python / python/mypy

Mypy doesn't seem to use types from @overload-ed __sub__

Open
#11,613 6 comments 6 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

bug topic-overloads
Dominant language
Python
Stars
20.6k
Forks
3.3k
PR merge metrics
PR metrics pending

Description

Bug Report

The __sub__ method on the Arrow class from the arrow package has several @overloads:

@overload
def __sub__(self, other: Union[timedelta, relativedelta]) -> "Arrow":
    pass  # pragma: no cover

@overload
def __sub__(self, other: Union[dt_datetime, "Arrow"]) -> timedelta:
    pass  # pragma: no cover

def __sub__(self, other: Any) -> Union[timedelta, "Arrow"]:

    if isinstance(other, (timedelta, relativedelta)):
        return self.fromdatetime(self._datetime - other, self._datetime.tzinfo)

    elif isinstance(other, dt_datetime):
        return self._datetime - other

    elif isinstance(other, Arrow):
        return self._datetime - other._datetime

    return NotImplemented

In particular, one Arrow object minus another Arrow object will always yield a timedelta. However, it seems mypy does not see this, and mistakes the type for Arrow.

To Reproduce

I discovered the issue when finding the time diff between two arrow timestamps:

import arrow

a1 = arrow.get()
a2 = arrow.get()

diff = a2 - a1
print(diff.total_seconds())

Which, when run with mypy yields:

$ mypy test.py
test.py:6: error: "int" not callable
Found 1 error in 1 file (checked 1 source file)

Setting the type explicitly reviles that mypy thinks the type is Arrow, and not timedelta:

from datetime import timedelta
import arrow

a1 = arrow.get()
a2 = arrow.get()

diff: timedelta = a2 - a1
print(diff.total_seconds())

Running mypy:

$ mypy test.py
test.py:7: error: Incompatible types in assignment (expression has type "Arrow", variable has type "timedelta")
Found 1 error in 1 file (checked 1 source file)

Expected Behavior

The second @overload on Arrow's __sub__ method specifies that the diff of two Arrow objects is a timedelta. There should be no type error assigning that to a timedelta variable.

Actual Behavior

Mypy mistakenly thinks the diff is Arrow, which creates a false positive.

Your Environment

  • Mypy version used: 0.910
  • Mypy command-line flags: None
  • Mypy configuration options from mypy.ini (and other config files): None
  • Python version used: 3.9.6
  • Operating system and version: Mac OS 11.6 (Big Sur)

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 by reproducing the reported inference error with the Python snippet and the stated mypy 0.910 environment. Read the overload declarations in arrow/arrow.py, then trace mypy's handling of the overloaded sub call; done means Arrow minus Arrow is inferred as timedelta and the shown assignment and total_seconds() calls type-check.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
tooling
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.