smmaurer · Sep 16, 2026 · Sep 16, 2026 · Sep 16, 2026
diff --git a/HISTORY.rst b/HISTORY.rst
@@ -1,24 +1,41 @@
-Next release
-============
+v1.9rc1
+=======
 
-* Require Python 3.10 or newer.
-* Support pandas 2 and 3, NumPy 2, and current PyTables, with minimum
-  versions of pandas 1.5, NumPy 1.21, PyTables 3.8, and PyToolz 0.12.
-* Behavior change under pandas 3: with ``copy_col=False``, pandas's
+2026/09/16
+
+Release candidate for v1.9, the first release since v1.8 in October 2022.
+It restores compatibility with current versions of Python, Pandas, and
+NumPy, modernizes the packaging and continuous integration, and fixes two
+long-standing issues.
+
+* Requires Python 3.10 or later, and is tested on Python 3.10 through 3.14
+  with NumPy 1.21 through 2.x, Pandas 1.5 through 3.x, PyTables 3.8+, and
+  PyToolz 0.12+. Drops support for Python 2 and for Python 3.9 and earlier
+  (#62).
+* Behavior change under Pandas 3: with ``copy_col=False``, Pandas's
   mandatory copy-on-write means that modifying a column returned from a
   table no longer writes through to the table's underlying DataFrame.
-  Use ``update_col`` or ``update_col_from_series`` to change table values.
-* Modernize Python packaging and continuous integration: tests run on
-  Linux, macOS, and Windows, and every pull request also builds and
-  installs the package and builds the documentation.
-* Automate publishing to PyPI from GitHub releases using Trusted
-  Publishing, and document the contribution and release process.
-* ``to_frame(columns)`` now returns columns in the order requested,
-  whether they are local or registered columns (previously the order
-  of registered columns varied from call to call), and
-  ``merge_tables(columns=...)`` resolves columns in the order given.
+  Use ``update_col`` or ``update_col_from_series`` to change table values
+  (#62).
+* ``to_frame(columns)`` returns columns in the order requested, whether
+  they are local or registered columns; since v1.4 the order of registered
+  columns had varied from call to call. ``merge_tables(columns=...)``
+  likewise resolves columns in the order given (#57, #68).
 * ``broadcast`` accepts lists of column names for ``cast_on`` and
-  ``onto_on``, for merges on multiple columns, as ``pandas.merge`` does.
+  ``onto_on``, for merges on multiple columns, as ``pandas.merge`` does
+  (#37, #68).
+* Moves package metadata to ``pyproject.toml`` and removes ``setup.py``
+  (#62).
+* Replaces the 2022 GitHub Actions workflows with continuous integration
+  that tests the minimum and current dependency versions on Linux, macOS,
+  and Windows, checks code quality, validates the built distributions, and
+  builds the documentation with warnings as errors (#62, #66). Releases are
+  built, verified, and published to PyPI by a GitHub Actions workflow using
+  Trusted Publishing (#67).
+* ``main`` is now the integration branch; ``dev`` is retired (#62).
+* Documents the project's scope and status in the README (#64).
+* Thanks to Paul Waddell for the compatibility, packaging, and CI work, and
+  to Jeff Doyle for the multi-column broadcast report.
 
 v1.8
 ====
@@ -67,7 +84,7 @@ v1.4.0
 ======
 
 * Modify `merge_tables` behavior in case of identical column names in multiple
-tables
+  tables
 * Add `cast` option to `update_col_from_series` to handle type mismatches
 * Updated logic for outputting HDF5 files
 * Add file compression to `run` and `write_tables`

diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-Copyright (c) 2022, UrbanSim Inc. All rights reserved.
+Copyright (c) 2014-2026, UrbanSim Inc. All rights reserved.
 
 Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
 modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

diff --git a/docs/source/conf.py b/docs/source/conf.py
@@ -51,16 +51,16 @@
 
 # General information about the project.
 project = 'Orca'
-copyright = '2022, UrbanSim Inc'
+copyright = '2014-2026, UrbanSim Inc.'
 
