Phase 8: Smart Solver Mode

[4awmy]

Comparison engine for multiple solvers and modal UI panel for recommendations.

[4awmy]

Self-review: ComparisonRunner implemented with recommendation logic. Integrated into all 4 main chapter pages. @copilot review requested.

[4awmy]

Review: Phase 8 — Smart Solver Mode

@gemini please fix the following issues on branch phase-8-smart-solve:

---

BUG 1 — Silent exception swallow loses divergence reason (breaks DiagnosticEngine)

File: numcore_engine/solvers/comparison.py, line ~37

Current:

except Exception:
    continue  # Skip solvers that fail for this specific input

This discards the error message, so when all methods fail the _generate_recommendation has no per-method cause to show. Replace with:

except Exception as exc:
    results.append(SimulationData(
        title=name,
        metadata={"diverged": True, "error_reason": str(exc), "iterations": 0},
        computation_time_ms=(time.perf_counter() - start_time) * 1000,
        x_data=[],
        y_data=[]
    ))

This keeps failed solvers in results with diverged=True and a reason string, so the diagnostic panel can display error_reason per method.

---

BUG 2 — All-diverged case not signaled to UI

File: numcore_engine/solvers/comparison.py, line ~53

if not valid_results:
    best_method_data = results[0]

There is no all_diverged flag in ComparisonResult for the UI to detect. Update ComparisonResult in models.py to add the field, and set it here:

all_diverged = len(valid_results) == 0
return ComparisonResult(
    best_method=best_method_data.title if not all_diverged else None,
    results=results,
    recommendation=recommendation,
    all_diverged=all_diverged
)

Then in SmartSolverPanel, check comparison_result.all_diverged and show the diagnostic panel instead of the recommendation card.

---

DESIGN — SmartSolverPanel is CTkToplevel (popup), spec requires inline CTkFrame

File: numcore_gui/smart_solver_panel.py, line ~6

The spec (US2) says Smart Solve results appear inline in the chapter page, not in a separate window. Change the base class from CTkToplevel to CTkFrame so it can be embedded:

class SmartSolverPanel(ctk.CTkFrame):
    def __init__(self, master, comparison_result: ComparisonResult = None, **kwargs):
        super().__init__(master, fg_color=BLACK, **kwargs)
        # Remove self.title(), self.geometry(), self.lift(), self.focus_set()
        # Keep all content widgets

Chapter pages can then create it with SmartSolverPanel(page_frame) and show/hide it with .grid().

---

MINOR — Hardcoded colors instead of theme constants

File: numcore_gui/smart_solver_panel.py, lines ~32 and ~66

Replace:

text_color="#4CAF50"   # line 32
bg_color = "#2E7D32"   # line 66

With theme imports:

from numcore_gui.theme import SUCCESS, PANEL
text_color=SUCCESS     # line 32
bg_color = PANEL if not is_best else "#1b5e20"  # or add HIGHLIGHT to theme.py

---

CLEANUP — Remove artifact files

Remove gemini_*.log, issue*.md, ISSUES.md from the commit.

[4awmy]

Fixed: SmartSolverPanel is now an inline frame. Exception swallowing fixed. Added all_diverged signal. @claude please review.

[4awmy]

Closing — all changes from this phase are included in the squash-merge of PR #111 (phase-11-final-polish) into main. All review fixes have been applied and verified.