Click here to Skip to main content
15,868,164 members
Articles / Programming Languages / C++
Article

LogDriver - A simplified log4j using C++

Rate me:
Please Sign up or sign in to vote.
4.73/5 (7 votes)
4 Jan 2002BSD5 min read 188.3K   3.5K   63   35
Some Logging Classes for C++ on the Windows Platform

Introduction

This is version 0.1 of the CLog Class Hierarchy, so bear with me. This is the second revision of this article, I hope this new version is better!

Here is a class heirarchy designed to simplify logging of messages on a Windows platform. I should qualify and say that porting these classes to *nix is trivial. It should be obvious that the CEventLogAppender would need to be scrapped or retasked.

These classes are inspired by log4j. I was introduced to log4j which is a sub project of Apache Jakarta by a friend. The website is a great place to get more information, check it out at http://jakarta.apache.org/log4j/docs/index.html

My main reason for checking out log4j in the first place was that I had been told that my current method for logging was substandard. I did not believe this of course. However, after 5 minutes of working with log4j, I knew it for the truth! So, as a matter of course, I went on a quest, looking for log4cpp. Well the log4j site has links to two different projects:

One at http://sourceforge.net/projects/log4cpp/;

and the other at http://log4cplus.sourceforge.net/

I checked them out and although they each have their merits, they were too complicated for my taste. It was at this point that the CLog and CLogAppender classes were born.

Purpose

I decided that I wanted to create a set of logging classes with really simple, yet elegant, syntax. Something along the lines of

CLog myCLog(source);
myCLog.writeLog(debuglevel, message);

Well as it turns out, it's not quite that easy, but it's close.

How it works

The core concept to understanding the CLog hierarchy is the idea of severity. Log messages are given a severity at the time they are created. Log Appenders are given a severity threshold at the time they are created. Then, when a message is sent with a severity greater than the appender's threshold the message is logged.

This can be expressed more concisely as follows:
A message with severity x is written to a log appender with threshold y if x >= y.

Severity and threshold values are organized as follows:
debug < info < warn < error < fatal

Severity/Thresholds

debug

Detailed programmatic informational messages used as an aid in troubleshooting problems by programmers.

info

Brief informative messages to use as an aid in troubleshooting problems by production support and programmers.

warn

Messages intended to notify help desk, production support and programmers of possible issues with respect to the running application.

error

Messages that detail a programmatic error, these are typically messages intended for help desk, production support, programmers and occasionally users.

fatal

Severe messages that are programmatic violations that will usually result in application failure. These messages are intended for help desk, production support, programmers and possibly users.

What all this gobbledegook means is that you, as the programmer, has the duty to create meaningful messages and assign them the proper severity. If you are good at this, then, you will reap the benefit of incredibly informative logs with a standardized look and feel making everyone's life easier.

Project Files

This set of classes consists of a number of files; I will lay them out here for your perusal with a brief description.

Header files

Utility.h
contains a number of useful helper data structures
Log.h
the main CLog Class Definition
LogAppender.h
the abstract CLogAppender Class Definition that the specific log appenders are derived from
ConsoleLogAppender.h
the specific Console log appender class definition
FileLogAppender.h
the specific File log appender class definition
EventLogAppender.h
the specific Event log appender class definition

Implementation files

Utility.cpp
contains a number of useful helper data structures
Log.cpp
the main CLog Class Implementation
LogAppender.cpp
the abstract CLogAppender Class Implementation
ConsoleLogAppender.cpp
the specific Console log appender class implementation
FileLogAppender.cpp
the specific File log appender class implementation
EventLogAppender.cpp
the specific Event log appender class implementation

The test application (driver)

LogDriver.cpp
the simple test application that will use the log and log appender class to write to the console, test.dat, and the event log.

Trying it out

In order to use the logging classes here is a description of what is required.

  • You will need to create a .cpp file that will 'drive' the logger - in my case this was LogDriver.cpp.
  • include log.h, this will bring in the needed definitions, etc.
    #include "/inc/log.h"
  • instantiate an instance of the CLog class, this will be the 'source' of log messages
    CLog myLog("LogDriver");
  • instantiate and add as many log appenders as you like
    CConsoleLogAppender * pConsoleLogAppender
              = new CConsoleLogAppender(nsCLog::info);
    CFileLogAppender * pFileLogAppender
              = new CFileLogAppender(nsCLog::warning, "test.dat");
    CEventLogAppender * pEventLogAppender
              = new CEventLogAppender(nsCLog::debug);
    
    myLog.addAppender(pConsoleLogAppender);
    myLog.addAppender(pFileLogAppender);
    myLog.addAppender(pEventLogAppender);
  • write to the log(s) througout your codebase
    myLog.writeLog(nsCLog::warning, "This is my test log message");	

What you will have done is this:

