# hints

All type hints from the maci library and third-party libraries are accessible through the "hint" module to annotate unique or custom data types. Placing them in one location aims to provide a simple way of finding the desired unique types you need to annotate.

### path name convention

The hint path name convention contains 3-parts and ensures simplicity in locating the data type.\
\
Here is the convention and how to break it down:

*Example data type name:*  maci.hint.DataType

* `maci` is the top-level module name.
* `hint` is a submodule of `maci`, which contains definitions of various data type classes.
* `DataType` is the class name of the specific data type.

### type hint usage

*Example of using the* [*MaciDataObj*](https://docs.macilib.org/docs/maci/object) *type to annotate a variable and function*

```python
# variable
maci_obj: maci.hint.MaciDataObj = maci.build()

# function
def fn(data: maci.hint.MaciDataObj) -> maci.hint.MaciDataObj:
    ...
```

Note: There are other types available in the "hint" module for thin wrapper api functions used like xml, ini, etc,.