I maintain a couple of packages that depend on Numba (LensKit and CSR). A while ago (about Dec. 2019, Numba 0.48), I encountered a problem where a Numba update caused one of my methods to stop typechecking (I believe it was in a jitclass, from the records of the error I can find). My solution was to include a maximum version in my packages’ Numba dependency specifications, and only bump that once the code had passed CI. I’ve only needed minor fixes, and then very few, with these version bumps in the last 2 years.
I’m wondering, and particularly looking for Numba devs’ opinions, whether it might be safe to drop the max version requirement. The downside of keeping it is that I have to push new releases every time there’s a Numba update in order to take advantage of it. I’m also no longer using jitclasses, that code has been rewritten to use a structref. The commitments to stability in the new mission statement are also very encouraging.
What do you think? Are there other mechanisms I should be using to ensure continued compatibility as Numba progresses?