Better error message when inheriting from a type without a constructor

include/pybind11/detail/class.h

@@ -171,8 +171,14 @@ extern "C" inline PyObject *pybind11_meta_call(PyObject *type, PyObject *args, P
     // Ensure that the base __init__ function(s) were called
     for (const auto &vh : values_and_holders(instance)) {
         if (!vh.holder_constructed()) {
-            PyErr_Format(PyExc_TypeError, "%.200s.__init__() must be called when overriding __init__",
-                         vh.type->type->tp_name);
+            auto message = "%.200s.__init__() must be called when overriding __init__";
+#if !defined(PYPY_VERSION)
+            auto default_init = ((PyHeapTypeObject*)get_internals().instance_base)->ht_type.tp_init;
+            if (vh.type->type->tp_init == default_init) {
+                message = "%.200s has no __init__ and cannot be used as a base class from Python";
+            }
+#endif
+            PyErr_Format(PyExc_TypeError, message, vh.type->type->tp_name);
             Py_DECREF(self);
             return nullptr;
         }
@@ -620,7 +626,7 @@ inline PyObject* make_new_python_type(const type_record &rec) {
         type->tp_bases = bases.release().ptr();
 
     /* Don't inherit base __init__ */
-    type->tp_init = pybind11_object_init;
+    type->tp_init = ((PyHeapTypeObject*)internals.instance_base)->ht_type.tp_init;
 
     /* Supported protocols */
     type->tp_as_number = &heap_type->as_number;

tests/test_class.py

@@ -112,10 +112,12 @@ def __init__(self):
             pass
     with pytest.raises(TypeError) as exc_info:
         Python()
-    expected = ["m.class_.Pet.__init__() must be called when overriding __init__",
-                "Pet.__init__() must be called when overriding __init__"]  # PyPy?
+    if env.PYPY:
+        expected = "Pet.__init__() must be called when overriding __init__"
+    else:
+        expected = "m.class_.Pet.__init__() must be called when overriding __init__"
     # TODO: fix PyPy error message wrt. tp_name/__qualname__?
-    assert msg(exc_info.value) in expected
+    assert msg(exc_info.value) == expected
 
     # Multiple bases
     class RabbitHamster(m.Rabbit, m.Hamster):
@@ -124,9 +126,26 @@ def __init__(self):
 
     with pytest.raises(TypeError) as exc_info:
         RabbitHamster()
-    expected = ["m.class_.Hamster.__init__() must be called when overriding __init__",
-                "Hamster.__init__() must be called when overriding __init__"]  # PyPy
-    assert msg(exc_info.value) in expected
+    if env.PYPY:
+        expected = "Hamster.__init__() must be called when overriding __init__"
+    else:
+        expected = "m.class_.Hamster.__init__() must be called when overriding __init__"
+    assert msg(exc_info.value) == expected
+
+    # Base doesn't have __init__
+    class ChChimera(m.Chimera):
+        def __init__(self):
+            pass
+
+    with pytest.raises(TypeError) as exc_info:
+        ChChimera()
+    if env.PYPY:
+        # can't detect no __init__ in PyPy
+        expected = "Chimera.__init__() must be called when overriding __init__"
+    else:
+        expected = \
+            "m.class_.Chimera has no __init__ and cannot be used as a base class from Python"
+    assert msg(exc_info.value) == expected
 
 
 def test_automatic_upcasting():