NOVA backend is disabled - unstable package

[KedoKudo]

Summary

The NOVA backend for SAMMY execution has been disabled in the codebase. The nova-galaxy package required for this backend is unstable and not a development priority.

Background

PLEIADES supports three SAMMY execution backends:

1. Local - Direct execution using local SAMMY binary (primary)
2. Docker - Containerized execution (secondary)
3. NOVA - ORNL web service execution (disabled)

Why NOVA is Disabled

1. Package instability: The nova-galaxy package (required dependency) is not stable
2. No immediate plan: There is no immediate plan to make PLEIADES fully support NOVA
3. Development focus: Current development priorities are:
   • MCP (Model Context Protocol) integration for AI-assisted workflows
   • 2D resonance fitting capabilities
   • Core functionality improvements

Code Changes

The following changes were made to disable NOVA:

src/pleiades/sammy/factory.py

• Commented out NovaSammyRunner import
• Added _NOVA_AVAILABLE = False flag
• list_available_backends() now returns False for NOVA
• create_runner() raises BackendNotAvailableError if NOVA is requested

Tests

• tests/unit/pleiades/sammy/backends/test_nova.py - Entire module skipped
• tests/unit/pleiades/sammy/test_factory.py - NOVA tests skipped
• tests/unit/pleiades/sammy/test_config.py - TestNovaSammyConfig class skipped

Code Preserved

The NOVA backend implementation code remains in the codebase for future use:

• src/pleiades/sammy/backends/nova_ornl.py - Full implementation
• src/pleiades/sammy/config.py - NovaSammyConfig class

Re-enabling NOVA

When the nova-galaxy package stabilizes, NOVA support can be re-enabled by:

1. Uncommenting the import in factory.py:

   from pleiades.sammy.backends.nova_ornl import NovaSammyRunner

2. Setting the flag:

   _NOVA_AVAILABLE = True

3. Removing skip markers from tests

Related

• Development focus: MCP integration ([Epic] MCP Server Integration #163), 2D resonance fitting
• Supported backends: Local (recommended), Docker (containerized)