Create nbstata/_version_helper.py

Author: remlapmot

nbstata/_version_helper.py

@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+"""
+Version helpers that avoid distutils and runtime pkg_resources.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+from packaging.version import Version, InvalidVersion
+
+def version_at_least(v: str, minimum: str) -> bool:
+    """
+    Return True if version string v >= minimum using robust PEP 440 parsing.
+    Replaces pkg_resources.parse_version / distutils.LooseVersion.
+    """
+    try:
+        return Version(v) >= Version(minimum)
+    except InvalidVersion:
+        # Conservative fallback: treat unknown as not meeting the minimum
+        return False