What is Array and json casts in Laravel, and what role does it play in a real application?

What is Array and json casts in Laravel, and what role does it play in a real application? In Laravel, array and JSON casts should be understood as part of a larger application architecture rather than as an isolated API call. JSON-backed columns can be represented as PHP arrays or other supported structures. A strong understanding includes its purpose, the layer where it belongs, the data or request flow it affects, and the situations where another mechanism may be more appropriate. Practical context: Eloquent attribute casting converts selected model attributes into useful PHP types or structures when models are read and written. The specific focus here is array and JSON casts: JSON-backed columns can be represented as PHP arrays or other supported structures. This question is designed to test not only terminology, but also how the concept fits into Laravel's request, application, database, security, or deployment workflow.