Dual-mode crates

Three crates in the ecosystem support being modules — ikigai-xslt 0.1.1, ikigai-jsonld 0.1.1 and ikigai-shacl 0.1.1, the versions published as this was written — and none of them is module-only. All three are ordinary linked libraries by default (each has a module Cargo feature), and become loadable WebAssembly when you ask:

cargo build --release --lib --features module --target wasm32-unknown-unknown

How it is wired

The module feature turns on optional dependencies rather than changing the crate’s identity:

[dependencies.ikigai-module]
version = "0.1.6"
optional = true

[features]
module = [
    "dep:ikigai-module",
    "dep:wasm-bindgen",
    # …
]

The endpoints are the same endpoints either way. What the feature adds is the wasm-bindgen surface that lets a host instantiate the artifact and drive a session against it.

Why dual-mode is the right default

Because linked or loaded should be the host’s decision, not the library’s.

The same argument as binding authority in Part I: a library that can only be a module has decided something on its consumer’s behalf. A CLI that wants XSLT compiled in should be able to have it; a browser page that cannot link anything should be able to fetch it. One crate, two deployments, one set of endpoints.

The one that is module-only, and why

ikigai-xslt-module is a separate crate that wraps ikigai-xslt as a standalone cdylib, and its description states the reason plainly: “Built separately and lazy-loaded by a host, so xrust isn’t linked into the host’s binary.”

That is the honest edge of the dual-mode story. The feature approach still builds one artifact from one crate; when what you want is a separately shipped artifact with its own build profile, a thin wrapper crate is clearer than another feature flag.

It is publish = false — it is a build product, not a library anyone should depend on.

What this means for your own crate

Write it as an ordinary space, the way Part I did. Add the module feature only when somebody actually needs the loadable shape.

Nothing about the endpoint changes; the module feature is packaging.