python / python/cpython

Cannot define Enum class with a mixin class derived from ABC

Open
#119,946 15 comments 1 reaction 1 assignee View on GitHub

@ethanfurman is already working on this.

Since Jun 2, 2024.

stdlib type-bug
Dominant language
Python
Stars
77.2k
Forks
35.9k
PR merge metrics
PR metrics pending

Description

Bug report

Bug description:
from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
from enum import Enum

class HasColor(ABC):
    @abstractmethod
    def color(self):
        ...

class Flowers(HasColor, Enum):
    ROSES = 1
    VIOLETS = 2
    def color(self):
        match self:
            case self.ROSES:
                return 'red'
            case self.VIOLETS:
                return 'blue'

This results in:

TypeError: metaclass conflict: the metaclass of a derived class must be a (non-strict) subclass of the metaclasses of all its bases

There is a work-around by metaclass hacking. But these two basic Python features are expected to Just Work together in a simple, intuitive, and pythonic way.

The fix should be very simple - make EnumType a subclass of ABCMeta. But it's slightly more complicated than that, so that the _simple_enum decorator and _test_simple_enum continue to work as expected. See the provided patch.

CPython versions tested on:

3.12, 3.13

Operating systems tested on:

macOS

Linked PRs
  • gh-119947
  • gh-149830

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.

Assessment

This issue has not been assessed yet.

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.