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Component ball_fileobserver
[Package ball]

Provide a thread-safe observer that logs to a file and to stdout. More...

Namespaces

namespace  ball

Detailed Description

Outline
Purpose:
Provide a thread-safe observer that logs to a file and to stdout.
Classes:
ball::FileObserver observer that writes log records to a file and stdout
See also:
Component ball_record, Component ball_context, Component ball_observer, Component ball_fileobserver2
Description:
This component provides a concrete implementation of the ball::Observer protocol, ball::FileObserver, for publishing log records to stdout and, optionally, to a user-specified file. The following inheritance hierarchy diagram shows the classes involved and their methods: 
                ,------------------.
               ( ball::FileObserver )
                `------------------'
                         |              ctor
                         |              disableFileLogging
                         |              disableTimeIntervalRotation
                         |              disableSizeRotation
                         |              disableStdoutLoggingPrefix
                         |              disablePublishInLocalTime
                         |              enableFileLogging
                         |              enableStdoutLoggingPrefix
                         |              enablePublishInLocalTime
                         |              forceRotation
                         |              rotateOnSize
                         |              rotateOnTimeInterval
                         |              setOnFileRotationCallback
                         |              setStdoutThreshold
                         |              setLogFormat
                         |              suppressUniqueFileNameOnRotation
                         |              getLogFormat
                         |              isFileLoggingEnabled
                         |              isStdoutLoggingPrefixEnabled
                         |              isPublishInLocalTimeEnabled
                         |              isSuppressUniqueFileNameOnRotation
                         |              rotationLifetime
                         |              rotationSize
                         |              stdoutThreshold
                         V
                  ,--------------.
                 ( ball::Observer )
                  `--------------'
                                        dtor
                                        publish
                                        releaseRecords
A ball::FileObserver object processes the log records received through its publish method by writing them to stdout and, if so configured, to a user-specified file. The format of published log records is user-configurable for both destinations, stdout and file (see Log Record Formatting below). Although logging to a file is initially disabled following construction, the most common use-case for ball::FileObserver is to also log to a file, enabled by calling the enableFileLogging method. In addition, a file observer may be configured to perform automatic log file rotation (see Log File Rotation below).
File Observer Configuration Synopsis:
ball::FileObserver offers several constructor arguments and manipulators that may be used to configure various aspects of a file observer object. These are summarized in the following tables along with the accessors that can be used to query the current state of the configuration. Further details are provided in the following sections and the function-level documentation. 
 +-----------------------+-----------------------+
 | Aspect                | Constructor Arguments |
 +=======================+=======================+
 | Log Record Timestamps | publishInLocalTime    |
 +-----------------------+-----------------------+
 | 'stdout' Logging      | stdoutThreshold       |
 +-----------------------+-----------------------+

