python / python/mypy

Protocol invariance not tracked if subclassed

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Description

Bug Report

Taking the Protocol with @property example from the docs: https://mypy.readthedocs.io/en/stable/protocols.html#invariance-of-protocol-attributes
The example shows that attributes must be read-only for subclass covariance to be inferred. This makes sense.

However, if a child class explicitly subclasses the Protocol then mypy doesn't report the error. This results in unsound code. This seems like a bug in typechecker behavior (and also docs which are confusing.)

To Reproduce

class Box(Protocol):
    content: object

def takes_box(box: Box) -> None:
    box.content = object()

@dataclasses.dataclass(slots=False)
class BadBox(Box):  # XXX: inheritence wrongly hides the error
    content: int

takes_box(BadBox(42))  # XXX should fail but doesn't!!

Full example here: https://mypy-play.net/?mypy=latest&python=3.11&gist=4d7e99ee4f933393234041a219e3f952

Expected Behavior

mypy to report that BadBox.content doesn't match Box, either in the declaration of content: int or in the function call to takes_box.

Actual Behavior

Mypy reports no errors, but at runtime, BadBox.content is no longer an int.

Notes

  1. if Box.content: str, then a liskov error is reported for BadBox.content: int, but in the above example, because int is a subclass of object no error seems to be reported.

  2. Perhaps ReadOnly will help here? https://peps.python.org/pep-0767/ I tried using Final but it's not allowed in Protocols unfortunately.

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 Protocol invariance reproducer in the issue and compare the explicit-subclass case with the documented @property example, using the linked mypy-play example to verify behavior. The work is done when mypy reports the incompatible mutable attribute or rejects the call to takes_box, with coverage for the object-to-int case.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
compilers
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
42/100

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