Add release notes for version 0.5.0, highlighting new features, breaking changes, and enhanced Python version support (#181)

Co-authored-by: Axel Suárez <[email protected]>

Author: cleemullins

RELEASE_NOTES_0.5.0.md

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+# Microsoft 365 Agents SDK for Python - Release Notes v0.5.0
+
+**Release Date:** October 20, 2025  
+**Previous Version:** 0.4.0 (Released October 7, 2025)
+
+## 🎉 What's New in 0.5.0
+
+This release represents a significant step forward in the Microsoft 365 Agents SDK for Python, focusing on enhanced Python version support, improved developer experience, and robust new features for building enterprise-grade conversational agents.
+
+---
+
+## 🔄 Breaking Changes
+
+### Python Version Requirements
+- **Dropped Support:** Python 3.9 is no longer supported
+- **New Minimum:** Python 3.10 is now the minimum required version
+- **Migration:** Update your Python environment to 3.10 or later before upgrading
+
+### Import Structure (from previous releases)
+If you haven't already migrated from earlier versions, note the import structure change:
+
+```python
+# Old (no longer supported)
+from microsoft.agents.activity import Activity
+
+# New (current)
+from microsoft_agents.activity import Activity
+```
+---
+
+
+## 🚀 Major Features & Enhancements
+
+### Expanded Python Version Support
+The SDK now officially supports Python versions 3.10 through 3.14, providing developers with flexibility to use the latest Python features and improvements. This aligns with the currently [supported versions of Python](https://devguide.python.org/versions/). 
+
+**Key Changes:**
+- Added support for Python 3.12, 3.13, and 3.14
+- Updated minimum Python requirement to 3.10 (dropped Python 3.9 support)
+- Updated CI/CD pipelines to test against all supported Python versions
+- Enhanced compatibility testing across the Python ecosystem
+
+**Pull Requests:**
+- [#177 - Add support for Python versions 3.12, 3.13, and 3.14](https://github.com/microsoft/Agents-for-python/pull/177)
+- [#172 - Update Python version requirements to 3.10](https://github.com/microsoft/Agents-for-python/pull/172)
+
+### Sub-Channel Identification Support
+A powerful new feature that enables agents to handle complex channel routing and identification scenarios.
+
+**New Capabilities:**
+- Enhanced Activity model with sub-channel identification
+- New `ChannelId` class for managing channel routing
+- Support for channel-specific entity handling
+- Improved conversation routing and context management
+
+**Technical Details:**
+- Added `_channel_id_field_mixin.py` for channel ID management
+- Enhanced Activity serialization with channel identification
+- New entity types for product information and geo-coordinates
+- Comprehensive test coverage for sub-channel scenarios
+
+**Pull Request:**
+- [#150 - Support sub channel identification from Activities](https://github.com/microsoft/Agents-for-python/pull/150)
+
+---
+
+## 📚 Documentation & Developer Experience
+
+### Comprehensive Library Documentation
+Each package now includes detailed README files with examples, installation instructions, and usage guidance.
+
+**New Documentation:**
+- Individual README files for all 8 core libraries
+- PyPI-friendly descriptions for better package discovery
+- Comprehensive SDK overview and getting started guides
+- Sample code and best practices for each component
+
+**Libraries with New Documentation:**
+- `microsoft-agents-activity` - Core activity handling and models
+- `microsoft-agents-authentication-msal` - MSAL authentication integration
+- `microsoft-agents-copilotstudio-client` - Copilot Studio connectivity
+- `microsoft-agents-hosting-aiohttp` - AIOHTTP-based hosting
+- `microsoft-agents-hosting-core` - Core hosting functionality
+- `microsoft-agents-hosting-teams` - Microsoft Teams integration
+- `microsoft-agents-storage-blob` - Azure Blob Storage support
+- `microsoft-agents-storage-cosmos` - Azure Cosmos DB storage
+
+**Pull Request:**
+- [#157 - Author README files for each library and integrate into PyPI descriptions](https://github.com/microsoft/Agents-for-python/pull/157)
+
+### Enhanced Type Annotations
+Improved code clarity and IDE support through comprehensive type annotations across the SDK.
+
+**Improvements:**
+- Enhanced type hints for better IntelliSense support
+- Improved static analysis capabilities
+- Better error detection during development
+- Consistent typing patterns across all modules
+
+**Pull Request:**
+- [#162 - Enhance type annotations in various modules](https://github.com/microsoft/Agents-for-python/pull/162)
+
+---
+
+## 🔧 Developer Tools & Quality Improvements
+
+### PyTest Warning Cleanup
+Eliminated test warnings to provide a cleaner development experience and stricter quality enforcement.
+
+**Quality Improvements:**
+- Cleaned up test classes to eliminate PyTest warnings
