_StrPath is dead; long live _StrPath

CHANGES.rst

@@ -68,10 +68,6 @@ Incompatible changes
 * #12096: Do not overwrite user-supplied files when copying assets
   unless forced with ``force=True``.
   Patch by Adam Turner.
-* #12650: Remove support for string methods on :py:class:`~pathlib.Path` objects.
-  Use :py:func:`os.fspath` to convert :py:class:`~pathlib.Path` objects to strings,
-  or :py:class:`~pathlib.Path`'s methods to work with path objects.
-  Patch by Adam Turner.
 * #12646: Remove :py:func:`!sphinx.util.inspect.isNewType`.
   Patch by Adam Turner.
 * Remove the long-deprecated (since Sphinx 2) alias
@@ -88,6 +84,11 @@ Deprecated
   to ``sphinx.ext.intersphinx.validate_intersphinx_mapping``.
   The old name will be removed in Sphinx 10.
   Patch by Adam Turner.
+* #12650, #12686, #12690: Extend the deprecation for string methods on
+  :py:class:`~pathlib.Path` objects to Sphinx 9.
+  Use :py:func:`os.fspath` to convert :py:class:`~pathlib.Path` objects to strings,
+  or :py:class:`~pathlib.Path`'s methods to work with path objects.
+  Patch by Adam Turner.
 
 Features added
 --------------

doc/conf.py

@@ -179,12 +179,12 @@
     ('js:func', 'number'),
     ('js:func', 'string'),
     ('py:attr', 'srcline'),
+    ('py:class', '_StrPath'),  # sphinx.environment.BuildEnvironment.doc2path
     ('py:class', 'Element'),  # sphinx.domains.Domain
     ('py:class', 'Documenter'),  # sphinx.application.Sphinx.add_autodocumenter
     ('py:class', 'IndexEntry'),  # sphinx.domains.IndexEntry
     ('py:class', 'Node'),  # sphinx.domains.Domain
     ('py:class', 'NullTranslations'),  # gettext.NullTranslations
-    ('py:class', 'Path'),  # sphinx.environment.BuildEnvironment.doc2path
     ('py:class', 'RoleFunction'),  # sphinx.domains.Domain
     ('py:class', 'RSTState'),  # sphinx.utils.parsing.nested_parse_to_nodes
     ('py:class', 'Theme'),  # sphinx.application.TemplateBridge
@@ -213,6 +213,7 @@
     ('py:class', 'sphinx.roles.XRefRole'),
     ('py:class', 'sphinx.search.SearchLanguage'),
     ('py:class', 'sphinx.theming.Theme'),
+    ('py:class', 'sphinx.util._pathlib._StrPath'),  # sphinx.project.Project.doc2path
     ('py:class', 'sphinxcontrib.websupport.errors.DocumentNotFoundError'),
     ('py:class', 'sphinxcontrib.websupport.errors.UserNotAuthorizedError'),
     ('py:exc', 'docutils.nodes.SkipNode'),

sphinx/application.py

@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@
 from collections.abc import Callable, Collection, Sequence  # NoQA: TCH003
 from io import StringIO
 from os import path
-from pathlib import Path
 from typing import IO, TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Literal
 
 from docutils.nodes import TextElement  # NoQA: TCH002
@@ -32,6 +31,7 @@
 from sphinx.project import Project
 from sphinx.registry import SphinxComponentRegistry
 from sphinx.util import docutils, logging
+from sphinx.util._pathlib import _StrPath
 from sphinx.util.build_phase import BuildPhase
 from sphinx.util.console import bold
 from sphinx.util.display import progress_message
@@ -173,9 +173,9 @@ def __init__(self, srcdir: str | os.PathLike[str], confdir: str | os.PathLike[st
         self.registry = SphinxComponentRegistry()
 
         # validate provided directories
-        self.srcdir = Path(srcdir).resolve()
-        self.outdir = Path(outdir).resolve()
-        self.doctreedir = Path(doctreedir).resolve()
+        self.srcdir = _StrPath(srcdir).resolve()
+        self.outdir = _StrPath(outdir).resolve()
+        self.doctreedir = _StrPath(doctreedir).resolve()
 
         if not path.isdir(self.srcdir):
             raise ApplicationError(__('Cannot find source directory (%s)') %
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ def __init__(self, srcdir: str | os.PathLike[str], confdir: str | os.PathLike[st
             self.confdir = self.srcdir
             self.config = Config({}, confoverrides or {})
         else:
-            self.confdir = Path(confdir).resolve()
+            self.confdir = _StrPath(confdir).resolve()
             self.config = Config.read(self.confdir, confoverrides or {}, self.tags)
 
         # set up translation infrastructure

sphinx/builders/linkcheck.py

@@ -28,13 +28,13 @@
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from collections.abc import Callable, Iterator
-    from pathlib import Path
     from typing import Any
 
     from requests import Response
 
     from sphinx.application import Sphinx
     from sphinx.config import Config
+    from sphinx.util._pathlib import _StrPath
     from sphinx.util.typing import ExtensionMetadata
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ def write_linkstat(self, data: dict[str, str | int]) -> None:
         self.json_outfile.write(json.dumps(data))
         self.json_outfile.write('\n')
 
