Why does a type hint `float` accept `int` while it is not even a subclass?

Question

On the one hand, I have learned that numbers that can be int or float should be type annotated as float (sources: PEP 484 Type Hints and this stackoverflow question):

def add(a: float, b: float):
    return a + b

On the other hand, an int is not an instance of float:

• issubclass(int, float) returns False
• isinstance(42, float) returns False

I would thus have expected Union[int, float] to be the correct annotation for this use case.

Questions:

• What is the reason for that counter-intuitive behaviour? Does type hinting follow different mechanics than class comparisons (for instance in some case a "lossless casting" rule or so)?
• Are int/float a special case in type annotations? Are there other examples like this?
• Is there any linter that would warn me about Union[float, int] if this is an unintended use?

Scholasticate

Answer 1

• Are int/float a special case in type annotations?

float is a special case. int is not. PEP 484 says, in the paragraph below the one referenced by the link in your question:

when an argument is annotated as having type float, an argument of type int is acceptable;

So accepting int where float is annotated is explicitly a special case, independent of the way annotations generally deal with a class hierarchy.

Are there other examples like this?

Yes, there's at least one other special case. In that same paragraph PEP 484 goes on to say:

for an argument annotated as having type complex, arguments of type float or int are acceptable.

• Is there any linter that would warn me about Union[float, int] if this is an unintended use?

Union[float, int] is perfectly fine.

The special treatment of a float annotation is just a convenience (PEP 484 calls it a "shortcut") to allow people to avoid writing out the long-winded Union[float, int] annotation, because arguments that can be a float or an int are very common.

Contribute

Yes pythons type annotations do make pragmatic compromises. Another example is annotating with None when it should be NoneType or something – Curcio

Thanks! So my fallacy lies in the assumption that float should be preferred over Union[int, float]. It is totally fine that I use the more explicit Union[int, float] - right? :) – Scholasticate