Update to NumPy 2+

[ruslkhay]

1. Numpy version was updated to 2.*
2. Range of python version was expanded. Note that now python minimal version is 3.9
3. Small fixes in the code: for MarkovChain class call np.array(..., copy=False) was replaced by np.asarray.

All pytest show no errors.

[sjg2203]

@ruslkhay if you update the version number in pyproject.toml, it also needs to be updated consistently in _version.py and CHANGELOG.rst.
I’d recommend using v0.8.0 rather than v1.0.1. Jumping to a 1.x.x release implies that a v1.0.0 existed (which it didn’t) and that a major, breaking change occurred. That’s not really the case here, the changes are mostly cleanup and dependency updates. Using v0.8.0 keeps the versioning aligned with the pattern already established by @crflynn in the original package.

@crflynn Please review the changes here and approve the PR so that this updated version can be pushed to users.

[ruslkhay]

@sjg2203 Thanks for the comment!
In my opinion, such dependencies as numpy and scipy are quite signigicant in terms of this project. A new major version of any of the two modules makes versions of this project incompeteble too. Also, quite a lot of people use this project, so the API is closer to the public than in the initial development (see https://semver.org/).
So I've set the version to v1.0.0.

[sjg2203]

I agree, Stochastic is being used widely and definitely needed that cleanup. Seems all good to me with this v1.0.0.
I updated the classifier Development Status pyproject.toml to production/stable. This better aligns with the new and future-proof v1.0.0 release.