build(deps): updated min Python to 3.9, getting rid of typed_ast - #410

Codecov Report

All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests ✅

Project coverage is 83.11%. Comparing base (f5a9e86) to head (8fba265).

@@             Coverage Diff             @@
##           master     #410       +/-   ##
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+ Coverage   60.52%   83.11%   +22.59%     
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  Files          11       11               
  Lines        1074     1078        +4     
===========================================
+ Hits          650      896      +246     
+ Misses        424      182      -242     

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@TimeToBuildBob Address this (but bump Python to 3.12) and update all the other relevant dependencies as well in a new PR. If any updates pose significant problems, delay them for follow-ups.

Opened #473 with Python 3.12 (not 3.9) as requested.

Changes included:

• Python floor: ^3.7.2 → ^3.12
• Removed typing-extensions (Concatenate/ParamSpec are stdlib since 3.10)
• Removed black and flake8 — superseded by ruff (already in pre-commit)
• Bumped pytest ^6 → ^8, Sphinx * → ^9 (9.x now requires Python 3.12)
• Unpinned pydata-sphinx-theme from 0.13.1 (the sphinx-book-theme#711 issue is long resolved)
• Updated CI to Python 3.12, updated build backend to poetry.core.masonry.api
• Lock file regenerated

Deferred: web3 7.x upgrade — it's an async-first rewrite with breaking API changes, better handled in a separate PR after auditing the call sites.