Improve Suggestion for empty TupleType syntax error (#9670)

* Improve Suggestion for empty TupleType syntax error

The mypy syntax for a function or method that takes zero parameters
is `() -> …`. Some new mypy users will reason by symmetry that the
syntax for a method that returns nothing is likely `(…) -> ()`.
A user who incorrectly annotates a function with `… -> ()` will be
given the suggestion `Use Tuple[T1, ..., Tn] instead of (T1, ..., Tn)`.
This suggestion is unlikely to help correct the user's misconception
about how to annotate the return type of a method that does not
explicitly return a value.

This PR adds a case to TupleType syntax error handling that returns a
helpful suggestion in the case where the tuple contains zero items.

Note: The error message casing in TupleType has grown large enough
that it likely warrants relocation to `MessageBuilder`, but as there
is not a `MessageBuilder` in accessible from `TypeAnalyzer` I have
decided to add this single error case the easy way. There is a
preexisting comment about the inaccessibility of `MessageBuilder`
in `RypeAnalyzer`'s `cannot_resolve_type method`.

I have added a test to `check-functions.test` that verifies the new
suggestion is printed when `-> ()` is used as a return type
annotation. I have also tested that a valid return type of
`-> Tuple[()]` remains without error.

* Clarify suggestion message

Author: jonshea

mypy/typeanal.py

@@ -537,7 +537,10 @@ def visit_tuple_type(self, t: TupleType) -> Type:
         # generate errors elsewhere, and Tuple[t1, t2, ...] must be used instead.
         if t.implicit and not self.allow_tuple_literal:
             self.fail('Syntax error in type annotation', t, code=codes.SYNTAX)
-            if len(t.items) == 1:
+            if len(t.items) == 0:
+                self.note('Suggestion: Use Tuple[()] instead of () for an empty tuple, or '
+                'None for a function without a return value', t, code=codes.SYNTAX)
+            elif len(t.items) == 1:
                 self.note('Suggestion: Is there a spurious trailing comma?', t, code=codes.SYNTAX)
             else:
                 self.note('Suggestion: Use Tuple[T1, ..., Tn] instead of (T1, ..., Tn)', t,

test-data/unit/check-functions.test

@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ class B(A):
     def f(self, b: str, a: int) -> None: pass # E: Argument 1 of "f" is incompatible with supertype "A"; supertype defines the argument type as "int" \
                                               # N: This violates the Liskov substitution principle \
                                               # N: See https://mypy.readthedocs.io/en/stable/common_issues.html#incompatible-overrides \
-                                              # E: Argument 2 of "f" is incompatible with supertype "A"; supertype defines the argument type as "str" 
+                                              # E: Argument 2 of "f" is incompatible with supertype "A"; supertype defines the argument type as "str"
 
 class C(A):
     def f(self, foo: int, bar: str) -> None: pass
@@ -249,6 +249,16 @@ if int():
 class A: pass
 [builtins fixtures/tuple.pyi]
 
+[case testReturnEmptyTuple]
+from typing import Tuple
+def f(x): # type: (int) -> () # E: Syntax error in type annotation \
+                              # N: Suggestion: Use Tuple[()] instead of () for an empty tuple, or None for a function without a return value
+   pass
+
+def g(x: int) -> Tuple[()]:
+   pass
+[builtins fixtures/tuple.pyi]
+
 [case testFunctionSubtypingWithVoid]
 from typing import Callable
 f = None # type: Callable[[], None]