\DBAL\Schema\DefaultExpression\CurrentDate` instance instead.
+                    DEPRECATION,
+                    $this->platform->getCurrentDateSQL(),
+                );
                 $options['default'] = new CurrentDate();
             }
         }
diff --git a/tests/Tests/ORM/Functional/DefaultTimeExpressionTest.php b/tests/Tests/ORM/Functional/DefaultTimeExpressionTest.php
diff --git a/tests/Tests/ORM/Functional/DefaultTimeExpressionXmlTest.php b/tests/Tests/ORM/Functional/DefaultTimeExpressionXmlTest.php
diff --git a/tests/Tests/ORM/Mapping/xml/Doctrine.Tests.ORM.Functional.XmlLegacyTimeEntity.dcm.xml b/tests/Tests/ORM/Mapping/xml/Doctrine.Tests.ORM.Functional.XmlLegacyTimeEntity.dcm.xml
diff --git a/tests/Tests/ORM/Mapping/xml/Doctrine.Tests.ORM.Functional.XmlTimeEntity.dcm.xml b/tests/Tests/ORM/Mapping/xml/Doctrine.Tests.ORM.Functional.XmlTimeEntity.dcm.xml

Original file line number	Diff line number	Diff line change
`@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@`
`4`	`4`
`5`	`5`	`namespace App\Entity;`
`6`	`6`
	`7`	`+use DateTime;`
	`8`	`+use Doctrine\DBAL\Schema\DefaultExpression\CurrentTimestamp;`
`7`	`9`	`use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping\Column;`
`8`	`10`	`use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping\Entity;`
`9`	`11`
`@@ -12,4 +14,7 @@ class Message`
`12`	`14`	`{`
`13`	`15`	`#[Column(options: ['default' => 'Hello World!'])]`
`14`	`16`	`private string $text;`
	`17`	`+`
	`18`	`+ #[Column(options: ['default' => new CurrentTimestamp()], insertable: false, updatable: false)]`
	`19`	`+ private DateTime $createdAt;`
`15`	`20`	`}`