 +-------------+------------------------------------+
 | Aspect      | Related Methods                    |
 +=============+====================================+
 | Log Record  | setLogFormat                       |
 | Formatting  | enableStdoutLoggingPrefix          |
 |             | disableStdoutLoggingPrefix         |
 |             | getLogFormat                       |
 |             | isStdoutLoggingPrefixEnabled       |
 +-------------+------------------------------------+
 | Log Record  | enablePublishInLocalTime           |
 | Timestamps  | disablePublishInLocalTime          |
 |             | isPublishInLocalTimeEnabled        |
 |             |                                    |
 +-------------+------------------------------------+
 | File        | enableFileLogging                  |
 | Logging     | disableFileLogging                 |
 |             | isFileLoggingEnabled               |
 |             |                                    |
 +-------------+------------------------------------+
 | 'stdout'    | setStdoutThreshold                 |
 | Logging     | enableStdoutLoggingPrefix          |
 |             | disableStdoutLoggingPrefix         |
 |             | stdoutThreshold                    |
 |             | isStdoutLoggingPrefixEnabled       |
 +-------------+------------------------------------+
 | Log File    | rotateOnSize                       |
 | Rotation    | rotateOnTimeInterval               |
 |             | disableSizeRotation                |
 |             | disableTimeIntervalRotation        |
 |             | setOnFileRotationCallback          |
 |             | suppressUniqueFileNameOnRotation   |
 |             | rotationSize                       |
 |             | rotationLifetime                   |
 |             | isSuppressUniqueFileNameOnRotation |
 +-------------+------------------------------------+
In general, a ball::FileObserver object can be dynamically configured throughout its lifetime (in particular, before or after being registered with a logger manager). However, note that for ball::FileObserver, configuration changes that affect how records are logged (e.g., enablePublishInLocalTime and disablePublishInLocalTime) impact only those records that are published subsequent to making the configuration change.
Log Record Formatting:
By default, the output format of published log records, whether written to stdout or to a user-specified file, is: 
  DATE_TIME PID:THREAD-ID SEVERITY FILE:LINE CATEGORY MESSAGE USER-FIELDS
where DATE and TIME are of the form DDMonYYYY and HH:MM:SS.mmm, respectively (Mon being the 3-letter abbreviation for the month). For example, a log record will have the following appearance when the default format is in effect (assuming that no user-defined fields are present): 
  18MAY2005_18:58:12.076 7959:1 WARN ball_fileobserver.t.cpp:404 TEST hello!
The default format for records published to stdout (only) can be shortened by calling disableStdoutLoggingPrefix. This method has the effect of reducing the above example message to the following when output to stdout: 
  WARN ball_fileobserver.t.cpp:404 TEST hello!
For additional flexibility, the setLogFormat method can be called to configure the format of published records. This method takes two arguments: the first argument specifies the format of records logged to a file and the second applies to records that are logged to stdout. The respective formats are specified using printf-style (%-prefixed) conversion specifications. (See ball_recordstringformatter for information on how format specifications are defined and interpreted.) For example, the following statement will force subsequent records to be logged in a format that is almost identical to the default long format except that the timestamp attribute will be written in ISO 8601 format: 
  fileObserver.setLogFormat("\n%I %p:%t %s %f:%l %c %m %u\n",
                            "\n%I %p:%t %s %f:%l %c %m %u\n");
Once a customized format is specified for stdout, calling disableStdoutLoggingPrefix will switch to the default short format, i.e., "\n%s %f:%l %c %m %u\n". If enableStdoutLoggingPrefix is subsequently called, the customized format specified in the most recent call to setLogFormat will be reinstated. Note that the observer emits newline characters at the beginning and at the end of a log record by default, so the user needs to add them explicitly to the format string to preserve this behavior.
Note that in the sample long-form message above the timestamp has millisecond precision (18MAY2005_18:58:12.076). If microsecond precision is desired instead, consider using either the D or O format specification supported by ball_recordstringformatter.
Log Record Timestamps:
