Logging (computing): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 16:12, 11 June 2024

Revision as of 14:36, 19 August 2024

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In the simplest case, messages are written to a file, called a ''log file''.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://blog.pandorafms.org/log-monitoring/ |title= Log Monitoring: not the ugly sister |access-date = February 14, 2018 |last= DeLaRosa |first= Alexander |date= February 8, 2018 |website= [[Pandora FMS]] |language = english |quote= A log file is a text file or XML file used to register the automatically produced and time-stamped documentation of events, behaviors and conditions relevant to a particular system. |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180214153657/https://blog.pandorafms.org/log-monitoring/

|archive-date= February 14, 2018}}</ref> Alternatively, the messages may be written to a dedicated logging system or to a [[log management]] software, where it is stored in a database or on a different computer system.

Specifically, a ''transaction log'' is a log of the communications between a system and the users of that system,<ref>{{cite journal | last=Peters | first=Thomas A. | title=The history and development of transaction log analysis | journal=Library Hi Tech | volume=11 | issue=2 | date=1993-02-01 | issn=0737-8831 | doi=10.1108/eb047884 | pages=41–66}}</ref> or a data collection method that automatically captures the type, content, or time of transactions made by a person from a terminal with that system.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Rice | first1=Ronald E. | last2=Borgman | first2=Christine L. | title=The use of computer-monitored data in information science and communication research | journal=Journal of the American Society for Information Science | volume=34 | issue=4 | date=1983 | issn=0002-8231 | doi=10.1002/asi.4630340404 | pages=247–256}}</ref> For Web searching, a transaction log is an electronic record of interactions that have occurred during a searching episode between a Web search engine and users searching for information on that Web search engine.

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They are essential to understand particularly in the case of applications with little user interaction.

It can also be useful to combine log file entries from multiple sources. It is a different combination that may yield between with related events on different servers. Other solutions employ network-wide querying and [[report]]ing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/relational-databases/logs/log-file-viewer|title=Log File Viewer - SQL Server|website=learn.microsoft.com|date=28 February 2023 }}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite web |title=Extended Log File Format |url=https://www.org/TR/WD-logfile.html |website=www.w3.org}}</ref>

=== Transaction logs ===

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A ''server log'' is a log file (or several files) automatically created and maintained by a [[Server (computing)|server]] consisting of a list of activities it performed.

A typical example is a [[Webserver directory index|web server]] log which maintains a history of page requests. The [[World Wide Web Consortium|W3C]] maintains a standard format (the [[Common Log Format|Common Log Format]]) for web server log files, but other proprietary formats exist.<ref name="auto"/> Some servers can log information to computer readable formats (such as [[JSON]]) versus the human readable standard.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://caddyserver.com/|title=How Logging Works - Caddy Documentation|first=Caddy Web|last=Server|website=caddyserver.com}}</ref> More recent entries are typically appended to the end of the file. Information about the request, including [[client (computing)|client]] [[IP address]], request [[Calendar date|date]]/[[time]], [[webpage|page]] requested, [[HTTPs|HTTP]] code, bytes served, [[User agent|user agent]], and [[HTTP referrer|referrer]] are typically added. This data can be combined into a single file, or separated into distinct logs, such as an access log, [[error]] log, or referrer log. However, server logs typically do not collect user-specific information.

These files are usually not accessible to general Internet users, only to the [[webmaster]] or other administrative person of an Internet service. A statistical analysis of the server log may be used to examine traffic patterns by time of day, day of week, referrer, or user agent. Efficient web site administration, adequate hosting resources and the fine tuning of sales efforts can be aided by analysis of the web server logs.