Node creation date is populated on creation form

This is still the case, but the patch to remove the default value breaks the node add form with:
InvalidArgumentException: The timestamp must be numeric. in Drupal\Component\Datetime\DateTimePlus::createFromTimestamp() (line 201 of core/lib/Drupal/Component/Datetime/DateTimePlus.php).

We could probably do something like we have with the changed date by implementing an interface and setting the date if it's empty in ContentEntityForm

We'd want to:

1. Add an EntityCreatedInterface
2. Add an EntityCreatedTrait
3. Have Node implement and use those
4. Remove the default value of the authored on date in the form. I think this would be moving logic out of CreatedItem::applyDefaultValue into CreatedItem::preSave like ChangedItem (so it only sets the value when empty)
5. Set the creation date in the form?

I think this would then also solve 🐛 Node created timestamp and updated timestamp are different for new nodes Needs work

Created is a specific field type that sets the default value: \Drupal\Core\Field\Plugin\Field\FieldType\CreatedItem. The node form uses the default widget for that field type, no special logic.

And ChangedItem extends from CreatedItem and just extends that to then also update it on save.

IMHO that's by design. All fields have the capability to have a default value and that's set when the entity is created, not actually related to the form at all.

@berdir I'm happy to close as works as designed if there's agreement on that :)

Both this issue and 🐛 Node created timestamp and updated timestamp are different for new nodes Needs work are now postponed. The latter issue was waiting on this issue to resolve it. One of those two should remain open.

It is not a great user experience to have to empty out the time/date every time I want to write content. This is buried in vertical tabs, and can be easy to miss depending on the theme. If I write content, and it takes me 20 minutes to write it, I should not have my creation date 20 minutes ago and the updated date the present time. Both created and changed should be equal on submit when the entity is new.

@kevin.dutra's comment 🐛 Node created timestamp and updated timestamp are different for new nodes Needs work mentions

That's the thing, this issue does not occur when creating an entity without the form. It only occurs when using the form because the entity is not created and saved within the same request. (It's created in one request when the form is generated and saved in another when the form is submitted.)

So it is related to the form in-so-much as the form requires multiple requests carrying an unsaved entity.

I think opening up the other issue as Active is appropriate now because it is more related to entity isNew and saving.

As far as the entity API is concerned, *create* is the operation that creates a new entity object, not when its' saved. For a form, that happens kind of the first time you access the node add form. There are some edge cases form state cache, so on a form without ajax and without permission to set a created date, you _might_ actually get it to use the time of the submit, haven't tested.

I understand that the form workflow changes a bit how the API works due to storing the value and the created entity, but it's not really a form and even less a node.module issue.

I get that this is in some cases unexpected, but changing this, especially after it has worked like this for 10 years, is also going to run into some edge cases. What about previewing an entity before it's saved, what would you expect there for something that displays the creation date? Also, as soon as drafts and workflows are involved, you're likely more interested in a published time than a created time anyway in many cases? Meaning, changing this would still not really fulfill expectations that people might have?