Remove use of deprecated method in Python sample and make easier to test
Merge pull request #926 from rcordovano/release-3.1.1

Remove use of deprecated method in Python sample and make easier to test
Merge remote-tracking branch 'upstream/release-3.1.1' into release_3.1.1_updates
Merge pull request #927 from rcordovano/release_3.1.1_updates

Release 3.1.1 updates