By default, the timestamp attributes of published records are written in UTC time (unless true is supplied for the optional publishInLocalTime constructor flag). To write timestamps in local time instead, call the enablePublishInLocalTime method. Note that the local time offset is calculated using the UTC timestamp of each record. To revert to UTC time, call the disablePublishInLocalTime method. Whether UTC time or local time is in effect can be queried via isPublishInLocalTimeEnabled.
Local Time Offset Calculations:
The calculation of the local time offset adds some overhead to the publication of each log record. If this overhead is an issue, it can be mitigated by installing a high-performance local-time offset callback for bdlt::CurrentTime in main. See bsls_systemtime for the details of installing such a callback and see baltzo_localtimeoffsetutil for an example facility. Note that such callbacks can improve performance for all users of bdlt::CurrentTime, not just the ball logger.
Log Filename Patterns:
The enableFileLogging method supports the use of %-escape sequences to specify log filenames. The recognized sequences are as follows: 
  %Y - current year   (4 digits with leading zeros)
  %M - current month  (2 digits with leading zeros)
  %D - current day    (2 digits with leading zeros)
  %h - current hour   (2 digits with leading zeros)
  %m - current minute (2 digits with leading zeros)
  %s - current second (2 digits with leading zeros)
  %T - current datetime, equivalent to "%Y%M%D_%h%m%s"
  %p - process ID
The date and time elements of the derived filename are based on the time when the log file is created. Furthermore, these elements are based on either UTC time or local time depending on the value returned by isPublishInLocalTimeEnabled. (See Log Record Timestamps for the similarity with the treatment of record timestamps.)
For example, a log filename pattern of "task.log.%Y%M%D_%h%m%s" will yield the filename task.log.20110501_123000 if the file is created on 01-May-2011 at 12:30:00 local time (assuming enablePublishInLocalTime was called).
Log File Rotation:
A ball::FileObserver may be configured to perform automatic rotation of log files based on simple file rotation conditions (or rules).
File Rotation Conditions:
Rotation rules may be established based on the size of the log file (i.e., a "rotation-on-size" rule), and a periodic time interval (i.e., a "rotation-on-time-interval" rule). These rules are independently enabled by the rotateOnSize and rotateOnTimeInterval methods, respectively. If both rules are in effect, log file rotation is performed whenever either rule applies.
Rotated File Naming:
When a log file is rotated, a new filename is generated using the pattern supplied to enableFileLogging. If the file having the new name does not exist, the current log file is closed, and the logging continues to the new file.
If the file having the new name already exits, then the behavior of the file rotation is further controlled by the flag set with suppressUniqueFileNameOnRotation:
  • suppressUniqueFileNameOnRotation(false) (default behavior) The current log filename is renamed by appending a timestamp in the form ".%Y%M%D_%h%m%s" where the timestamp indicates when the file being rotated was last opened (the time of either the last file rotation or the last call to enableFileLogging, whichever is most recent). As with the timestamps of logged records, the timestamps appended to log filenames upon rotation will be in UTC time or local time depending on the value returned by isPublishInLocalTimeEnabled.
  • suppressUniqueFileNameOnRotation(true) The logging continues to the current log file, effectively suppressing log filename rotation. This may happen when the log file pattern does not contain -escape sequences indicating a time period, or the rotation interval is less than the time period encoded by -escape sequences. In order to rotate log files in this mode, the log file pattern MUST contain -escape sequences that specify date and (optionally) time. For example, the log filename pattern "app_%Y%M%D.log" will produce a single log file per calendar day (assuming, the rotation on time is enabled and the rotation happens at least once a day).
The two tables below illustrate the names of old and new log files when a file rotation occurs. We assume that the log file is rotated on 2011-May-21 at 12:29:59 local time and that the last rotation occurred at 12:30:00 on the previous day. We further assume that enablePublishInLocalTime was called, so that all date and time elements are rendered in local time.
The first table shows the name change (if any) of the (old) log file being rotated when the flag controlled by suppressUniqueFileNameOnRotation is set to false: 
  Disabled: 'suppressUniqueFileNameOnRotation'

