Buggy or strange behaviour matching mutable data with `re`
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- Python
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Description
Bug report
Bug description:
import re
data = bytearray(b'1')
match = re.match(b'1', data)
print(match[0]) # b'1'
data[:] = b'2'
print(match[0]) # b'2'
If you match against mutable data (e.g., a bytearray) and change that data after matching, the matched values reported by the match change.
Is this a) a bug or b) strange behavior that should be pointed out in the docs (or c) none of the above)?
CPython versions tested on:
3.13
Operating systems tested on:
Linux
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start by running the provided Python 3.13 reproducer with a mutable bytearray and inspect the resulting match values after mutation. Read the relevant re behavior and existing coverage to determine whether this is an implementation bug or documented behavior. Done means the behavior has a clear resolution, with matching regression coverage or documentation as appropriate.
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
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 35/100