python / python/cpython

__hash__ method in str child class causing unintended side effects

Open
#100,313 8 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

interpreter-core type-bug
Dominant language
Python
Stars
77.2k
Forks
36k
Avg merge
1d 9h
Merged PRs (30d)
558

Description

Bug report

Consider the following example:

class MyStr(str):
    def __init__(self, value, *args, **kwargs):
        super().__init__(*args, **kwargs)
        self.value = value

    def __hash__(self) -> int:
        return hash(str(self))

    def __str__(self) -> str:
        return str(self.value)

def dummy_func(x):
    class MyClass:
        def __init__(self, data):
            self.data = data
        def __str__(self):
            return self.data
    str(MyClass(x))

dummy_func is a function that should have absolutely no side effects.
However, checkout:

a = MyStr("teststring")
a in {}
# False
dummy_func(a)
a in {}
# Traceback (most recent call last):
#   File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
#   File "<stdin>", line 6, in __hash__
#   File "<stdin>", line 6, in __hash__
#   File "<stdin>", line 8, in __str__
#   File "<stdin>", line 8, in __str__
#   File "<stdin>", line 8, in __str__
#   [Previous line repeated 329 more times]
# RecursionError: maximum recursion depth exceeded while calling a Python object
assert id(a.value.data) == id(a)

In this case, dummy_func mutates the input, and creates a weird circular dependency (i.e. id(a.value.data) == id(a)).

The issue can be fixed by removing the __hash__ method of MyStr.

Please confirm the behavior is unintended.

Environment

  • CPython versions tested on: Python 3.10.5
  • Operating system and architecture: CentOS, x86_64

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

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

No source file or test is identified. Start by reproducing the example on CPython 3.10.5 and investigate the interaction between the custom str subclass's hash and str; done would require confirming whether the behavior is unintended and identifying a narrowly scoped regression test or change.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
backend
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
22/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.