<@ULVA73B9P> Can I use the `overload` decorator in...
# ask-marvin
d
@Marvin Can I use the
overload
decorator in combination with the
task
or
flow
decorators on a single function? As an example, is the following allowed?
Copy code
@overload
@task()
def foo(x: int) -> None: ...

@overload
@task()
def foo(x: str) -> None: ...

@overload
def foo(x: int | str) -> None: ...
m
Yes, you can use the
overload
decorator in combination with Prefect's
task
or
flow
decorators. The
overload
decorator is typically used to define multiple function signatures for a single function, which can be helpful in situations where you want to provide type hints for different usage patterns. For instance, the
FlowDecorator
and
TaskRunner
classes in Prefect's codebase utilize the
overload
decorator to define multiple signatures for their methods. This allows you to define various configurations or parameter types for your tasks and flows. Here's a link to the relevant Prefect code for further exploration: FlowDecorator. In summary, you can use the
overload
decorator with Prefect decorators, and it can be particularly useful if you're working with different parameter types or configurations in your flows and tasks.
Using the
overload
decorator in combination with the
task
or
flow
decorators on a single function, as shown in your example, is not directly supported by Python's type system or Prefect. The
overload
decorator is intended for use with function stubs in type hinting, and it doesn't work as expected when combined with actual function implementations. Here's why it won't work as intended: 1.
overload
Usage
: The
overload
decorator is used in type hinting to define multiple signatures for a function without providing an implementation. Only one function with the actual implementation should exist, and it should not be decorated with
overload
. 2. Prefect Decorators: Prefect's
task
and
flow
decorators are meant to wrap actual function implementations to facilitate task and flow creation. They expect a concrete function to decorate, not a type hint. If you want to handle different input types in a Prefect task, consider using a single implementation with type checking within the function body, rather than using
overload
. Here's an example:
Copy code
python
from prefect import task

@task
def foo(x):
    if isinstance(x, int):
        # Handle int case
        pass
    elif isinstance(x, str):
        # Handle str case
        pass
For more details on the
task
decorator, you can refer to the Prefect documentation: Prefect Task Decorator.