pybind / pybind/pybind11

[QUESTJION]: PYBIND11_OVERLOAD_PURE Causing Error

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Description

Required prerequisites
What version (or hash if on master) of pybind11 are you using?

master

Problem description

Hi,
I'm trying to bind the virtual function myfunc in class B. I have class A forward declared and the full definition of class A is in a separate file. I have the following error:
C:/msys64/home/lucas/CS 5850/testproject/test.cpp:21:9: required from here
C:/msys64/mingw64/include/c++/12.2.0/type_traits:1447:38: error: invalid use of incomplete type 'class A
test.cpp:21:9 is the line where PYBIND11_OVERLOAD_PURE locates.
If myfunc is not a virtual function, I can use A_wrapper to accomplish my goal. However, when myfunc becomes pure virtual, the macro PYBIND11_OVERLOAD_PURE seemed need to check full definition of A. How can I work around this?

Reproducible example code
#include <pybind11/pybind11.h>
namespace py = pybind11;

class A;

class B {
public:
    virtual void myfunc(A* p) = 0;
};

struct A_wrapper {
    A* ptr;
};

class PyB : B {
public:
    void myfunc(A* p) override {
        PYBIND11_OVERLOAD_PURE(void, B, myfunc, p)
    }
};

PYBIND11_MODULE(mymodule, m) {
    py::class_<A_wrapper>(m, "A_wrapper");
    py::class_<B, PyB>(m, "B")
            .def("myfunc", [](B &self, A_wrapper a) { self.myfunc(a.ptr); });
}
Is this a regression? Put the last known working version here if it is.

Not a regression

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First steps

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  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with the reproducer in test.cpp, especially the PYBIND11_OVERLOAD_PURE call at line 21, and review how the macro handles the forward-declared A type. Compare this behavior with the documented overload macros and determine whether a supported workaround or library change is possible for pure virtual methods using incomplete parameter types.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp
Domain
backend-api-design
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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