 # The version info for the project you're documenting, acts as replacement for
 # |version| and |release|, also used in various other places throughout the
 # built documents.
 #
 # The short X.Y version.
-version = '1.8'
+version = '1.9'
 # The full version, including alpha/beta/rc tags.
-release = '1.8'
+release = '1.9rc1'
 
 # The language for content autogenerated by Sphinx. Refer to documentation
 # for a list of supported languages.

diff --git a/docs/source/core.rst b/docs/source/core.rst
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ to register those relationships::
     orca.broadcast(cast='c', onto='d', cast_index=True, onto_on='c_id')
 
 The syntax is similar to that of the
-`pandas merge function <http://pandas.pydata.org/pandas-docs/stable/generated/pandas.merge.html#pandas.merge>`__,
+`pandas merge function <https://pandas.pydata.org/docs/reference/api/pandas.merge.html>`__,
 and indeed ``merge`` is used behind the scenes.
 Once the broadcasts are defined, use the
 :py:func:`~orca.orca.merge_tables` function to get a
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ going into the merge so you can limit which columns end up in the final table.
 they are in the ``columns=`` list.)
 
 .. note:: :py:func:`~orca.orca.merge_tables` calls
-   `pandas.merge <http://pandas.pydata.org/pandas-docs/stable/generated/pandas.merge.html#pandas.merge>`__
+   `pandas.merge <https://pandas.pydata.org/docs/reference/api/pandas.merge.html>`__
    with ``how='inner'``, meaning that only items that
    appear in both tables are kept in the merged table.
 
@@ -435,7 +435,7 @@ You start pipelines by calling the :py:func:`~orca.orca.run` function and
 listing which steps you want to run.
 Calling :py:func:`~orca.orca.run` with just a list of steps,
 as in the above example, will run through the steps once.
-To run the pipeline over some a sequence, provide those values as a sequence
+To run the pipeline over a sequence, provide those values as a sequence
 to :py:func:`~orca.orca.run` using the ``iter_vars`` argument.
 
 The ``iter_var`` injectable stores the current value from the ``iter_vars`` argument to :py:func:`~orca.orca.run` function. 
@@ -447,8 +447,8 @@ stored in that order.
 
     In [77]: @orca.step()
        ....: def print_year(iter_var,iter_step):
-       ....:         print '*** the iteration value is {} ***'.format(iter_var)
-       ....:         print '*** step number {0} is named {1} ***'.format(iter_step.step_num, iter_step.step_name)
+       ....:         print('*** the iteration value is {} ***'.format(iter_var))
+       ....:         print('*** step number {0} is named {1} ***'.format(iter_step.step_num, iter_step.step_name))
        ....:
 
     In [78]: orca.run(['print_year'], iter_vars=range(2010, 2015))
@@ -570,7 +570,7 @@ Archiving Data
 An option to the :py:func:`~orca.orca.run` function is to have
 it save table data at set intervals.
 Tables (and only tables) are saved as DataFrames_ to an HDF5 file via pandas'
-`HDFStore <http://pandas.pydata.org/pandas-docs/stable/io.html#hdf5-pytables>`__
+`HDFStore <https://pandas.pydata.org/docs/user_guide/io.html#hdf5-pytables>`__
 feature. If Orca is running only one loop the tables are stored
 under their registered names. If it is running multiple iterations the tables are
 stored under names like ``'<iter_var>/<table name>'``.
@@ -590,7 +590,7 @@ the names of registered variables in order to
 inject variables when evaluating functions.
 For that reason, it's important that variables be registered with names
 that are also
-`valid Python variables <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Python_Beginner_to_Expert/Native_Types>`__.
+`valid Python variables <https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Python_Beginner_to_Expert/Native_Types>`__.
 
 Variable Expressions
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@@ -712,6 +712,6 @@ API Docs
 .. automodule:: orca.orca
    :members:
 
