PyCQA / PyCQA/pyflakes

Warn about certain sequences of chained comparisons

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Python
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Description

I was pointed to this buggy line:

  if x is None != y is None:

(For context, Python allows chaining any of the comparison operators ==, !=, is, is not, >, >=, <, <=, in, not in. a OP b OP c is equivalent to a OP b and b OP c except that b is only evaluated once.)

I find it hard to imagine a use case for combining is and != in the same chained comparison, so it would be useful for linters to warn about this and similar patterns.

In my company's internal linter, I implemented a check that disallows all chained comparison pairs except == + ==, is + is, </<= + </<=, and >/>= + >/>=.

It found one false positive where someone had intentionally written == + !=, but I'd argue it's clearer with and:

-                        value.fullName == existing.fullName != "*"
+                        (value.fullName == existing.fullName and value.fullName != "*")

Would pyflakes be interested in a similar check?

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Research direction

Start with the linked TensorFlow example in tensorflow/python/eager/function.py and review Python's chained-comparison semantics. Compare the proposed operator-pair restrictions with pyflakes' existing checks, then define the warning behavior and coverage needed for intentionally chained comparisons and equivalent expressions.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
tooling
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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