ZLink Framework for Node.js -- Documentation

This set is the formal ZLink Framework documentation for Node.js and NestJS. This directory holds internals/ (implementation and verification criteria), and the public contract lives in the central Node.js spec. Common meaning follows the common spec; here we give that meaning concrete shape only on the Node.js and NestJS surface. The public contract is owned by the central per-language spec and the common framework spec; other-language implementations are used only as reference material for comparing contract interpretation.

The common meaning of async execution, Promise, and helper synchronous functions follows the Async Execution And Coroutine Policy. The Node framework's server and client network APIs are projected as Promise-based async functions. The Async suffix isn't carried over -- the async contract is expressed through the action name and a Promise<T> return type, as in connect(), close(), submit(), waitFor(), start(), stop(), handle(). Pure helpers that don't do network I/O -- codec conversion, packet-name calculation, value-object construction -- can be synchronous functions.

Sample and E2E config files, the ban on environment variables, and NestJS typed configuration provider criteria follow the Sample/E2E Configuration Policy.

1. Usage Guidance

Check the Node framework's public API and behavior in the formal spec below. Runnable usage examples are found in the common sample and the Node sample.

Usage of the client libraries used separately from the server framework is found in the HTTP client guide and the Stream connector guide.

2. Public Contract Spec

The formal contract for the NestJS surface. It describes only the public API that actually exists in the current Node code and regression tests.

Document	Scope
system-structure	Package structure, NestJS registration, lifecycle, and startup validation
Interface table of contents	The interface/decorator/context/options catalog by category

The meaning and behavioral rules of a feature are owned by the common spec. Language-specific documents only fix what shape that meaning takes in Node/NestJS.

3. Internal Criteria (internals/)

internals/ defines backend dependencies, internal lifecycle, and regression criteria for maintainers. Check the spec for the public API and allowed combinations.

Document	Scope
backend-dependency-policy	Backend replaceability, public-surface isolation
transport-readiness	Transport readiness, liveness, and execution queue defaults
Common Internals	Runtime architecture decisions shared across all four languages
regression-test-matrix	Regression test criteria

4. Common Samples

The 6 canonical samples' server roles, message contracts, state transitions, and completion criteria are owned by the common sample. The Node.js documents don't restate this contract.

5. Regression Tests

This README is maintained together with the following document regression tests.

Test	Verification criteria
documentation-regression.test.js › node README does not link removed legacy guide chapters	Never re-adds a link to a removed old guide chapter.
documentation-regression.test.js › node documentation relative markdown links resolve	Relative links between documents never break.
documentation-regression.test.js › node interface specification documents the current execution-turn APIs	Checks that the execution-turn API matches the formal interface spec.
sample-regression.test.js › node samples define required files and use only common sample documents	Checks that the sample implementation only references the common sample documents and never recreates a removed per-language sample README.