-    def write_entry(self, what: str, docname: str, filename: Path, line: int,
+    def write_entry(self, what: str, docname: str, filename: _StrPath, line: int,
                     uri: str) -> None:
         self.txt_outfile.write(f'{filename}:{line}: [{what}] {uri}\n')
 
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ def _add_uri(self, uri: str, node: nodes.Element) -> None:
 class Hyperlink(NamedTuple):
     uri: str
     docname: str
-    docpath: Path
+    docpath: _StrPath
     lineno: int
 
 

sphinx/environment/__init__.py

@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@
     from sphinx.domains import Domain
     from sphinx.events import EventManager
     from sphinx.project import Project
+    from sphinx.util._pathlib import _StrPath
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -413,7 +414,7 @@ def path2doc(self, filename: str | os.PathLike[str]) -> str | None:
         """
         return self.project.path2doc(filename)
 
-    def doc2path(self, docname: str, base: bool = True) -> Path:
+    def doc2path(self, docname: str, base: bool = True) -> _StrPath:
         """Return the filename for the document name.
 
         If *base* is True, return absolute path under self.srcdir.

sphinx/project.py

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 
 from sphinx.locale import __
 from sphinx.util import logging
+from sphinx.util._pathlib import _StrPath
 from sphinx.util.matching import get_matching_files
 from sphinx.util.osutil import path_stabilize
 
@@ -24,7 +25,7 @@ class Project:
 
     def __init__(self, srcdir: str | os.PathLike[str], source_suffix: Iterable[str]) -> None:
         #: Source directory.
-        self.srcdir = Path(srcdir)
+        self.srcdir = _StrPath(srcdir)
 
         #: source_suffix. Same as :confval:`source_suffix`.
         self.source_suffix = tuple(source_suffix)
@@ -106,7 +107,7 @@ def path2doc(self, filename: str | os.PathLike[str]) -> str | None:
             # the file does not have a docname
             return None
 
-    def doc2path(self, docname: str, absolute: bool) -> Path:
+    def doc2path(self, docname: str, absolute: bool) -> _StrPath:
         """Return the filename for the document name.
 
         If *absolute* is True, return as an absolute path.
@@ -119,5 +120,5 @@ def doc2path(self, docname: str, absolute: bool) -> Path:
             filename = Path(docname + self._first_source_suffix)
 
         if absolute:
-            return self.srcdir / filename
-        return filename
+            return _StrPath(self.srcdir / filename)
+        return _StrPath(filename)

