DefaultDict accessor fails when the default is not the value type

[tpapp]

MWE:

pkg> st DataStructures
  [864edb3b] DataStructures v0.18.18

julia> using DataStructures

julia> dd = DefaultDict(1, :a => (2,))
DefaultDict{Symbol, Tuple{Int64}, Int64} with 1 entry:
  :a => (2,)

julia> dd[:b]
ERROR: MethodError: Cannot `convert` an object of type Int64 to an object of type Tuple{Int64}

Closest candidates are:
  convert(::Type{T}, ::T) where T<:Tuple
   @ Base essentials.jl:451
  convert(::Type{T}, ::T) where T
   @ Base Base.jl:84
  convert(::Type{T}, ::CartesianIndex) where T<:Tuple
   @ Base multidimensional.jl:136
  ...

Stacktrace:
 [1] get!
   @ Base ./dict.jl:481 [inlined]
 [2] get!
   @ Base ./abstractdict.jl:552 [inlined]
 [3] getindex
   @ DataStructures ~/.julia/packages/DataStructures/jFDPC/src/default_dict.jl:63 [inlined]
 [4] getindex(a::DefaultDict{Symbol, Tuple{Int64}, Int64}, args::Symbol)
   @ DataStructures ~/.julia/packages/DataStructures/jFDPC/src/delegate.jl:21
 [5] top-level scope
   @ REPL[111]:1

[tpapp]

FWIW, I don't understand why it calls get!, and not get.

[oxinabox]

FWIW, I don't understand why it calls get!, and not get.

By calling get! and not get it means one can do things like:

dict_of_lists = DefaultDict(Vector)
for (key, item) in (:a=>1, :b=>1, :a=>10)
    push!(dict_of_lists[key], item)
end

Which is very useful -- in my experience this kinda pattern of a collection of collections is the most common use for a DefaultDict

---

I don't undestand there being heavy demand for if the default isn't the same type. It would mean getindex is type unstable, which is problematic both from a code speed POV, but also from like working out what operations are legal on it.

[tpapp]

What I missed is that whenever access falls back to the default, it is stored in the parent dict, as in

julia> using DataStructures

julia> dd = DefaultDict(1, :a => 2)
DefaultDict{Symbol, Int64, Int64} with 1 entry:
  :a => 2

julia> dd[:b]
1

julia> dd
DefaultDict{Symbol, Int64, Int64} with 2 entries:
  :a => 2
  :b => 1

I find this design somewhat surprising, as it just replicates get!.

From the docs it was my expectation that getindex just falls back to the default without changing the parent.

[oxinabox]

Yes, it replicates get! but with the ability to specify what to do at declaration time, rather than at access time. I personally use get! on a regular Dict far more often than wanting to use a different type. The alternative would be to replicate get, but as shown in my example above this cuts out a key use case. We should improve its documentation