[meta] Entities (and Entity API) Roadmap

[mikemccaffrey]

This is a follow up to the original meta for integrating Entity API into core (#49), and also the request for porting over all of the remaining functionality (#1371).

1.x

• Add entity_save and entity_delete in core. #862 Add entity_save and entity_delete in core.
• Added: entity reference module in core. #1301 Create new entity reference field for core
• Add entity_view() into core #1739 Add entity_view into core
• Add the "Entity view mode" module to core #315 Add the "Entity view mode" module to core
• Entity bundles should declare both a singular and a plural form of their label #1145 Entity bundles should declare both a singular and a plural form of their label
• Add support for tokens in the file field names and paths (File Field Paths module in core) #1440 Entity Token needs to provide tokens for properties of fields that are attached to entities
• Port the UI functionality from Entity API #1650 Port the UI functionality from Entity API
• Better documentation for Entity implementation backdrop-ops/docs.backdropcms.org#30 Better documentation for Entity implementation

2.x-future:

• [DX] Simplify getting and setting of values without using the 'und' data structure in entities #2240 Simplify getting and setting of values without using the 'und' data structure in entities
• Flip the native and abstracted data structures for core entities #1652 Flip the native and abstracted data structures for core entities

[mikemccaffrey]

I'd like us to break down all of the remaining parts of Entity API that have not been ported, create tickets for each, and decide on how to provide the functionality in backdrop, either by moving the feature into core, or including it in an Entity API module that is specifically designed to assist with easing the migration of entity-intensive drupal modules to backdrop.

[sentaidigital]

I am trying to port date_ical and discovered that entity_view() hasn't been ported. I've opened a ticket for it (#1739). Should we add it to this roadmap meta issue?

[laryn]

Backdrop's core entity module leaves out some revision-related functions. Is that intentional? e.g. entity_revision_load

I'm debugging in paragraphs and rather than just copy that function (or those functions, there may be more than one) into paragraphs, which doesn't seem right, should I PR them to core? Or do they belong in entity_plus?

backdrop-contrib/paragraphs#33

EDIT: @herbdool suggests entity_plus (on Gitter)

[klonos]

I wouldn't mind moving the most commonly-used functions into core if multiple contrib are using them. Same with whatever we've left out of CTools. The less contrib developers have to worry about, the better DX.