sphinx/util/_pathlib.py

@@ -0,0 +1,132 @@
+"""What follows is awful and will be gone in Sphinx 9.
+
+Instances of _StrPath should not be constructed except in Sphinx itself.
+Consumers of Sphinx APIs should prefer using ``pathlib.Path`` objects
+where possible. _StrPath objects can be treated as equivalent to ``Path``,
+save that ``_StrPath.replace`` is overriden with ``str.replace``.
+
+To continue treating path-like objects as strings, use ``os.fspath``,
+or explicit string coercion.
+
+In Sphinx 9, ``Path`` objects will be expected and returned in all instances
+that ``_StrPath`` is currently used.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import sys
+import warnings
+from pathlib import Path, PosixPath, PurePath, WindowsPath
+from typing import Any
+
+from sphinx.deprecation import RemovedInSphinx90Warning
+
+_STR_METHODS = frozenset(str.__dict__)
+_PATH_NAME = Path().__class__.__name__
+
+_MSG = (
+    'Sphinx 8 will drop support for representing paths as strings. '
+    'Use "pathlib.Path" or "os.fspath" instead.'
+)
+
+# https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#typesseq-common
+# https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#string-methods
+
+if sys.platform == 'win32':
+    class _StrPath(WindowsPath):
+        def replace(  # type: ignore[override]
+            self, old: str, new: str, count: int = -1, /,
+        ) -> str:
+            # replace exists in both Path and str;
+            # in Path it makes filesystem changes, so we use the safer str version
+            warnings.warn(_MSG, RemovedInSphinx90Warning, stacklevel=2)
+            return self.__str__().replace(old, new, count)  # NoQA:  PLC2801
+
+        def __getattr__(self, item: str) -> Any:
+            if item in _STR_METHODS:
+                warnings.warn(_MSG, RemovedInSphinx90Warning, stacklevel=2)
+                return getattr(self.__str__(), item)
+            msg = f'{_PATH_NAME!r} has no attribute {item!r}'
+            raise AttributeError(msg)
+
+        def __add__(self, other: str) -> str:
+            warnings.warn(_MSG, RemovedInSphinx90Warning, stacklevel=2)
+            return self.__str__() + other
+
+        def __bool__(self) -> bool:
+            if not self.__str__():
+                warnings.warn(_MSG, RemovedInSphinx90Warning, stacklevel=2)
+                return False
+            return True
+
+        def __contains__(self, item: str) -> bool:
+            warnings.warn(_MSG, RemovedInSphinx90Warning, stacklevel=2)
+            return item in self.__str__()
+
+        def __eq__(self, other: object) -> bool:
+            if isinstance(other, PurePath):
+                return super().__eq__(other)
+            if isinstance(other, str):
+                warnings.warn(_MSG, RemovedInSphinx90Warning, stacklevel=2)
+                return self.__str__() == other
+            return NotImplemented
+
+        def __hash__(self) -> int:
+            return super().__hash__()
+
+        def __getitem__(self, item: int | slice) -> str:
+            warnings.warn(_MSG, RemovedInSphinx90Warning, stacklevel=2)
+            return self.__str__()[item]
+
+        def __len__(self) -> int:
+            warnings.warn(_MSG, RemovedInSphinx90Warning, stacklevel=2)
+            return len(self.__str__())
+else:
+    class _StrPath(PosixPath):
+        def replace(  # type: ignore[override]
+            self, old: str, new: str, count: int = -1, /,
+        ) -> str:
+            # replace exists in both Path and str;
+            # in Path it makes filesystem changes, so we use the safer str version
+            warnings.warn(_MSG, RemovedInSphinx90Warning, stacklevel=2)
+            return self.__str__().replace(old, new, count)  # NoQA:  PLC2801
+
+        def __getattr__(self, item: str) -> Any:
+            if item in _STR_METHODS:
+                warnings.warn(_MSG, RemovedInSphinx90Warning, stacklevel=2)
+                return getattr(self.__str__(), item)
+            msg = f'{_PATH_NAME!r} has no attribute {item!r}'
+            raise AttributeError(msg)
+
+        def __add__(self, other: str) -> str:
+            warnings.warn(_MSG, RemovedInSphinx90Warning, stacklevel=2)
+            return self.__str__() + other
+
+        def __bool__(self) -> bool:
+            if not self.__str__():
+                warnings.warn(_MSG, RemovedInSphinx90Warning, stacklevel=2)
+                return False
+            return True
+
+        def __contains__(self, item: str) -> bool:
+            warnings.warn(_MSG, RemovedInSphinx90Warning, stacklevel=2)
+            return item in self.__str__()
+
+        def __eq__(self, other: object) -> bool:
+            if isinstance(other, PurePath):
+                return super().__eq__(other)
+            if isinstance(other, str):
+                warnings.warn(_MSG, RemovedInSphinx90Warning, stacklevel=2)
+                return self.__str__() == other
+            return NotImplemented
+
+        def __hash__(self) -> int:
+            return super().__hash__()
+
+        def __getitem__(self, item: int | slice) -> str:
+            warnings.warn(_MSG, RemovedInSphinx90Warning, stacklevel=2)
+            return self.__str__()[item]
+
+        def __len__(self) -> int:
+            warnings.warn(_MSG, RemovedInSphinx90Warning, stacklevel=2)
+            return len(self.__str__())

tests/test_builders/test_build_html.py

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 import pytest
 
 from sphinx.builders.html import validate_html_extra_path, validate_html_static_path
+from sphinx.deprecation import RemovedInSphinx90Warning
 from sphinx.errors import ConfigError
 from sphinx.util.console import strip_colors
 from sphinx.util.inventory import InventoryFile
@@ -329,7 +330,8 @@ def test_validate_html_extra_path(app):
         app.outdir,                 # outdir
         app.outdir / '_static',     # inside outdir
     ]
-    validate_html_extra_path(app, app.config)
+    with pytest.warns(RemovedInSphinx90Warning, match='Use "pathlib.Path" or "os.fspath" instead'):
+        validate_html_extra_path(app, app.config)
     assert app.config.html_extra_path == ['_static']
 
 
@@ -342,7 +344,8 @@ def test_validate_html_static_path(app):
         app.outdir,                 # outdir
         app.outdir / '_static',     # inside outdir
     ]
-    validate_html_static_path(app, app.config)
+    with pytest.warns(RemovedInSphinx90Warning, match='Use "pathlib.Path" or "os.fspath" instead'):
+        validate_html_static_path(app, app.config)
     assert app.config.html_static_path == ['_static']
 
 

tests/test_builders/test_build_linkcheck.py

@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@
 import wsgiref.handlers
 from base64 import b64encode
 from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler
-from pathlib import Path
 from queue import Queue
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
 from unittest import mock
@@ -29,6 +28,7 @@
     compile_linkcheck_allowed_redirects,
 )
 from sphinx.util import requests
+from sphinx.util._pathlib import _StrPath
 from sphinx.util.console import strip_colors
 
 from tests.utils import CERT_FILE, serve_application
@@ -1061,7 +1061,7 @@ def test_connection_contention(get_adapter, app, capsys):
         wqueue: Queue[CheckRequest] = Queue()
         rqueue: Queue[CheckResult] = Queue()
         for _ in range(link_count):
-            wqueue.put(CheckRequest(0, Hyperlink(f"http://{address}", "test", Path("test.rst"), 1)))
+            wqueue.put(CheckRequest(0, Hyperlink(f"http://{address}", "test", _StrPath("test.rst"), 1)))
 
         begin = time.time()
         checked: list[CheckResult] = []