Use pytest-xdist --dist worksteal option to speed up Pytest runs (#8366)

The pytest-xdist module has options to control dynamic workload
distribution. The default does not always produce the fastest run times.
Some exploration of alternatives revealed that using the option `--dist
worksteal` yields faster pytest runs. The "worksteal" mode reassigns
tests from less busy workers to idle ones to optimize fixture reuse and
handle varying test durations. In worksteal mode, when a worker is
nearly idle (fewer than two tests left in its queue), it "steals"
pending tests from busier workers.

This PR adds the option `--dist worksteal` to `tool.pytest.ini_options`
in `pyproject.toml`. This results in an almost 25% improvement in
execution time over the default pytest-xdist value for the dist option
(which is `--dist load`).

Author: mhucka

pyproject.toml

@@ -128,7 +128,10 @@ ignore_missing_imports = true
 
 
 [tool.pytest.ini_options]
-addopts = ["--benchmark-disable"]
+addopts = [
+    "--benchmark-disable",
+    "--dist=worksteal",
+]
 filterwarnings = [
     "ignore:Matplotlib is currently using agg:UserWarning",
     "ignore:FigureCanvasAgg is non-interactive.*cannot be shown:UserWarning",