  For brevity:
      <TS1> = 20210520_123000
      <TS2> = 20210521_122959 (aka next day, about the same time)

  +----------------+-----------------+----------------+----------------------
  | Pattern        | Filename Before | Filename After | Rotated Filename
  |                | Rotation        | Rotation       |
  +----------------+-----------------+----------------+----------------------
  | "a.log"        | a.log           | a.log          | a.log.<TS1>
  | "a.log.%T"     | a.log.<TS1>     | a.log.<TS2>    | a.log.<TS1>
  | "a.log.%Y%M"   | a.log.202105    | a.log.202105   | a.log.202105.<TS1>
  | "a.log.%Y%M%D" | a.log.20210520  | a.log.20110521 | a.log.20210520
  +----------------+-----------------+----------------+----------------------
Note that upon rotation a timestamp was appended to the name of the rotated file when the log pattern does not contain -escape sequences indicating a time period ("a.log"), or the rotation period (in our case, one day) is less than the time period encoded in the pattern (in case of "a.log.%Y%M" the period is one month).
The next table shows the rotated name when the flag controlled by suppressUniqueFileNameOnRotation is set to true, and (possibly new) name of the (new) log file following rotation: 
  Enabled: 'suppressUniqueFileNameOnRotation'

  +----------------+-----------------+----------------+----------------------
  | Pattern        | Filename Before | Filename After | Rotated Filename
  |                | Rotation        | Rotation       |
  +----------------+-----------------+----------------+----------------------
  | "a.log"        | a.log           | a.log          | none
  | "a.log.%T"     | a.log.<TS1>     | a.log.<TS2>    | a.log.<TS1>
  | "a.log.%Y%M"   | a.log.202105    | a.log.202105   | none
  | "a.log.%Y%M%D" | a.log.20210520  | a.log.20110521 | a.log.20210520
  +----------------+-----------------+----------------+----------------------
Note that the original filename is reused when the log pattern does not contain -escape sequences indicating a time period ("a.log"), or the rotation period (in our case, one day) is less than the time period encoded in the pattern (in case of "a.log.%Y%M" the period is one month).
Also note, that in any cases, when the log pattern includes "%T", or encodes a time period that coincides the rotation period (in case of "a.log.%Y%M%D" the period is one day), then a unique name on each rotation is produced with the (local) time at which file rotation occurred embedded in the filename.
Thread Safety:
All methods of ball::FileObserver are thread-safe, and can be called concurrently by multiple threads.
Usage:
This section illustrates intended use of this component.
Example: Basic Usage:
First, we create a ball::LoggerManagerConfiguration object, lmConfig, and set the logging "pass-through" level -- the level at which log records are published to registered observers -- to DEBUG: 
  int main()
  {
      ball::LoggerManagerConfiguration lmConfig;
      lmConfig.setDefaultThresholdLevelsIfValid(ball::Severity::e_DEBUG);
Next, create a ball::LoggerManagerScopedGuard object whose constructor takes the configuration object just created. The guard will initialize the logger manager singleton on creation and destroy the singleton upon destruction. This guarantees that any resources used by the logger manager will be properly released when they are not needed: 
      ball::LoggerManagerScopedGuard guard(lmConfig);
      ball::LoggerManager& manager = ball::LoggerManager::singleton();
Next, we create a ball::FileObserver object and register it with the ball logging system; 
      bsl::shared_ptr<ball::FileObserver> observer =
                                      bsl::make_shared<ball::FileObserver>();
      int rc = manager.registerObserver(observer, "default");
      ASSERT(0 == rc);
The default format for outputting log records can be changed by calling the setLogFormat method. The statement below outputs record timestamps in ISO 8601 format to the log file and in bdlt-style (default) format to stdout, where timestamps are output with millisecond precision in both cases: 
      observer->setLogFormat("%I %p:%t %s %f:%l %c %m\n",
                             "%d %p:%t %s %f:%l %c %m\n");
Note that both of the above format specifications omit user fields (u) in the output. Also note that, unlike the default, this format does not emit a blank line between consecutive log messages.
Henceforth, all messages that are published by the logging system will be transmitted to the publish method of observer. By default, only the messages with a e_WARN, e_ERROR, or e_FATAL severity will be logged to stdout: 
      BALL_LOG_SET_CATEGORY("main")
      BALL_LOG_INFO << "Will not be published on 'stdout'.";
      BALL_LOG_WARN << "This warning *will* be published on 'stdout'.";
This default can be changed by specifying an optional argument to the ball::FileObserver constructor or by calling the setStdoutThreshold method: 
      observer->setStdoutThreshold(ball::Severity::e_INFO);

      BALL_LOG_DEBUG << "This debug message is not published on 'stdout'.";
      BALL_LOG_INFO  << "This info message *will* be published on 'stdout'.";
      BALL_LOG_WARN  << "This warning will be published on 'stdout'.";
The user can log all messages to a specified file and specify rotation rules based on the size of the log file or its lifetime: 
      // Create and log records to a file named "/var/log/task/task.log".
      observer->enableFileLogging("/var/log/task/task.log");

      // Disable 'stdout' logging.
      observer->setStdoutThreshold(ball::Severity::e_OFF);

      // Rotate the file when its size becomes greater than or equal to 256
      // megabytes.
      observer->rotateOnSize(1024 * 256);

      // Rotate the file every 24 hours.
      observer->rotateOnTimeInterval(bdlt::DatetimeInterval(1));
Note that in this configuration the user may end up with multiple log files for any given day (because of the rotation-on-size rule). This feature can be disabled dynamically later: 
      observer->disableSizeRotation();
      return 0;
  }
Generated on Fri Mar 31 2023 13:25:14 for BDE Release 3.115.0.0 Production Release by  doxygen 1.7.1