+- Enhanced test reliability and consistency
+- Improved CI/CD pipeline stability
+- Better error reporting and debugging
+
+**Pull Request:**
+- [#168 - Cleanup test classes to eliminate warnings from PyTest](https://github.com/microsoft/Agents-for-python/pull/168)
+- [#164 - Refactor testing functions to use create_ prefix](https://github.com/microsoft/Agents-for-python/pull/164)
+- [#166 - Refactor timestamp handling in FileTranscriptStore](https://github.com/microsoft/Agents-for-python/pull/166)
+
+---
+## 🔐 Authentication & Security Enhancements
+
+### OAuth Flow Consolidation
+Simplified OAuth authentication flows for better security and ease of use.
+
+**Improvements:**
+- Consolidated OAuth flow `begin_flow` calls into single API
+- New `getTokenOrSignInResource` API for streamlined authentication
+- Reduced complexity in authentication setup
+- Improved security patterns and best practices
+
+**Pull Request:**
+- [#146 - Consolidating OAuthFlow begin_flow calls](https://github.com/microsoft/Agents-for-python/pull/146)
+
+### License Information
+Added comprehensive license information to all package configurations for better compliance and transparency.
+
+**Changes:**
+- Modernize license tagging in all `pyproject.toml` files
+- Improved package metadata for PyPI
+- Enhanced compliance with open source standards
+- Better legal clarity for enterprise adoption
+
+**Pull Request:**
+- [#161 - Add license information to pyproject.toml files](https://github.com/microsoft/Agents-for-python/pull/161)
+
+---
+
+## 🐛 Bug Fixes & Maintenance
+
+### Activity Model Improvements
+Removed deprecated "delay" activity type to simplify the activity model and improve clarity.
+
+**Changes:**
+- Removed "delay" activity as an implied activity type
+- Simplified activity handling logic
+- Improved activity model consistency
+
+**Pull Request:**
+- [#149 - Remove "delay" activity as an implied activity](https://github.com/microsoft/Agents-for-python/pull/149)
+
+### Documentation Fixes
+Multiple rounds of documentation improvements for better clarity and accuracy.
+
+**Improvements:**
+- Fixed documentation comments across multiple modules
+- Improved code examples and usage patterns
+- Enhanced API documentation
+- Better consistency in documentation style
+
+**Pull Requests:**
+- [#155 - Yet another round of doc fixes](https://github.com/microsoft/Agents-for-python/pull/155)
+- [#154 - Additional doc comment fixes](https://github.com/microsoft/Agents-for-python/pull/154)
+
+---
+
+## 📦 Package Information
+
+### Included Libraries
+
+This release includes the following 8 core libraries:
+
+1. **microsoft-agents-activity** - Core activity models and handling
+2. **microsoft-agents-authentication-msal** - MSAL authentication integration
+3. **microsoft-agents-copilotstudio-client** - Copilot Studio client connectivity
+4. **microsoft-agents-hosting-aiohttp** - AIOHTTP-based agent hosting
+5. **microsoft-agents-hosting-core** - Core hosting functionality and abstractions
+6. **microsoft-agents-hosting-teams** - Microsoft Teams-specific hosting
+7. **microsoft-agents-storage-blob** - Azure Blob Storage integration
+8. **microsoft-agents-storage-cosmos** - Azure Cosmos DB storage integration
+
+### Python Version Support
+
+- **Supported Versions:** Python 3.10, 3.11, 3.12, 3.13, 3.14
+- **Minimum Required:** Python 3.10
+- **Recommended:** Python 3.11 or later for optimal performance
+
+---
+
+## 🚀 Getting Started
+
+### Installation
+
+Install individual packages as needed:
+
+```bash
+pip install microsoft-agents-activity
+pip install microsoft-agents-hosting-core
+pip install microsoft-agents-hosting-aiohttp
+# ... other packages as needed
+```
+
+### Quick Start
+
+```python
+from microsoft_agents.activity import Activity
+from microsoft_agents.hosting.core import TurnContext
+from microsoft_agents.hosting.aiohttp import start_agent_process
+
+# Your agent implementation here
+```
+
+### Sample Applications
+
+Explore comprehensive samples and documentation at:
+- [Microsoft 365 Agents SDK Samples](https://github.com/microsoft/Agents)
+- [Python-specific examples](https://github.com/microsoft/Agents-for-python/tree/main/test_samples)
+
+---
+
+## 🙏 Acknowledgments
+
+Special thanks to all contributors who made this release possible, including the Microsoft 365 Agents team and the open source community for their valuable feedback and contributions.
+
+---
+
+## 📞 Support & Resources
+
+- **Documentation:** [Microsoft 365 Agents SDK](https://aka.ms/agents)
+- **Issues:** [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/microsoft/Agents-for-python/issues)
+- **Samples:** [Agent Samples Repository](https://github.com/microsoft/Agents)
+- **Community:** Join our developer community discussions
+
+For technical support and questions, please use the GitHub Issues page or refer to our comprehensive documentation and samples.