PyO3 / PyO3/pyo3

Structs impling Default should have default Python constructors

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Dominant language
Rust
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Forks
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Avg merge
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Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

Currently pyo3 bindings require you to explicitly annotate any Rust "constructor" as a Python constructor. This means that if your struct relies on its default() method from the Default trait you cannot expose the default() method directly. Instead you have to do this:

#[pymethods]
impl MyStruct {
    #[new]
    fn new() -> Self {
        Self::default()
    }
}

In my opinion, exposing this default() method is a common enough problem that this boilerplate is a little unnecessary. What if instead we could do

#[derive(Default)]
#[pyclass(default)]
struct MyStruct;

Here the pyclass(default) would create a zero-argument constructor method for the Python type, and its implementation would call MyStruct::default.

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First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by tracing the #[pyclass] handling and the existing #[pymethods] constructor behavior described in the issue. Verify how a #[pyclass(default)] option could call the Rust Default implementation and expose a zero-argument Python constructor; done means the proposed annotation works for a #[derive(Default)] struct and preserves current constructor behavior.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python, rust
Domain
api, backend
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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