This issue is for discussing the scheduling and motivations for deprecating old Python versions.

Deprecating 3.8 (May 1, 2023)

• Drop support for Python 3.8 #685
• Finish type hinting with Queue.
• Use builtin types for hinting (list and dict instead of List and Dict, for example) to reduce the occurrences of from typing import ....

Deprecating 3.9 (Oct. 2025)

• In timer.py, replace time.time() with time.monotonic() so timing is not affected by clock changes (DST, e.g.). This function is available on MacOS starting with version 3.10. Fixed with PR Replace ints and floats with datetime.timedeltas #801
• Use int | str instead of Union[int, str], and int | None instead of Optional[int].
• Use TypeAlias, for example: MOVE = Union[PlayResult, list[Move]] changes to MOVE: TypeAlias = Union[PlayResult, list[Move]].
• Replace long chains of if-elif-else with match statements
• Remove 3.9 specific instructions from installation wiki.

Deprecating 3.10 (Oct. 2026)

• Use NotRequired and Required in TypedDicts.

Deprecating 3.11 (Oct. 2027)

• Use type instead of TypeAlias, to change MOVE: TypeAlias = Union[PlayResult, list[Move]] to type MOVE = Union[PlayResult, list[Move]].
• Change nested f-strings to only use double quotes (see here).

Deprecating 3.12 (Oct. 2028)

• Use ReadOnly in TypedDict
• Possibly support iOS and android.

Deprecating 3.13 (Oct. 2029)

• Remove some (possibly all) from future import annotations statements.