pybind / pybind/pybind11

[BUG]: implicitly_convertible with templated constructor

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triage
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Description

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

2.13.1

Problem description

Could we make implicitly_convertible explicitly instantiate templated constructors?

Consider this type erasure pattern (remark the template constructor of A for implicit conversion).

#pragma once

#include <memory>
#include <iostream>

// Concept and Model classes for type erasure
namespace detail {
    struct Concept {
        virtual ~Concept() = default;
        virtual void print() const = 0;
        virtual std::unique_ptr<Concept> clone() const = 0;
    };

    template <typename T>
    struct Model : Concept {
        T data;
        Model(T const& data) : data(data) {}
        void print() const override { data.print(); }
        std::unique_ptr<Concept> clone() const override { return std::make_unique<Model<T>>(*this); }
    };
}

// Type-Erased Class A
class A {
    std::unique_ptr<detail::Concept> pimpl;

public:
    template <typename T>
    A(T const& x) : pimpl(std::make_unique<detail::Model<T>>(x)) {}

    A(A const& other) : pimpl(other.pimpl->clone()) {}
    A& operator=(A const& other) { pimpl = other.pimpl->clone(); return *this; }
    A(A&& other) noexcept = default;
    A& operator=(A&& other) noexcept = default;

    void print() const { pimpl->print(); }
};

// Specialized Class B
class B {
public:
    void print() const {
        std::cout << "I am B" << std::endl;
    }
};

// Specialized Class C
class C {
public:
    void print() const {
        std::cout << "I am C" << std::endl;
    }
};

void print(const A& foo) {
   foo.print();
}

The python binding:

PYBIND11_MODULE(example, m) {
    py::class_<A>(m, "A")
        .def("print", &A::print);

    py::class_<B>(m, "B")
        .def(py::init<>())
        .def("print", &B::print);

    py::class_<C>(m, "C")
        .def(py::init<>())
        .def("print", &C::print);

    py::implicitly_convertible<B, A>();
    py::implicitly_convertible<C, A>();
    
    m.def("print", &print);
}

I would expect the python binding to behave like:

import example

b = example.B()
print_from_b = example.print(b)  # This should print "I am B" due to implicit conversion

c = example.C()
print_from_c = example.print(c)  # This should print "I am C" due to implicit conversion

The error traceback:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
TypeError: printA(): incompatible function arguments. The following argument types are supported:
    1. (arg0: example.A) -> None

Invoked with: <example.B object at 0x75f99e0c3130>
Reproducible example code

No response

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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  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 py::implicitly_convertible<B, A>() and py::implicitly_convertible<C, A>() entry points used in the binding example, then reproduce the failure with the shown A, B, and C types. Done means calls to m.def("print", &print) accept both example.B and example.C and preserve their respective print behavior, with coverage for templated constructors.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp, python
Domain
api
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
45/100

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