Dmitry Kropachev

Issue https://github.com/scylladb/gocql/issues/444 showed that we lack of `metadataDescriber` testing. Let's cover with with unit tests for schema updates, tablets updates, schema refreshes.

Add comprehensive tablets tests for statement execution

1

Add tests that ensures that tablet information is provided by server and it reaches the metadata in every case. Sessions: 1. Session built with keyspace 2. Session with executed `USE...

Optimize column_encryption_policy checks in make_recv_results_rows

2

Do the same optimization for it that was done [here](https://github.com/scylladb/python-driver/pull/630)

1. Drop python 3.9 support 2. Move to gremlinpython to `3.8.0` (it requires >=3.10)

Add a doc that describes release proccess ## Pre-review checklist - [x] I have split my patch into logically separate commits. - [x] All commit messages clearly explain what they...

This test is unstable for [asincio](https://github.com/scylladb/python-driver/issues/263) and also fails in free threading python: ``` FAILED tests/integration/standard/test_cluster.py::ClusterTests::test_execute_query_timeout - Exception: session.execute didn't time out in 10 tries ```

Last time we tried it endup in compiling errors on windows and macos. We need to enable it and find a way to fix them.

It start failing on cicd, locally i can't reproduce it: ``` FAILED tests/integration/standard/test_application_info.py::ApplicationInfoTest::test_create_session_and_check_system_views_clients - [XPASS(strict)] #scylladb/scylla-enterprise#5467 - not released yet ```

Error: ``` ________________ TestShardAware.test_advanced_shard_aware_port _________________ self = def test_advanced_shard_aware_port(self): """ Test that on given a `shard_aware_port` on the OPTIONS message (ShardInfo class) the next connections would be open using this...

They are failing with: ``` This test marked as 'xfailed' because it contains '@unittest.expectedFailure' mark - Please remove this mark from the test ```