Adopt SPEC 0 policy and drop NEP 29 policy (#3037)

Co-authored-by: Wei Ji <23487320+weiji14@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Yvonne Fröhlich <94163266+yvonnefroehlich@users.noreply.github.com>

.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/release_checklist.md

@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ assignees: ''
 - [ ] Wrap Y ()
 
 **Before release**:
-- [ ] Check [NEP29](https://numpy.org/neps/nep-0029-deprecation_policy.html) to see if we need to bump the minimum Python and NumPy versions
+- [ ] Check [SPEC 0](https://scientific-python.org/specs/spec-0000/) to see if we need to bump the minimum supported versions of Python and core package dependencies (NumPy/Pandas/Xarray)
 - [ ] Run `make codespell` to check common misspellings. If there are any, either fix them or add them to `ignore-words-list` in `pyproject.toml`
 - [ ] Check to ensure that:
   - [ ] All tests pass in the ["GMT Legacy Tests" workflow](https://github.com/GenericMappingTools/pygmt/actions/workflows/ci_tests_legacy.yaml)

.github/workflows/ci_tests.yaml

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 # In draft pull request, only two jobs on Linux are triggered to save on
 # Continuous Integration resources:
 #
-# - Minimum [NEP29](https://numpy.org/neps/nep-0029-deprecation_policy) Python/NumPy versions
+# - Minimum supported Python/NumPy/Pandas/Xarray versions following [SPEC 0](https://scientific-python.org/specs/spec-0000/)
 # - Latest Python/NumPy versions + optional packages (e.g. GeoPandas)
 #
 name: Tests

README.rst

@@ -253,16 +253,15 @@ Other non-official Python wrappers for GMT (not maintained):
 
 .. doc-index-end-before
 
-Minimum Supported GMT/Python/NumPy Versions
--------------------------------------------
+Minimum Supported Versions
+--------------------------
 
-PyGMT has adopted `NEP29 <https://numpy.org/neps/nep-0029-deprecation_policy>`__
-alongside the rest of the Scientific Python ecosystem, and therefore supports:
+PyGMT has adopted `SPEC 0 <https://scientific-python.org/specs/spec-0000/>`__ alongside
+the rest of the Scientific Python ecosystem, and therefore:
 
-* All minor versions of Python released 42 months prior to the project, and at minimum
-  the two latest minor versions.
-* All minor versions of NumPy released in the 24 months prior to the project, and at
-  minimum the last three minor versions.
+* Support for Python versions be dropped 3 years after their initial release.
+* Support for core package dependencies (NumPy/Pandas/Xarray) be dropped 2 years after their initial release.
 
-For the supported GMT versions as well as the minimum required Python and NumPy versions
-please see `Minimum Required Versions <https://www.pygmt.org/dev/minversions.html>`__.
+For the supported GMT versions as well as the minimum required versions of Python and
+core package dependencies, please see
+`Minimum Supported Versions <https://www.pygmt.org/dev/minversions.html>`__.

doc/index.rst

@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@
 
     api/index.rst
     changes.md
-    Minimum Supported Versions <minversions.rst>
+    minversions.rst
 
 .. toctree::
     :maxdepth: 2

doc/maintenance.md

@@ -119,17 +119,15 @@ to change the default behaviour at <https://docs.readthedocs.io/en/stable/config
 
 ## Dependencies Policy
 
-PyGMT has adopted [NEP29](https://numpy.org/neps/nep-0029-deprecation_policy)
-alongside the rest of the Scientific Python ecosystem, and therefore supports:
+PyGMT has adopted [SPEC 0](https://scientific-python.org/specs/spec-0000/) alongside
+the rest of the Scientific Python ecosystem, and therefore:
 
-* All minor versions of Python released 42 months prior to the project,
-  and at minimum the two latest minor versions.
-* All minor versions of NumPy released in the 24 months prior to the project,
-  and at minimum the last three minor versions.
+* Support for Python versions be dropped 3 years after their initial release.
+* Support for core package dependencies (NumPy/Pandas/Xarray) be dropped 2 years after their initial release.
 
-In `pyproject.toml`, the `requires-python` key should be set to the minimum
-supported version of Python. Minimum Python and NumPy version support should be
-adjusted upward on every major and minor release, but never on a patch release.
+In `pyproject.toml`, the `requires-python` key should be set to the minimum supported
+version of Python. Minimum supported versions of Python and core package dependencies
+should be adjusted upward on every major and minor release, but never on a patch release.
 
 
 ## Backwards Compatibility and Deprecation Policy
@@ -221,10 +219,9 @@ publishing the actual release notes at {doc}`changes`.
    GitHub accounts. Sort their names by the number of commits made since the
    last release (e.g., use `git shortlog HEAD...v0.4.0 -sne`).
 8. Update `doc/minversions.rst` with new information on the new release version,
-   including a vX.Y.Z documentation link, and minimum required GMT/Python/NumPy
-   versions. Follow
-   [NEP 29](https://numpy.org/neps/nep-0029-deprecation_policy.html#detailed-description)
-   for updates.
+   including a vX.Y.Z documentation link, and minimum required versions of GMT, Python
+   and core package dependencies (NumPy/Pandas/Xarray). Follow
+   [SPEC 0](https://scientific-python.org/specs/spec-0000/) for updates.
 9. Refresh citation information. Specifically, the BibTeX in `README.rst` and
    `CITATION.cff` needs to be updated with any metadata changes, including the
    DOI, release date, and version information. Please also follow

doc/minversions.rst

@@ -1,13 +1,11 @@
-Minimum Supported GMT/Python/NumPy Versions
--------------------------------------------
+Minimum Supported Versions
+--------------------------
 
-PyGMT has adopted `NEP29 <https://numpy.org/neps/nep-0029-deprecation_policy>`__
-alongside the rest of the Scientific Python ecosystem, and therefore supports:
+PyGMT has adopted `SPEC 0 <https://scientific-python.org/specs/spec-0000/>`__ alongside
+the rest of the Scientific Python ecosystem, and therefore:
 
-* All minor versions of Python released 42 months prior to the project, and at minimum
-  the two latest minor versions.
-* All minor versions of NumPy released in the 24 months prior to the project, and at
-  minimum the last three minor versions.
+* Support for Python versions be dropped 3 years after their initial release.
+* Support for core package dependencies (NumPy/Pandas/Xarray) be dropped 2 years after their initial release.
 
 .. list-table::
     :widths: 25 30 15 20 15