  • Created a logger that's source is "LogDriver"
  • Created a log appender for console messages
  • Created a log appender to write to test.dat
  • Created a log appender to write to the event log
  • Told the LogDriver logger about the 3 appenders
  • Written to the various logs

What the messages will look like is:

01052002_124658 | LogDriver | warning | This is my test log message

The event log message is going to appear a little differently, but basically the same. Because I'm lazy it will probably be like:

The entry in Event Viewer:

Type: Error
Date: 1/5/2002
Time: 12:46:58 PM
Source: LogDriver
Category: (1500)
Event: 0
User: N/A
Computer: Your Computer Name
The message (double click the entry): The description for Event ID ( 0 ) in Source ( LogDriver ) cannot be found. The local computer may not have the necessary registry information or message DLL files to display messages from a remote computer. The following information is part of the event: 01052002_124658 | LogDriver | warning | This is my test log message.

Let me know what you think - preferably constructive if not positive, I'm not asking for flames :).

Read the _todo.txt document before sending me 'it oughta do X!' messages.

Conclusion

That's it - really.

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The BSD License


Written By
Instructor / Trainer Tarleton State University
United States United States
Will Currently serves as Assistant Professor of Computer Information Systems. Previously he led research, development and product delivery efforts on a global scale. He has a long career as a software architect and developer and enjoys programming in any language on any platform for any good purpose.

Comments and Discussions

 
QuestionCleaning up lazy descriptions Pin
masteryoda2121-Jul-11 5:39
masteryoda2121-Jul-11 5:39 
GeneralAbout your CLog destructor Pin
chenxiemin4-Nov-10 15:31
chenxiemin4-Nov-10 15:31 
QuestionI need information on log4cplus Pin
Display17-Mar-08 20:13
Display17-Mar-08 20:13 
GeneralAny issue about wrappping LogDriver in a separate Dll? (string across dll) Pin
devvvy26-Aug-07 15:02
devvvy26-Aug-07 15:02 
QuestionCan it be used in linux? Pin
Ummul Syahmi30-Jul-07 22:07
Ummul Syahmi30-Jul-07 22:07 
QuestionHow to add thread safety Pin
anoopriya21-May-07 23:30
anoopriya21-May-07 23:30 
QuestionBuilding using the Latest Compiler Pin
splendided27-Apr-06 4:23
splendided27-Apr-06 4:23 
AnswerRe: Building using the Latest Compiler Pin
Will Senn27-Apr-06 4:38
professionalWill Senn27-Apr-06 4:38 
GeneralRe: Building using the Latest Compiler Pin
splendided27-Apr-06 5:11
splendided27-Apr-06 5:11 
GeneralMemory leak in CFileLogAppender Pin
eejc2-Mar-06 21:45
eejc2-Mar-06 21:45 
QuestionHow to close the file Pin
fabzz2-Nov-05 2:40
fabzz2-Nov-05 2:40 
AnswerRe: How to close the file Pin
Landrion13-Nov-05 19:39
Landrion13-Nov-05 19:39 
GeneralRe: How to close the file Pin
Landrion13-Nov-05 19:47
Landrion13-Nov-05 19:47 
GeneralRe: How to close the file Pin
fabzz13-Nov-05 21:12
fabzz13-Nov-05 21:12 
GeneralI need help with LogDriver Pin
JaVinci16-May-05 5:28
JaVinci16-May-05 5:28 
GeneralRe: I need help with LogDriver Pin
Will Senn16-May-05 5:47
professionalWill Senn16-May-05 5:47 
GeneralRe: I need help with LogDriver Pin
JaVinci16-May-05 9:49
JaVinci16-May-05 9:49 
GeneralRe: I need help with LogDriver Pin
Will Senn17-May-05 2:38
professionalWill Senn17-May-05 2:38 
GeneralLatest updates Pin
rromerot29-Apr-04 5:05
rromerot29-Apr-04 5:05 
GeneralRe: Latest updates Pin
Will Senn30-Apr-04 4:36
professionalWill Senn30-Apr-04 4:36 
GeneralRe: Latest updates Pin
rromerot30-Apr-04 6:33
rromerot30-Apr-04 6:33 
GeneralRe: Latest updates Pin
Will Senn30-Apr-04 6:37
professionalWill Senn30-Apr-04 6:37 
GeneralRe: Latest updates Pin
nicolnie22-May-05 19:13
nicolnie22-May-05 19:13 
GeneralMemory leak Pin
25-Jan-02 4:01
suss25-Jan-02 4:01 
GeneralRe: Memory leak Pin
Will Senn25-Jan-02 10:56
professionalWill Senn25-Jan-02 10:56 

General General    News News    Suggestion Suggestion    Question Question    Bug Bug    Answer Answer    Joke Joke    Praise Praise    Rant Rant    Admin Admin   

Use Ctrl+Left/Right to switch messages, Ctrl+Up/Down to switch threads, Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right to switch pages.