python / python/mypy

Specialized methods on generic classes

Open
#14,243 1 comment 1 reaction 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

bug topic-self-types topic-type-variables
Dominant language
Python
Stars
20.6k
Forks
3.3k
PR merge metrics
PR metrics pending

Description

Bug Report

Let's say I have a generic class G.

from __future__ import annotations

from collections.abc import Sized
from typing import Generic, TypeVar

T = TypeVar("T")

class G(Generic[T]):
    pass

I want to have a single method on this class that's only legal for a subset of T.

If I want to limit it to, say, int, it works:

class G(Generic[T]):
    def test(self: G[int]) -> G[int]:
        return self

G[int]().test()  # Works, as it should
G[str]().test()  # Error, as it should

But if I want to limit it to, say, a protocol like Sized, I get a false negative:

S = TypeVar("S", bound=Sized)

class G(Generic[T]):
    def test(self: G[S]) -> G[S]:
        return self


G[int]().test()  # False negative - works, but it shouldn't

This is a pity, since it'd unlock some cool features I was working on vis-a-vis using attrs attributes. Are there any workarounds? Would this be handled by intersection types maybe?

Your Environment

  • Mypy version used: mypy 1.0.0+dev.b8c03ab6809aab56928f3cd865edb44944a600a2
  • Mypy command-line flags:
  • Mypy configuration options from mypy.ini (and other config files):
  • Python version used: Python 3.10.6

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 running the supplied Python reproducer with the reported mypy version and compare the behavior for the int specialization with the Sized-bound specialization. Trace the generic self-type checking path, then add or update a regression test so protocol-bound specialized methods are accepted or rejected according to the intended behavior.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
devtools, 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.