python / python/mypy

private (name mangled) attributes within inherited classes can not have different types

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bug topic-runtime-semantics
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Python
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Description

Bug Report

mypy does not recognise that a dunder class attribute does not clash with the inherited one

To Reproduce

Consider the following example:

class BaseSpecialValue:

    def __init__(self, special_value:int):
        self.__special_value = special_value

    @property
    def base_special_value(self) -> int:
        return self.__special_value

class SpecialValue(BaseSpecialValue):

    def __init__(self, base_special_value:int, special_value:str):
        super().__init__(special_value=base_special_value)
        self.__special_value = special_value

    @property
    def special_value(self) -> str:
        return self.__special_value

if __name__ == '__main__':

    foo = SpecialValue(special_value='one', base_special_value=1)
    print(f'special_value={foo.special_value}, base_special_value={foo.base_special_value}')

In this case both SpecialValue and BaseSpecialValue define __special_value, when run it is clear that python treats them separately as the result is:

special_value=one, base_special_value=1

Expected Behavior

No mypy error reported

Actual Behavior

However, when mypy is run the following result is returned by mypy:

mypy --config-file=default_mypy.ini mypy_dunder_test.py   
mypy_dunder_test.py:15: error: Incompatible types in assignment (expression has type "str", variable has type "int")  [assignment]
mypy_dunder_test.py:19: error: Incompatible return value type (got "int", expected "str")  [return-value]
Found 2 errors in 1 file (checked 1 source file)

Your Environment

  • Mypy version used: 1.17.1
  • Mypy command-line flags: None
  • Mypy configuration options from mypy.ini (and other config files): See below
  • Python version used: 3.12.0

default configuration used

# Global options:

[mypy]
warn_return_any = True
warn_unused_configs = True

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 provided inheritance example with mypy 1.17.1 and confirming the two reported errors. Trace how mypy handles double-underscore attribute names across inherited classes, then verify that the example produces no errors while preserving the distinct inferred types and property return types.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
devtools
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
45/100

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