Build failing due to problem with actions/setup-python & Python 3.7

[tomviner]

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Description

The py_build_test (ubuntu-latest, 3.7) job has failed the last couple of times it ran. E.g. https://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation/OpenTimelineIO/actions/runs/11280378915/job/31373224050

The error message has been reported on the setup-python actions repo, by another project having the same error:
actions/setup-python#962

I can't see a recent change to Python 3.7 in the actions repo, so I'm not sure the cause. So hopefully, we can just await a fix and re-run the actions.

[jminor]

The error message says:

Run actions/[email protected]
Version 3.7 was not found in the local cache
Error: Version 3.7 with arch x64 not found
The list of all available versions can be found here: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/actions/python-versions/main/versions-manifest.json

but that list does include 3.7 x64 for Linux.

Maybe that list changed since the failure? I pressed the "Re-run jobs" button to see if it works now.

[jminor]

Run-running the jobs succeeded - yay!

However, from reading this actions/setup-python#962 (thanks for the link @tomviner ) it seems that we will likely encounter this again as ubuntu-latest moves forward, and older versions of Python drop off. We can either set our runners to use older Ubuntu releases, or drop support for older Python releases (or run those separately). This overlaps with OTIO/ASWF policy for which VFX Platform versions to support: https://vfxplatform.com

@reinecke or @meshula can you remind me of how many years of VFX Platform we're supposed to support?

[meshula]

current year plus 3 reflects our current consensus. Python 3.7 has dropped off the support list by that measure. Note that 3.7 is incompatible with some platforms we support (eg, apple silicon support is in 3.9.1+).

[jminor]

The badge on our README shows 2020-2023, so we should update that. Is "current" the calendar year (2024) or the latest VFX (2025)? That difference puts VFX 2021 w/ Python 3.7 in or out of bounds.

[jminor]

Oh, never mind. I see that VFX 2025 is only in draft, so we should support 2024-2021.

[jminor]

Okay, I filed this: #1804 to track the change we need to do. Since the build is working now, I'll close this issue. Thanks for flagging this @tomviner