[alloyed]

yes and no? Unlike a traditional daemon, this isn't a system service that always runs in the background.

The IDE (in this case atom) spins up the process and shuts it down when necessary, and then both sides communicate to each other using an implementation-defined IPC mechanism.

So it's a server more in the sense that the IDE requests info as a client, and then the server provides it (pull, not push).

[alphaalpha101]

So it's not a daemon or a server. It's just a process. Running some code in a separate process isn't a 'server' it's just how all programmes operate.

[coldtea]

You seem confused as to what a server is.

If a program runs in a separate process and provides data/processing to other connected programs through some standard protocols, they are a server.

[Rapzid]

In computing, a server is a computer program or a device that provides functionality for other programs or devices, called "clients".

[alphaalpha101]

across a network in modern parlance