RE: [boost] Boost Logging Library ( + Mini Update on proposed boost.profile )

From: Brian Braatz (brianb_at_[hidden])
Date: 2005-05-02 13:00:39

> -----Original Message-----
> From: boost-bounces_at_[hidden]
[mailto:boost-bounces_at_[hidden]]
> On Behalf Of James Fowler
> Maksym Motornyy wrote:
> 
> > During development of last product I was missing good C++ logging
> > library like one available in Java. I had to write it myself. Does
> > somebody think that it will be useful to have it in Boost? Or there
is
> > such one in development?
> 
> Several projects related to logging have been mentioned recently (see
> message below).  I'm about to throw another in the ring which could be
> used for primitive logging, although it's primary focus lies
elsewhere.
> 
[James Fowler Writes:] 
> The basic concept of logging is simple enough, but the wide range of
> useful implementation variations makes it really hard to envision a
> solid "one-size-fits-all" system.  It may make sense to start working
on
> a common set of patterns for a logging system interface, which could
be
> used to consistently encapsulate many different implementations.  This
> same issue came up in a discussion with Brian Baatz on profiling.
> Developing such an interface should be challenging enough, even
without
> specifying implementation, but it's a more manageable first step.  It
> also seems like a good way to foster cooperation among the various
> projects while allowing  a healthy level of  diversity, ideally
> improving the consistency over time for "early-adopters" of specific
> projects.
[Brian Braatz Writes:] 

(Thank you James for remembering I was working on this :) )

Sorry guys, have been OFF LIST for awhile here. Was busy integrating
profiling into a very large application.

I am working towards getting a status report out to this list here
(hopefully) within this week.
        This will include
        What I added to the profiler
        What production tests we did
        What was learned by doing that
        Next steps for proposed boost.profile

What I have learned in this process:
        Profiling EVENTS and LOGGING those events together is what is
necessary to get the whole picture
        "Programmer" level logging is different from profile event
logging
        What I see the Logging Library doing is connecting the dots with
programmer supplied information
        Logging events and connecting them (mentally) with the profile
report fills in the missing blanks for the developer for performance
centered thinking
        Logging programmer detailed messages is more for finding bugs
        Logging events relative to the profiler, is more for performance
related analysis

        What is also interesting, while I have not done a detailed
review of the logging library, we seem to have done some things
similarly. (there is about 5-10% overlap)

        Again, what profiling \ event tracing is trying to do is
different I think than what the Logging Library is trying to do, there
is some overlap.

My State:
        I have integrated the profiler and things I have added to the
profiler into our application
        In doing so, the library on top of that is using our internal
(not boost) libraries for support
        My next step here is to take what I learned from doing this and
combine them into one library that is boostified
        Additionally, I need to (this week) keep everyone in the loop by
submitting a report.