v7 breaking changes megathread

[fselmo]

Main thread for tracking breaking changes slated for the next major version release of web3.py - v7. This will be an evolving issue much like #1416 was for v6.

Candidates:

Tasks

Preview Give feedback

1. AttributeDict typing and constructor updates #3105
   Pending Clarification v7 +2
2. Validate JSON-RPC response id field more strictly #3095
   Breaking Change v7 +2
3. Exponential backoff factor for HTTP request retries #3210
   2 of 2
   v7 +1
4. Variables in code should follow standard conventions #3085
   v7 +1
5. Remove personal namespace support and tests #2844
   priority: p2 important v7 +2
6. Terminology updates across the library #3119
   v7 +1
7. Use Web3Exception for all exceptions within the library #3241
   +0
8. Update v7 lower pin versions on dependencies that dropped py37 support #3239
   v7 +1
9. Remove deprecated ethpm module #3240
   v7 +1
10. Web3.isAddress doesn't work for non prefixed checksumed values #715
    priority: p3 normal v7 +2
    
11. Call contract function using block hash makes two requests inside #2816
    +0
12. Change wait_for_transaction_receipt timeout type sig from float to Optional[float] #2685
    +0
13. Rename beacon/main.py -> beacon/beacon.py #3108
    v7 +1
14. web3.eth.getTransaction with EthereumTesterProvider return data instead of input #901
    priority: p3 normal v7 +2
15. Type name change: CallOverride* -> StateOverride* #3175
    Breaking Change v7 +2
16. misc(provider): Change User-Agent header signature #2964
    v7 +1
17. Update Geth command usage #3188
    v7 +1
18. Add state_override argument to estimate_gas #3164
    +0
    
19. Drop Python 3.7 #3032
    v7 +1
20. Remove lru-dict dependency #2884
    Breaking Change v7 +2
21. Remove ABI Middleware #2995
    v7 +1
22. Remove reliance on web3 instance for name_to_address_middleware #3021
    Breaking Change v7 +2
23. Improve user experience around provider-specific middlewares #2990
    +0

[kclowes]

Return ipc path even if it doesn't yet exist. See #2911

[pacrob]

Remove the ethPM module, deprecated in #2953

[kclowes]

#2964 - Change provider User-Agent header to be more readable.

[kclowes]

Better UX for provider-specific middlewares. See: #2770

edit: issue created (#2990)

[reedsa]

Remove the miner API, deprecated in #2856.

[pacrob]

Here, then upstream libs:

• Remove python 3.7 support
• Branch name change: master -> main

[pacrob]

AttributeDict updates #3105

[pacrob]

web3 v7 should set hexbytes>=1.0.0.

Bottom pins for our other libs should move up to at least the release that dropped py37 support

[kclowes]

Where possible, have all errors thrown inherit from Web3Exception, or ENSException. See #1864.

[fselmo]

I updated the task list to include all the commented items in this issue. We can try to add items to the task list in the future so we can keep track of what's done and what isn't.

[fselmo]

Return ipc path even if it doesn't yet exist. See #2911

@kclowes was this completed with the merging of #2911 ?

[pacrob]

Return ipc path even if it doesn't yet exist. See #2911

@kclowes was this completed with the merging of #2911 ?

Not done. Just needs the if exists part removed and return the path.

[fselmo]

All issues that were being tracked here are now completed and released as of 7.0.0-beta.5. There may be other changes added into v7 as we update the library to use newer major versions of dependencies but those can be tracked separately before stable gets released.

[MathiasExorde]

Can I see a link explaining the motivation for a major v7 changing lots of things?

[fselmo]

Can I see a link explaining the motivation for a major v7 changing lots of things?

Hey @MathiasExorde. Each issue here should have its own link, though the migration documentation provides a good summary of it all together. Most of the changes were quite small, though technically breaking. Those have to be aggregated and need to wait until the next major version cycle to be addressed. Some of the bigger changes, like the middleware moving to a class-based architecture, helped close out long-standing tickets such as the ability to batch requests which had been an open issue since 2018. Hope that helps.