NAME Log::Simple - A simple but featureful logging mechanism. SYNOPSIS use Log::Simple; my $log = Log::Simple->new(name => 'whatever'); # name is optional $log->warning("default level (4)"); $log->_4("all levels can be called by number. This is warning()"); $log->_7("this is debug(). Default level is 4, so this won't print"); $log->level(7); $log->debug("same as _7(). It'll print now"); $log->file('file.log'); $log->info("this will go to file"); $log->file(0); # back to STDOUT $log->_6("info facility, example output"); #[2016-03-17 16:49:32.491][info][whatever] info facility, example output $log->display(0); $log->info("display(0) disables all output but this msg"); $log->info("see display() method for disabling, enabling individual tags"); $log->display(1); $log->info("all tags enabled"); #[2016-03-17 16:52:06.356][info][whatever][5689][t/syn.pl|29] all tags enabled $log->print(0); my $log_entry = $log->info("print(0) disables printing and returns the entry"); DESCRIPTION *** This is the first public release. The POD may be off a bit, and despite extensive CI testing on multiple platforms, there still may be a few small issues. *** Lightweight (core-only) and very simple yet powerful debug tool for printing or writing to file log type entries based on a configurable level (0-7). It provides the ability to programmatically change which output tags to display, provides numbered methods so you don't have to remember the name to number level translation, provides the ability to create descendent children, easily enable/disable file output, levels, display etc. Log entry format By default, log entries appear as such, with a timestamp, the name of the facility, the name (if specified in the constructor) and finally the actual log entry message. [2016-03-17 17:01:21.959][info][whatever] info facility, example output All of the above tags can be enabled/disabled programatically at any time, and there are others that are not enabled by default. See display method for details. Levels Verbosity and associated levels are: level 0, 'emergency|emerg' =item level 1, 'alert' =item level 2, 'critical|crit' =item level 3, 'error|err' =item level 4, 'warning|warn' =item level 5, 'notice' =item level 6, 'info' =item level 7, 'debug' Note that all named level methods have an associated _N method, so you don't have to remember the names at all. Using the numbers is often much easier. Setting the level will display all messages related to that level and below. METHODS new(%args) Builds and returns a new Log::Simple object. All arguments are optional, and they can all be set using accessor methods after instantiation. These params are: name Default: undef Specify a name for your log object. It will be displayed by default in the log output. The name of your program or module is a good choice. level => Integer Default: 4 Specify the name or equivalent number (0-7) of the highest level to log. Note that this can be set in a LS_LEVEL environment variable (and changed while your program is running). file => String Default: undef The name of a file to write log entries into. By default, we print to STDOUT. write_mode => Bool Default: 'a' (append) By default, we append to the chosen log file. Send in 'w' or 'write' to overwrite instead. print => Bool Default: 1 (enabled) If a false value is sent in (ie. 0), we'll disable printing the log entries, and return them as a string value instead on each call. display => Bool Default: enabled Send in a false value to disable all log entry tags, less the actual message. See display() in METHODS to learn how to enable and disable individual tags. level(Ingeger) Set and return the facility level. Will return the current value with a param sent in or not. It can be changed at any time. Note that you can set this with the LS_LEVEL environment variable, at any time. the next method call regardless of what it is will set it appropriately. file('file.log', 'mode') By default, we write to STDOUT. Send in the name of a file to write there instead. Mode is optional; we'll append to the file by default. Send in 'w' or 'write' to overwrite the file. display(HASH|Bool) List of log entry tags, and default printing status: name => 1, #specified in new() or name() time => 1, label => 1, # the string value of the level being called pid => 0, # process ID proc => 0, # "filename|line number" of the caller In HASH param mode, send in any or all of the tags with 1 (enable) or 0 (disable). You can also send in 1 to enable all of the tags, or 0 to disable them all. print(Bool) Default is enabled. If disabled, we won't print at all, and instead, return the log entry as a scalar string value. child('name') This method will create a clone of the existing Log::Simple object, and then concatenate the parent's name with the optional name sent in here for easy identification in the logs. All settings employed by the parent will be used in the child, unless explicity changed via the methods. In a module or project, you can create a top-level log object, then in all subs, create a child with the sub's name to easily identify flow within the log. In an OO project, stuff the parent log into the main object, and clone it from there. LOGGING METHODS emergency Level 0 aka: _0(), emerg() alert Level 1 aka: _1() critical Level 2 aka: _2(), crit() error Level 3 aka: _3(), err() warning Level 4 aka: _4(), warn() notice Level 5 aka: _5() info Level 6 aka: _6() debug Level 7 aka: _7() HELPER METHODS These methods may be handy to the end user, but aren't required for end-use. levels('names') Returns the hash of level_num => level_name mapping. If the optional string names is sent in, we'll return an array of just the names, in numeric order from lowest to highest. timestamp Returns the current time in the following format: 2016-03-17 17:51:02.241 AUTHOR Steve Bertrand, BUGS Please report any bugs or feature requests to https://github.com/stevieb9/p5-log-simple/issues REPOSITORY https://github.com/stevieb9/p5-log-simple BUILD RESULTS (THIS VERSION) CPAN Testers: http://matrix.cpantesters.org/?dist=Log-Simple SUPPORT You can find documentation for this module with the perldoc command. perldoc Log::Simple SEE ALSO There are too many other logging modules to list here, but the idea for this one came from Log::Basic. However, this one was written completely from scratch. LICENSE AND COPYRIGHT Copyright 2016 Steve Bertrand. This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of either: the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; or the Artistic License. See http://dev.perl.org/licenses/ for more information.