IHateSpaghetti {code}

Interesting logging alternative (and bonus)

Almost every application needs to store all the errors, debugging outputs, warnings, audits and etc for the usual needs.

It's common to develop some kind of a library that will enable us to write all the logged information in one (or more) repository the common ones are simple files and even log entries.

There are two dominating open source libraries – one, more common in my opinion, from Microsoft (Logging Application Block). And one from apache java port log4j – log4net.

I will focus on log4net (Logging Application Block has a lot of documentation and examples through the cyber space).

I'll briefly cover some of log4net feature:

Appender's are custom "writing class" for various repository types, such as:

·         ASP.NET Trace

·         ADO.NET output

·         Colored console

·         Debug

·         Event log

·         File

·         Rolling file (the name changes)

·         SMTP

·         Telnet

·         Remoting

·         And more

Each log "message" can be layouted in various ways:

·         Raw layout

·         XML layout

·         Simple layout

·         Pattern layout

·         And more

In addition log4net supports active filtering, multiple appenders, ability to modify configuration in runtime with closing the process (internally using FileSystemWatch) and more.

In my opinion it worth to check out this framework...

·         Buffered output (x writes before actual flush to file)

·         Rolling files with optional process name before the specified output file name

·         Automatic flushing thread (in case you are in the middle of the buffer)

Configuration:

<appender name="MultiThreadedBufferedAppender" type="log4net.Appender.MultiThreadedBufferedAppender">

<file value="log.txt"/>

<AutoFlashAfterXSeconds value="60"/>

<InsertProcessName value="true"/>

<NumberOfFlushesBeforeRollover value="100"/>

<LinesToBufferBeforeFlush value="1000"/>

                <layout type="log4net.Layout.PatternLayout">

            <header value="Date,Process,Level,Category,Message"/>

<conversionPattern value="%date{yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss:fff},%processname,%level,%category,&quot;%message&quot;%newline"/>

                </layout>

    </appender>

 
In the attached file you'll have 3 files – FileAppender (I needed to extern it's private stream class and stream instance), MultiThreadedBufferedAppender.cs  (the appender himself) and MultiThreadedBufferedAppenderTest.cs (the nunit tests for the appender). You'll need to download log4net from here (I used v1.2.10).

Download the appended.

Have fun