Added a grace method to start a table without linking

lib/eternal.ex

@@ -48,13 +48,13 @@ defmodule Eternal do
 
   ## Examples
 
-      iex> Eternal.new(:table1)
+      iex> Eternal.start_link(:table1)
       { :ok, _pid1 }
 
-      iex> Eternal.new(:table2, [ :compressed ])
+      iex> Eternal.start_link(:table2, [ :compressed ])
       { :ok, _pid2 }
 
-      iex> Eternal.new(:table3, [ ], [ quiet: true ])
+      iex> Eternal.start_link(:table3, [ ], [ quiet: true ])
       { :ok, _pid3 }
 
   """
@@ -65,6 +65,29 @@ defmodule Eternal do
     end
   end
 
+  @doc """
+  Functionally equivalent to `start_link/3`, except that the link to the starting
+  process is removed after the table is started.
+
+  ## Examples
+
+      iex> Eternal.start(:table1)
+      { :ok, _pid1 }
+
+      iex> Eternal.start(:table2, [ :compressed ])
+      { :ok, _pid2 }
+
+      iex> Eternal.start(:table3, [ ], [ quiet: true ])
+      { :ok, _pid3 }
+
+  """
+  @spec start(name :: atom, ets_opts :: Keyword.t, opts :: Keyword.t) :: on_start
+  def start(name, ets_opts \\ [], opts \\ []) when is_opts(name, ets_opts, opts) do
+    with { :ok, pid } = v <- start_link(name, ets_opts, opts) do
+      :erlang.unlink(pid) && v
+    end
+  end
+
   @doc false
   # As of v1.1, this function is deprecated and you should use `start_link/3` or
   # `start/3`. It still exists only to support semantic versioning.

test/eternal_test.exs

@@ -12,6 +12,16 @@ defmodule EternalTest do
     assert(:ets.info(:table_with_options, :compressed) == true)
   end
 
+  test "starting a table with no link" do
+    spawn(fn ->
+      Eternal.start(:unlinked, [], [ quiet: true ])
+    end)
+
+    :timer.sleep(25)
+
+    assert(:unlinked in :ets.all())
+  end
+
   test "recovering from a stopd owner" do
     tab = create(:recover_stopd_owner)