Simplify Socket.Io Docs by Removing createServer

[priyankarpal]

In the Socket.IO documentation, consider removing references to createServer() and adding the use of app.listen() for server setup. This adjustment would streamline the documentation and make it more accessible, particularly for users who are new to Socket.IO and Express

Before

import express from 'express';
import { createServer } from 'node:http';

const app = express();
const server = createServer(app);

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.send('<h1>Hello world</h1>');
});

server.listen(3000, () => {
  console.log('server running at http://localhost:3000');
});

After

import express from 'express';

const app = express();

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.send('<h1>Hello world</h1>');
});

app.listen(3000, () => {
  console.log('server running at http://localhost:3000');
});

[darrachequesne]

Hi! I'm not sure that this is a good idea, as the current way indicates that the Node.js HTTP server can be shared between Socket.IO and Express:

Current version (explicit):

import express from 'express';
import { createServer } from 'node:http';
import { io } from 'socket.io';

const app = express();
const httpServer = createServer(app);

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.send('<h1>Hello world</h1>');
});

httpServer.listen(3000, () => {
  console.log('server running at http://localhost:3000');
});

const io = new Server(httpServer);

Suggested version (implicit):

import express from 'express';
import { io } from 'socket.io';

const app = express();

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.send('<h1>Hello world</h1>');
});

const httpServer = app.listen(3000, () => {
  console.log('server running at http://localhost:3000');
});

const io = new Server(httpServer);

There is also the risk that people mix the two:

import express from 'express';
import { createServer } from 'node:http';
import { io } from 'socket.io';

const app = express();
const httpServer = createServer(app);

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.send('<h1>Hello world</h1>');
});

aop.listen(3000, () => {
  console.log('server running at http://localhost:3000');
});

const io = new Server(httpServer);

Which does not work because app.listen() creates another HTTP server.

Does that make sense?