python / python/typeshed

Missing reflected dunder methods from AbstractSet

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Description

Problem

Reflected operations (__rand__, __ror__, __rsub__, __rxor__) are missing from AbstractSet and its subclasses.

These are noted as explicit exclusions from tests: https://github.com/python/typeshed/blob/9f8f621918e4a187c49d68290a89f5f3dbe0cba9/stdlib/%40tests/stubtest_allowlists/common.txt#L50-L54

Example of consequences

@samueljsb and I have defined a protocol (in another project) for an object which has an __rsub__ method, and discovered that set, despite implementing this method, does not adhere to the protocol.

A simplified illustration of this issue is:

from typing import Any, Protocol

class Subtractable(Protocol):
    def __rsub__(self, other: Any) -> Any: ...

_: Subtractable = set()
$ mypy t.py
t.py:6: error: Incompatible types in assignment (expression has type "set[Never]", variable has type "Subtractable")  [assignment]
Found 1 error in 1 file (checked 1 source file)

Demonstrated with:

  • mypy 1.19.1 (compiled: yes)
  • Python 3.14.2 (main, Dec 5 2025, 16:49:16) [Clang 17.0.0 (clang-1700.4.4.1)]

Investigation

The exclusions reference https://github.com/python/typeshed/issues/7414, which was an attempt to add type hints for them. It was closed without merging because it encountered errors. We believe it encountered errors because the type signatures were wrong. Specifically, it didn't account for the return types of the operations matching the inputs.

For example, instead of:

def __rsub__(self, s: AbstractSet[_T]) -> AbstractSet[_T]: ...

We believe the signature needs to be (in the new syntax):

def __rsub__[T_Set: AbstractSet](self, other: T_Set) -> T_Set: ...

The above can be applied to __rsub__ and __rand__, because those methods return a subset of the input, and therefore will not change its type.

__ror__ and __rxor__ are more complicated because they return a type which is a superset of both inputs. We haven't yet looked into how to solve those.

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 exclusions in stdlib/@tests/stubtest_allowlists/common.txt and compare the AbstractSet implementation in CPython's Lib/_collections_abc.py. Trace the AbstractSet stubs and subclasses, determine compatible signatures for all four reflected methods, then confirm the exclusions can be removed while the relevant stub tests pass.

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
38/100

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