0002. Constructing the Server is activation; there is no start()

Status: Accepted · 2026-07-28 · #64 Governed by: 0000

TL;DR new Server(url) is activation on its own: the entry module exports the constructed server and there is no separate start() to call. Adding one would signal setup work smocket does not do, so the plain constructor is the whole API.

Decision

Constructing the server activates it. There is no second start() step, and the entry module exports the constructed server so a test imports it and uses it at once. This is option A. The reasoning starts from real socket.io, where building the server is what brings it up, with no build-then-start split; smocket keeps that shape.

A start() would also have nothing to do. MSW (Mock Service Worker, a request-mocking library) needs start() because it installs request interceptors; smocket switches nothing on, so its start() could only be a one-line started = true flag. A method whose whole body is a flag tells the reader the library does setup it does not do, so it is left out.

Alternatives rejected

• An empty start() procedure (option B). A no-op kept only for API symmetry. Rejected for the reason above: it signals setup that never happens.
• Import side effect only, no export (option C). The module would activate the server as a side effect of being imported and export nothing, saving the one line that names it. It is rejected not as risky but on cost: option A already gives C's benefit (importing the entry activates the server) for the price of one export word, while C's saved line costs the server being pulled into any production bundle that imports the module. Wrapping the activation in a conditional dynamic import to keep it out of production just rebuilds option A.
  • Retracted reasons: C has a fragile load order and C is untestable were the first two arguments raised against C. Both were later found false, and they are struck through rather than deleted, because this project marks a wrong rejection reason as retracted and keeps it on the record.