-.. _DataFrame: http://pandas.pydata.org/pandas-docs/stable/dsintro.html#dataframe
-.. _DataFrames: http://pandas.pydata.org/pandas-docs/stable/dsintro.html#dataframe
-.. _Series: http://pandas.pydata.org/pandas-docs/stable/dsintro.html#series
+.. _DataFrame: https://pandas.pydata.org/docs/user_guide/dsintro.html#dataframe
+.. _DataFrames: https://pandas.pydata.org/docs/user_guide/dsintro.html#dataframe
+.. _Series: https://pandas.pydata.org/docs/user_guide/dsintro.html#series
diff --git a/docs/source/index.rst b/docs/source/index.rst
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ over a set of input data.
 Goals
 ~~~~~
 
-Orca has explit goals of flexibility, transparency, lazy execution,
+Orca has explicit goals of flexibility, transparency, lazy execution,
 and encouraging good practices. Those goals are achieved by:
 
 * Flexibility
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ via decorators.
 Orca calls these functions by matching their arguments to other registered
 data.
 (This format is heavily inspired by
-`pytest's fixtures <http://pytest.org/latest/fixture.html#fixture>`__.)
+`pytest's fixtures <https://docs.pytest.org/en/stable/how-to/fixtures.html>`__.)
 The main components of a pipeline include:
 
 * Steps
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ Orca offers some conveniences for streamlining the construction of pipelines:
 Installation
 ------------
 
-Orca requires Pandas, PyTables, and PyToolz, which will be installed automatically if they are not already present in your Python environment.
+Orca requires Python 3.10 or later, and depends on Pandas, PyTables, and PyToolz, which will be installed automatically if they are not already present in your Python environment.
 
 
 You can install Orca with pip::
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ Links
 -----
 
 * `GitHub <https://github.com/udst/orca>`__
-* `PyPi <https://pypi.python.org/pypi/orca>`__
+* `PyPI <https://pypi.org/project/orca/>`__
 
 Contents
 --------
@@ -154,8 +154,8 @@ Indices and tables
 * :ref:`modindex`
 * :ref:`search`
 
-.. _Pandas: http://pandas.pydata.org/
-.. _UrbanSim: http://udst.github.io/urbansim/
-.. _DataFrame: http://pandas.pydata.org/pandas-docs/stable/dsintro.html#dataframe
-.. _DataFrames: http://pandas.pydata.org/pandas-docs/stable/dsintro.html#dataframe
-.. _Series: http://pandas.pydata.org/pandas-docs/stable/dsintro.html#series
+.. _Pandas: https://pandas.pydata.org/
+.. _UrbanSim: https://udst.github.io/urbansim/
+.. _DataFrame: https://pandas.pydata.org/docs/user_guide/dsintro.html#dataframe
+.. _DataFrames: https://pandas.pydata.org/docs/user_guide/dsintro.html#dataframe
+.. _Series: https://pandas.pydata.org/docs/user_guide/dsintro.html#series
diff --git a/orca/__init__.py b/orca/__init__.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-__version__ = "1.9.dev3"
+__version__ = "1.9rc1"
 
 from .orca import *
 

diff --git a/orca/orca.py b/orca/orca.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # Orca
-# Copyright (C) 2022 UrbanSim Inc.
+# Copyright (C) 2014-2026 UrbanSim Inc.
 # See full license in LICENSE.
 
 import logging

diff --git a/orca/tests/__init__.py b/orca/tests/__init__.py
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 # Orca
-# Copyright (C) 2022 UrbanSim Inc.
+# Copyright (C) 2014-2026 UrbanSim Inc.
 # See full license in LICENSE.
diff --git a/orca/tests/test_mergetables.py b/orca/tests/test_mergetables.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # Orca
-# Copyright (C) 2022 UrbanSim Inc.
+# Copyright (C) 2014-2026 UrbanSim Inc.
 # See full license in LICENSE.
 
 import pandas as pd

diff --git a/orca/tests/test_orca.py b/orca/tests/test_orca.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # Orca
-# Copyright (C) 2022 UrbanSim Inc.
+# Copyright (C) 2014-2026 UrbanSim Inc.
 # See full license in LICENSE.
 
 import os

diff --git a/orca/utils/__init__.py b/orca/utils/__init__.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # Orca
-# Copyright (C) 2022 UrbanSim Inc.
+# Copyright (C) 2014-2026 UrbanSim Inc.
 # See full license in LICENSE.
 
 from .utils import *
diff --git a/orca/utils/logutil.py b/orca/utils/logutil.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # Orca
-# Copyright (C) 2022 UrbanSim Inc.
+# Copyright (C) 2014-2026 UrbanSim Inc.
 # See full license in LICENSE.
 
 import contextlib

diff --git a/orca/utils/testing.py b/orca/utils/testing.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # Orca
-# Copyright (C) 2022 UrbanSim Inc.
+# Copyright (C) 2014-2026 UrbanSim Inc.
 # See full license in LICENSE.
 
 """

diff --git a/orca/utils/tests/__init__.py b/orca/utils/tests/__init__.py
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 # Orca
-# Copyright (C) 2022 UrbanSim Inc.
+# Copyright (C) 2014-2026 UrbanSim Inc.
 # See full license in LICENSE.
diff --git a/orca/utils/tests/test_testing.py b/orca/utils/tests/test_testing.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # Orca
-# Copyright (C) 2022 UrbanSim Inc.
+# Copyright (C) 2014-2026 UrbanSim Inc.
 # See full license in LICENSE.
 
 import pandas as pd