python / python/mypy

Support adding class variables to class through assignment

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#8,723 5 comments 19 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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feature priority-2-low
Dominant language
Python
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Description

Mypy supports adding items to self during test setUp, which is great. However in many cases it's useful to be able to add items to the class during setUpClass (or Django's setUpTestData).

import unittest

class Tests(unittest.TestCase):
    @classmethod
    def setUpClass(cls) -> None:
        cls.foo = 42  # "Type[Tests]" has no attribute "foo"

    def test_foo(self) -> None:
        print(self.foo)  # "Tests" has no attribute "foo"

Adding a ClassVar allows for a workaround to this, however it would be nice if that wasn't needed.

Contributor guide

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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 tracing how mypy handles assignments to self in setUp and class-variable declarations, then inspect tests covering ClassVar and unittest setup hooks. Define expected diagnostics for cls.foo and self.foo in setUpClass or setUpTestData, and add focused regression tests showing that the supported assignments no longer produce attribute errors.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
devtools
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
30/100

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