[MAINT] Fixing Unit Tests for Python 3.11 and 3.12 support

[kmilo9999]

For now we decided to test the 2 latest versions and oldest supported version of python on mac, Linux, and windows for all PRs. A full-matrix test of all supported python versions performed at a longer frequency is still being considered.

This PR is aimed to fix incompatibilities found in the tests against python 3.11 and 3.12

[kmilo9999]

@gtdang @ntolley @jasmainak @dylansdaniels
I found two problems that are making the tests fail in python 3.11+:

1. hnn_core/tests/test_drives.py

The code is looking to raise a ValueError exception and match the error message against a specific string:

with pytest.raises(ValueError,
                           match=r'Burst duration (?s).* cannot be greater than'):

It seems that the regex rules changed in python 3.11+. It is enforced that global flags like (?s) need to be placed at the begging of the pattern. Moving the flag to the indicated position fixes the test case.

2. hnn_core/tests/test_extracellular.py

Similar to the fist point, The code is looking to raise an AttributeError exception and match the error message against a specific string:

with pytest.raises(AttributeError, match="can't set attribute"):
        rec_arr.times = [1, 2, 3]

In this case, pythom 3.11+ changed the message of the AttributeError exception to "property X of object Y has no setter", thus the test fails matching the two strings. I couldnt find this change in the python changelog, but I found the PR that applied it.

Looking forwards for your comments.

[jasmainak]

I'm not a regular expression expert but I trust your judgement. Can you run the CIs so I can see that they get fixed?

[kmilo9999]

I'm not a regular expression expert but I trust your judgement. Can you run the CIs so I can see that they get fixed?

Do you mean the CI in the master branch? or in this PR?

[kmilo9999]

@ntolley @gtdang It seems the unit tests are working now for python 3.11 and 3.12

[gtdang]

Have one minor suggestion but otherwise approve.

[ntolley]

Suggested change

	python-version: [3.8, 3.9, '3.10', 3.11, 3.12]
	python-version: [3.8, 3.11, 3.12]

Really great work getting this working @kmilo9999!

As per our discussion, I think these will be the versions we stick with for now. Definitely will be keeping in mind the idea of having a separate branch for testing the full matrix in the future

[gtdang]

Ah nice catch. I was discussing with a colleague that one possibility is to have a separate full-matrix workflow that tests the main branch as a cron job. You can set up a workflow to run on a monthly or 2-week basis or something.

[kmilo9999]

Should I remove 3.9 and 3.10 from the windows workflow too?

[gtdang]

Yes

[kmilo9999]

Done

[gtdang]

Looks great!

[jasmainak]

could you document the reason for this change on github so future developers know why it was done?

[gtdang]

Should we document it at the top of this PR?

[jasmainak]

doesn't matter as long as it's somewhere on github! If a decision was made during a private meeting, it's generally good practice to document the reasoning on github

[gtdang]

@ntolley
The branch protections need to be updated for the versions we are testing. It's still looking for 3.9, which is no longer in the matrix. 3.11 and 3.12 should be added.

[ntolley]

All set! Thanks @kmilo9999 we're all breathing much easier with the return of the green checkmarks 😄

[dylansdaniels]

✅ 🥳 ✅ 🥳 ✅