python-attrs / python-attrs/attrs

Can only populate attrs classes with `_CountingAttr` instances

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Description

A user might want to use attributes from an already @defined class to populate a new attrs class. However, _ClassBuilder expects all given attributes to be instances of _CountingAttr instead of Attribute instances, which raises an exception when provided:

import attrs

@attrs.define
class Example:
    a: int

ExampleCopy = attrs.make_class("ExampleCopy", attrs={"a": attrs.fields(Example).a})
# AttributeError: 'Attribute' object has no attribute '_validator'. Did you mean: 'validator'?

@attrs.define(these={"a": attrs.fields(Example).a})
class ExampleCopy:
    pass
# AttributeError: 'Attribute' object has no attribute '_validator'. Did you mean: 'validator'?

I would either expect _ClassBuilder to handle both kinds of attributes, or there be an officially sanctioned function allowing you to convert an Attribute to a _CountingAttr for cases like this. You can write this conversion function manually, something like:

def convert_to_countingattr(attr):
    """
    Convert an `Attribute` instance to an equivalent `_CountingAttr` instance.
    """
    return attrs.field(**{
        slot: getattr(attr, slot) 
        for slot in attr.__slots__ 
        if slot not in {"name", "eq_key", "order_key", "inherited"}
    })

But this feels janky and prone to breakage.

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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 with the _ClassBuilder path used by attrs.make_class and attrs.define, and reproduce the examples with attrs.fields(Example).a. Determine whether existing Attribute instances should be accepted directly or converted through a supported API; done means the reported examples no longer raise the shown AttributeError and the chosen behavior is covered.

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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