SPEC 0 and Python patch releases

Contributor & Development Discussion
1

Hello all,

I maintain a project that follows SPEC 0, and I’m wondering what the community’s opinion on minimum patch release of Python is. SPEC 0 talks about minimum Python minor versions, but is silent on the question of patch releases. Should a project that aims for compliance with SPEC 0 maintain compatibility all the way back to Python 3.12.0, or is the latest update in the 3.12 series what is intended or what other projects usually maintain compatibility with?

My project hits a bug in the stdlib that was fixed in 3.12.5. I have a workaround for earlier 3.12, but wanted to see how others think about patch releases in maintaining SPEC 0 compatibility. Include the workaround? Declare a minimum Python of 3.12.5?

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2

Patch releases sometimes also include security fixes, so I always assumed that only the latest patch version should be used.

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I would also suggest targeting the latest patch release. first and then going to previous versions only if the vulnerability workaround can be patched in the project (or is not affecting the project)

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