python / python/cpython

Resolution / determining of metaclass docs don't align with what really happens

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Description

Documentation

I'm not 100% sure if this is an issue with the docs or the interpreter. But it's evident that the docs don't match what the interpreter does.

The docs say here:

The appropriate metaclass for a class definition is determined as follows:

  • if no bases and no explicit metaclass are given, then :func:type is used;
  • if an explicit metaclass is given and it is not an instance of
    :func:type, then it is used directly as the metaclass;
  • if an instance of :func:type is given as the explicit metaclass, or
    bases are defined, then the most derived metaclass is used.

The most derived metaclass is selected from the explicitly specified
metaclass (if any) and the metaclasses (i.e. type(cls)) of all specified
base classes. The most derived metaclass is one which is a subtype of all
of these candidate metaclasses. If none of the candidate metaclasses meets
that criterion, then the class definition will fail with TypeError.

So according to that, the metaclass of D in this code

class M1(type): pass
class M2(type): pass
class Mx(M1, M2): pass

class A1(metaclass=M1): pass
class A2(A1): pass

class B1(metaclass=M2): pass

class C1(metaclass=Mx): pass

class D(A2, B1, C1): pass

should be Mx as it's the most derived of all candidates (M1, M2, Mx). But instead the cpython exitis with

    class D(A2, B1, C1): pass
TypeError: metaclass conflict: the metaclass of a derived class must be a (non-strict) subclass of the metaclasses of all its bases

Note that class D(A2, C1, B1): pass works.

Some additional context:

As said above, I'm not even sure what the actually algorithm is that determines the implicit metaclass. From my experimentation, I assume it's:

  • If there's an explicit metaclass, it is checked to be a sub-class of the metaclass of each parent
  • If there's no explicit metaclass, the parents are checked from left to right:
    • When a new metaclass is encountered, it is checked to be a sub-class of the previous implicit metaclass and, if it is, set as the new implicit metaclass.
Linked PRs
  • gh-123349

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

Start with the metaclass section in Doc/reference/datamodel.rst and run the supplied class-definition examples under CPython to compare the documented and observed behavior. Review linked PR gh-123349 and the referenced historical issue for the current investigation. Done means the interpreter behavior and documentation are reconciled with a clear resolution.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
documentation
Issue type
Documentation
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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