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Python type hinting without cyclic imports

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How do you avoid a circular reference in Python?

Change Name of working python script: Changing the name of the Working file different from the module which is imported in the script can avoid the Circular Imports problem. Import the module: Avoid importing objects or functions from a module that can cause Circular Imports.

Should I use type hinting in Python?

Type hints work best in modern Pythons. Annotations were introduced in Python 3.0, and it's possible to use type comments in Python 2.7. Still, improvements like variable annotations and postponed evaluation of type hints mean that you'll have a better experience doing type checks using Python 3.6 or even Python 3.7.

What is cyclic import in Python?

A cyclic import is an import which imports another module and that module imports (possibly indirectly) the module which contains the import statement. Cyclic imports indicate that two modules are circularly dependent.


There isn't a hugely elegant way to handle import cycles in general, I'm afraid. Your choices are to either redesign your code to remove the cyclic dependency, or if it isn't feasible, do something like this:

# some_file.py

from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
if TYPE_CHECKING:
    from main import Main

class MyObject(object):
    def func2(self, some_param: 'Main'):
        ...

The TYPE_CHECKING constant is always False at runtime, so the import won't be evaluated, but mypy (and other type-checking tools) will evaluate the contents of that block.

We also need to make the Main type annotation into a string, effectively forward declaring it since the Main symbol isn't available at runtime.

If you are using Python 3.7+, we can at least skip having to provide an explicit string annotation by taking advantage of PEP 563:

# some_file.py

from __future__ import annotations
from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
if TYPE_CHECKING:
    from main import Main

class MyObject(object):
    # Hooray, cleaner annotations!
    def func2(self, some_param: Main):
        ...

The from __future__ import annotations import will make all type hints be strings and skip evaluating them. This can help make our code here mildly more ergonomic.

All that said, using mixins with mypy will likely require a bit more structure then you currently have. Mypy recommends an approach that's basically what deceze is describing -- to create an ABC that both your Main and MyMixin classes inherit. I wouldn't be surprised if you ended up needing to do something similar in order to make Pycharm's checker happy.


For people struggling with cyclic imports when importing class only for Type checking: you will likely want to use a Forward Reference (PEP 484 - Type Hints):

When a type hint contains names that have not been defined yet, that definition may be expressed as a string literal, to be resolved later.

So instead of:

class Tree:
    def __init__(self, left: Tree, right: Tree):
        self.left = left
        self.right = right

you do:

class Tree:
    def __init__(self, left: 'Tree', right: 'Tree'):
        self.left = left
        self.right = right

The bigger issue is that your types aren't sane to begin with. MyMixin makes a hardcoded assumption that it will be mixed into Main, whereas it could be mixed into any number of other classes, in which case it would probably break. If your mixin is hardcoded to be mixed into one specific class, you may as well write the methods directly into that class instead of separating them out.

To properly do this with sane typing, MyMixin should be coded against an interface, or abstract class in Python parlance:

import abc


class MixinDependencyInterface(abc.ABC):
    @abc.abstractmethod
    def foo(self):
        pass


class MyMixin:
    def func2(self: MixinDependencyInterface, xxx):
        self.foo()  # ← mixin only depends on the interface


class Main(MixinDependencyInterface, MyMixin):
    def foo(self):
        print('bar')

Turns out my original attempt was quite close to the solution as well. This is what I'm currently using:

# main.py
import mymixin.py

class Main(object, MyMixin):
    def func1(self, xxx):
        ...
# mymixin.py
if False:
    from main import Main

class MyMixin(object):
    def func2(self: 'Main', xxx):  # <--- note the type hint
        ...

Note the import within if False statement that never gets imported (but IDE knows about it anyway) and using the Main class as string because it's not known at runtime.