chore: Simplify code intended for Python 3.9+

Author: vchudnov-g

.kokoro/test-samples-impl.sh

@@ -33,8 +33,7 @@ export PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
 env | grep KOKORO
 
 # Install nox
-# `virtualenv==20.26.6` is added for Python 3.7 compatibility
-python3.9 -m pip install --upgrade --quiet nox virtualenv==20.26.6
+python3.9 -m pip install --upgrade --quiet nox
 
 # Use secrets acessor service account to get secrets
 if [[ -f "${KOKORO_GFILE_DIR}/secrets_viewer_service_account.json" ]]; then

CONTRIBUTING.rst

@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ In order to add a feature:
   documentation.
 
 - The feature must work fully on the following CPython versions:
-  3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 3.10, 3.11, 3.12, 3.13 and 3.14 on both UNIX and Windows.
+  3.9, 3.10, 3.11, 3.12, 3.13 and 3.14 on both UNIX and Windows.
 
 - The feature must not add unnecessary dependencies (where
   "unnecessary" is of course subjective, but new dependencies should
@@ -197,17 +197,13 @@ Supported Python Versions
 
 We support:
 
--  `Python 3.7`_
--  `Python 3.8`_
 -  `Python 3.9`_
 -  `Python 3.10`_
 -  `Python 3.11`_
 -  `Python 3.12`_
 -  `Python 3.13`_
 -  `Python 3.14`_
 
-.. _Python 3.7: https://docs.python.org/3.7/
-.. _Python 3.8: https://docs.python.org/3.8/
 .. _Python 3.9: https://docs.python.org/3.9/
 .. _Python 3.10: https://docs.python.org/3.10/
 .. _Python 3.11: https://docs.python.org/3.11/

google/api_core/_python_package_support.py

@@ -25,12 +25,7 @@
     _get_distribution_and_import_packages,
 )
 
-if sys.version_info >= (3, 8):
-    from importlib import metadata
-else:
-    # TODO(https://github.com/googleapis/python-api-core/issues/835): Remove
-    # this code path once we drop support for Python 3.7
-    import importlib_metadata as metadata
+from importlib import metadata
 
 ParsedVersion = Tuple[int, ...]
 
@@ -85,8 +80,7 @@ def get_dependency_version(
     """Get the parsed version of an installed package dependency.
 
     This function checks for an installed package and returns its version
-    as a comparable tuple of integers object for safe comparison. It handles
-    both modern (Python 3.8+) and legacy (Python 3.7) environments.
+    as a comparable tuple of integers object for safe comparison.
 
     Args:
         dependency_name: The distribution name of the package (e.g., 'requests').

pyproject.toml

@@ -50,9 +50,6 @@ dependencies = [
   "proto-plus >= 1.25.0, < 2.0.0; python_version >= '3.13'",
   "google-auth >= 2.14.1, < 3.0.0",
   "requests >= 2.18.0, < 3.0.0",
-  # TODO(https://github.com/googleapis/python-api-core/issues/835): Remove
-  # `importlib_metadata` once we drop support for Python 3.7
-  "importlib_metadata>=1.4; python_version<'3.8'",
 ]
 dynamic = ["version"]
 

scripts/readme-gen/templates/install_deps.tmpl.rst

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ Install Dependencies
    .. _Python Development Environment Setup Guide:
        https://cloud.google.com/python/setup
 
-#. Create a virtualenv. Samples are compatible with Python 3.7+.
+#. Create a virtualenv. Samples are compatible with Python 3.9+.
 
     .. code-block:: bash
 

tests/unit/test_python_package_support.py

@@ -31,16 +31,9 @@
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("version_string_to_test", ["1.2.3", "1.2.3b1"])
 def test_get_dependency_version(mocker, version_string_to_test):
     """Test get_dependency_version."""
-    if sys.version_info >= (3, 8):
-        mock_importlib = mocker.patch(
-            "importlib.metadata.version", return_value=version_string_to_test
-        )
-    else:
-        # TODO(https://github.com/googleapis/python-api-core/issues/835): Remove
-        # `importlib_metadata` once we drop support for Python 3.7
-        mock_importlib = mocker.patch(
-            "importlib_metadata.version", return_value=version_string_to_test
-        )
+    mock_importlib = mocker.patch(
+        "importlib.metadata.version", return_value=version_string_to_test
+    )
     expected = DependencyVersion(
         parse_version_to_tuple(version_string_to_test), version_string_to_test
     )