wiki:LoggingAndDebugging

Version 2 (modified by sauermann, 18 years ago) (diff)

--

Configuration

First of all, replace ur update your .gnowsis/config/logging.properties with the latest from SemanticDesktop/defaults/config

there we have a file-logger! this logs into .gnowsis/data/ also if the gui has died.

Then, write your log messages so that loglevel "finer" is used for real debugging whereas loglevel "fine" is for normal debug messages for developers (that are not performance taking). "Finer" is a log-level that is detailed, when the programmer's task is to debug.

Log Levels

What log levels do we use and what do they mean?

  • SEVERE - a severe error has occured, that has implications for the user. For example, some data could not be saved or half of the system just crashed.
  • INFO - a message that is definitely interesting to the user. You must not place debugging messages here. Info messages can say that an important message is here, that the user should read now. If the user wonders what the gnowsis is doing at the moment, an info message may be good.
  • CONFIG - shows that the configuration of the system is ok or is wrong. These messages should reflect only things that can be changed by changing the configuration. For example, when config files are read and weird values are found, a config message is the right thing. If config files are broken totally, INFO or SEVERE is better.
  • FINE - these message are interesting for all programmers. They are normal debug messages that show basically what the system is doing at a higher level, but don't go into details. They do not harm performance
  • FINER - these message are interesting for a debugger of a certain module. When you think that something is wrong or want to know details, FINER is good.
  • FINEST - these are incredibly intense, like on the level of method calls. They cause serious performance problems and flood the logging. They are ONLY allowed for intense debugging. If you switch to FINEST level, your log file can increase up to 100MB in minutes.