Pydicom v2.4

[Darcy Mason]

Hi everyone,

Pydicom 2.4.0 has been released, and is available for pip install.

Important note: We are now beginning the process of working towards v3.0, which will introduce some breaking changes.  I recommend that you run your code with the `future` flag turned on to help avoid problems when v3.0 is eventually released.  It is also a good idea to limit your current code's pydicom version to pydicom<3.

Back to the 2.4 release: see the pydicom release notes for a summary of updates and fixes. For a detailed list of pull requests and contributors, see the github release notes.

Note that the `tests` folder was not bundled with the pydicom package as has been done in the past.  Most packages don't install their internal test suite, but if you happened to use those files for some reason, you will need to clone the repository.

If you have an existing local clone of the pydicom repo, note that the main branch has been renamed, which requires (one-time) a few git commands to synch up properly.

As usual, let us know if you have any problems via the issues list or discussions.

Cheers,

Darcy

[James Kerns]

Is there or will there be a list of the breaking changes ahead of time? Is running w/ this flag in 2.4 enough to cover ourselves for v3 compatibility?

[Darcy Mason]

Hi James,

I expect most of the breaking changes will be covered by the flag, but not all.  As a small volunteer organization with limited release frequency, we often have to make decisions on-the-fly, and we do have to try to get all breaking changes in when we can.  So there may be some we just don't know about yet that wouldn't be covered by the current 'future' flag.

However, there will be a complete list of changes, because we will do at least one release candidate (which is not installed unless using the `--pre` pip flag).  The release notes for that will include the breaking changes.  I would encourage major users to try the rc in an isolated environment when it comes out, and give us feedback.