socket.io client persistent retries to unreachable host - node.js

Question

I'm trying to get a persistent connection from my socket.io-client (running on Node.js) to a remote websocket. I do not have control over the remote socket, and sometimes it can go down entirely. I would like to attempt to reconnect() whenever an error or disconnect occurs. In the following example, I'm trying to test the case where the remote host is refusing a connection. In this case, I would like to attempt to reconnect after 1 second. It calls a second time, and exits.
Here's the code:
var events = require('events'),
util = require('util'),
io = require('socket.io-client'),
url = "ws://localhost:12345", // intentionally an unreachable URL
socketOptions = {
"transports" : [ "websocket" ],
"try multiple transports" : false,
"reconnect" : false,
"connect timeout" : 5000
};
// The goal is to have this socket attempt to connect forever
// I would like to do it without the built in reconnects, as these
// are somewhat unreliable (reconnect* events not always firing)
function Test(){
var self = this;
events.EventEmitter.call(self);
var socket;
function reconnect(){
setTimeout(go, 1000);
}
function go(){
console.log("connecting to", url, socketOptions);
socket = io.connect(url, socketOptions);
socket.on('connect', function(){
console.log("connected! wat.");
});
socket.on('error', function(err){
console.log("socket.io-client 'error'", err);
reconnect();
});
socket.on('connect_failed', function(){
console.log("socket.io-client 'connect_failed'");
reconnect();
});
socket.on('disconnect', function(){
console.log("socket.io-client 'disconnect'");
reconnect();
});
}
go();
}
util.inherits(Test, events.EventEmitter);
var test = new Test();
process.on('exit', function(){
console.log("this should never end");
});
When running it under node 0.11.0 I get the following:
$ node socketio_websocket.js
connecting to ws://localhost:12345 { transports: [ 'websocket' ],
'try multiple transports': false,
reconnect: false,
'connect timeout': 5000 }
socket.io-client 'error' Error: connect ECONNREFUSED
at errnoException (net.js:878:11)
at Object.afterConnect [as oncomplete] (net.js:869:19)
connecting to ws://localhost:12345 { transports: [ 'websocket' ],
'try multiple transports': false,
reconnect: false,
'connect timeout': 5000 }
this should never end

Answer 1

The ECONNREFUSED is an exception you don't manage.
Try with this:
process.on('uncaughtException', function(err) {
if(err.code == 'ECONNREFUSED'){
reconnect();
}
}
Edit
Modify the options like this:
socketOptions = {
"transports" : [ "websocket" ],
"try multiple transports" : false,
"reconnect" : false,
'force new connection': true, // <-- Add this!
"connect timeout" : 5000
};
and the reconnect function (look in the comments for the explanation)
function reconnect(){
socket.removeAllListeners();
setTimeout(go, 1000);
}
Probably socket.io reuse the same connection without creating a new one, forcing it the app works