Logging

Logging is a crucial part of software development. It helps us track what the software is doing and makes sure that it is running correctly. Without logging, we would be flying blind, and it would be very difficult to debug any issues that might arise. Logging also provides valuable insights into how the software is being used. We can use this data to improve the user experience or to make performance tweaks. In short, logging is an essential tool for any software development team.

Sometimes, too much logging can be a problem. This is because it can make the software slow down or fill your disk. It’s important to make sure that you only log the information that you need, and that you filter out any unnecessary data. Otherwise, you might end up with a lot of logs that are difficult to read and understand.

To configure the logging in DocIntel, you need to edit the file nlog.config You can read about the detailled options in the documentation of NLog.

For example, the following will only display the logs that have a level above Warning.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<!-- XSD manual extracted from package NLog.Schema: https://www.nuget.org/packages/NLog.Schema-->
<nlog xmlns="http://www.nlog-project.org/schemas/NLog.xsd" xsi:schemaLocation="NLog NLog.xsd"
      xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
      autoReload="true">

  <!-- the targets to write to -->
  <targets>
    <target name="coloredConsole" xsi:type="ColoredConsole" useDefaultRowHighlightingRules="false"
      layout="${longdate} [${level:uppercase=true}] [${logger}] ${message}" >
        <highlight-row condition="level == LogLevel.Debug" foregroundColor="DarkGray" />
        <highlight-row condition="level == LogLevel.Info" foregroundColor="Gray" />
        <highlight-row condition="level == LogLevel.Warn" foregroundColor="Yellow" />
        <highlight-row condition="level == LogLevel.Error" foregroundColor="Red" />
        <highlight-row condition="level == LogLevel.Fatal" foregroundColor="Red" backgroundColor="White" />
    </target>
  </targets>

  <!-- rules to map from logger name to target -->
  <rules>
    <logger name="*" minlevel="Warn" writeTo="coloredConsole" />
  </rules>
</nlog>

For example, if you want to provide more information to a bug report, or better understands what is happening, you can define the following loggers.

<logger name="*" minlevel="Warn" writeTo="coloredConsole" />
<logger name="DocIntel.*" minlevel="Debug" writeTo="coloredConsole" />