Logging (computing): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:26, 10 November 2023

Revision as of 01:14, 11 November 2023

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''Event logs'' record events taking place in the execution of a system in order to provide an [[audit trail]] that can be used to understand the activity of the system and to diagnose problems. They are essential to understand the activities of complex systems, particularly in the case of applications with little user interaction (such as [[Server (computing)|server]] applications).

It can also be useful to combine log file entries from multiple sources. This approach, in combination with [[statistical analysis]], may yield [[Statistical correlation|correlations]] between seemingly unrelated 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}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite web |title=Extended Log File Format |url=https://www.org/pm --0 user/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 [[Pm 0--user 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, [[Pm 0--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.

== See also ==

{{too many see alsos|date=November 2023}}

* {{annotated link|Common Log Format}}

* {{annotated link|Digital traces}}

* {{annotated link|Event Viewer}}

* {{annotated link|Java logging framework}}

* {{annotated link|List of web analytics software}}

* {{annotated link|Logbook}}

* {{annotated link|Log4J}}

* {{annotated link|Log management and intelligence}}

* {{annotated link|Logging as a Service (LaaS)}}

* {{annotated link|Runtime intelligence}}

* {{annotated link|Server log}}

* {{annotated link|Web counter}}

* {{annotated link|Web log analysis software}}

* {{annotated link|XML log}}