From b8e06ac1a3708bb326d20dcdde1879742dc03048 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: David Langerman <dev.onyxzerosoftware@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 2026 13:15:39 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] fix bug where operators could be in expressions

---
 dltype/_lib/_parser.py      | 11 ++++++++---
 dltype/tests/parser_test.py |  5 +++++
 pyproject.toml              |  2 +-
 uv.lock                     |  2 +-
 4 files changed, 15 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)

diff --git a/dltype/_lib/_parser.py b/dltype/_lib/_parser.py
index 94f01e9..5f50682 100644
--- a/dltype/_lib/_parser.py
+++ b/dltype/_lib/_parser.py
@@ -461,9 +461,14 @@ def _tokenize_string_expr(  # noqa: C901, PLR0912
         assert isinstance(character, str)
         for op in _DLTypeOperator:
             if tuple(expression[idx : idx + len(op.value)]) == tuple(op.value):
-                second_pass_return_list[idx - offset] = op
-                offset += len(op.value) - 1
-                found_operator = True
+                # we might have an operator, but if the operator is functional we need to check for a ( next
+                if (
+                    op not in _functional_operators
+                    or expression[idx + len(op.value)] == _DLTypeGroupToken.LPAREN.value
+                ):
+                    second_pass_return_list[idx - offset] = op
+                    offset += len(op.value) - 1
+                    found_operator = True
                 break
         if not found_operator:
             for spec in _DLTypeSpecifier:
diff --git a/dltype/tests/parser_test.py b/dltype/tests/parser_test.py
index 943a6e1..bdc23f5 100644
--- a/dltype/tests/parser_test.py
+++ b/dltype/tests/parser_test.py
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@
         ("max(3^x,min(3-y,99))", {"x": 2, "y": 4}, 9),
         ("min(3^x,3-y)", {"x": 2, "y": 4}, -1),
         ("variable_name_with_underscores", {"variable_name_with_underscores": 1}, 1),
+        ("max_variable_starts_with_operator", {"max_variable_starts_with_operator": 1}, 1),
         ("isqrt(5)", {}, 2),
         ("isqrt(16)", {}, 4),
         ("isqrt(x-y)", {"x": 20, "y": 5}, 3),
@@ -93,6 +94,10 @@ def test_parse_expression(
         ("min()", {}),
         ("a=b=2", {}),
         ("isqrt(*)", {}),
+        ("+_variable_name", {}),
+        ("max(", {}),
+        ("a_max(", {}),
+        ("a_max()", {}),
         ("dim+", {}),
         ("dim%", {}),
         ("dim?", {}),
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 83d57bc..0e3b2be 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ license-files = ["LICENSE"]
 name = "dltype"
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.10"
-version = "0.16.0"
+version = "0.17.0"
 
 [project.optional-dependencies]
 jax = ["jax>=0.6.2"]
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index c53e892..81ec382 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -211,7 +211,7 @@ nvtx = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "dltype"
-version = "0.16.0"
+version = "0.17.0"
 source = { virtual = "." }
 dependencies = [
     { name = "pydantic" },