gh-144702: Use standard terminology in class pattern error message#144703
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sharkdp wants to merge 1 commit intopython:mainfrom
Open
gh-144702: Use standard terminology in class pattern error message#144703sharkdp wants to merge 1 commit intopython:mainfrom
sharkdp wants to merge 1 commit intopython:mainfrom
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When trying to use a class pattern to match on a non-class object, we
currently get the following error message:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/tmp/test.py", line 2, in <module>
case len():
~~~^^
TypeError: called match pattern must be a class
The terminology "called match pattern" here is a bit confusing. It's not
used anywhere else as far as I can tell, and for a beginner, it might
read like something is actually being called here.
The documentation consistently refers to these patterns as "class
patterns":
* https://docs.python.org/3/reference/compound_stmts.html#class-patterns
* https://peps.python.org/pep-0635/#class-patterns
* https://docs.python.org/3/library/ast.html#ast.MatchClass
* https://docs.python.org/3/reference/datamodel.html#customizing-positional-arguments-in-class-pattern-matching
Here, we change this message to "class pattern must refer to a class".
johnslavik
approved these changes
Feb 11, 2026
AlexWaygood
approved these changes
Feb 11, 2026
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When trying to use a class pattern to match on a non-class object, we currently get the following error message:
The terminology "called match pattern" here is a bit confusing. It's not used anywhere else as far as I can tell, and for a beginner, it might read like something is actually being called here.
The documentation consistently refers to these patterns as "class patterns":
Here, we change this message to "class pattern must refer to a class".