I do not agree with the motivation.Besides, we *did* this outside of the mailinglist already, so I quote the motivation I sent you here (sorry, no translation):
The framework should convert, though the code converting migth very well be other code such as a util class. If the query framework uses util classes for conversion that is perfectly in line with the "separation of responsibilities ", as well as "robustness".
As to 'simplicity' - setValue() is not a part of the framework, as there was never a framework for creating queries, afaik.
So while the relation may be there now (for BasicFieldConstraint) it is not inherent to the framework. Even if you choose to keep the original value I feel it should be possible to convert values, at the minimum nodes.
Gomez
