docs: protected Comparable convert(Comparable entryAttributeValue, Comparable givenAttributeValue) {
          if (isNull(givenAttributeValue)) {
              return givenAttributeValue;
          }
  
          AttributeType type = attributeType;
          if (type == null) {
              if (entryAttributeValue == null) {
                  // we can't convert since we cannot infer the entry's type from a null attribute value.
                  // Returning unconverted value is an optimization since the given value will be compared with null.
                  return givenAttributeValue;
              }
              type = QueryableEntry.extractAttributeType(entryAttributeValue);
              attributeType = type;
          }
  
          return convert(type, entryAttributeValue, givenAttributeValue);
      }