User: DaveyBob

How do you alert someone that something's wrong?

On: How Should an Application's Logs Work?

So your log's filled with interesting tidbits of code gone wild...who is going to find out about it? Good options are: - SNMP (for hosting centers) - Email (for hosting centers, and otherwise) - Sysout (if somebody watches the screen)

Allow turning off/on without reboot needed

On: How Should an Application's Logs Work?

We use log4j, which lets us dynamcally flip into debug mode, with more verbose info, when we want. So I've recently added support in our app for turning on debug mode logging on the fly. That's pretty big if the app's going into a hosting center...restarting the app may mean a walk to a secured room in another building, or at least remoting into the box. But even then, there's work in progress with that app you may not want to lose. What I did was set up a timer so that debug mode is turned off automagically after 24 hours, just in case the hosting center staff forget to turn it off. Be sure to test for screwy conditions that can cause the log to fill with junk.

Re:Where's the log file??

On: How Should an Application's Logs Work?

I usually emit a line to System.out.println saying where the log file is going. Saves me hours of hunting for it!