repo_zf1/documentation/manual/en/module_specs/Zend_Log-Overview.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!-- Reviewed: no -->
<sect1 id="zend.log.overview">
    <title>Overview</title>

    <para>
        <classname>Zend_Log</classname> is a component for general purpose logging.
        It supports multiple log backends, formatting messages sent to the log,
        and filtering messages from being logged. These functions are divided
        into the following objects:

        <itemizedlist>
            <listitem>
                <para>
                    A Log (instance of <classname>Zend_Log</classname>) is the object that your
                    application uses the most. You can have as many Log objects as you
                    like; they do not interact. A Log object must contain at
                    least one Writer, and can optionally contain one or more Filters.
                </para>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
                <para>
                    A Writer (inherits from <classname>Zend_Log_Writer_Abstract</classname>) is
                    responsible for saving data to storage.
                </para>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
                <para>
                    A Filter (implements <classname>Zend_Log_Filter_Interface</classname>)
                    blocks log data from being saved. A filter may be applied to an
                    individual Writer, or to a Log where it is applied before all
                    Writers. In either case, filters may be chained.
                </para>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
                <para>
                    A Formatter (implements <classname>Zend_Log_Formatter_Interface</classname>)
                    can format the log data before it is written by a Writer. Each
                    Writer has exactly one Formatter.
                </para>
            </listitem>
        </itemizedlist>
    </para>

    <sect2 id="zend.log.overview.creating-a-logger">
        <title>Creating a Log</title>

        <para>
            To get started logging, instantiate a Writer and then pass it to a Log instance:

            <programlisting language="php"><![CDATA[
$logger = new Zend_Log();
$writer = new Zend_Log_Writer_Stream('php://output');

$logger->addWriter($writer);
]]></programlisting>

            It is important to note that the Log must
            have at least one Writer. You can add any number of Writers using the
            Log's <methodname>addWriter()</methodname> method.
        </para>

        <para>
            Alternatively, you can pass a Writer directly to constructor of Log as
            a shortcut:

            <programlisting language="php"><![CDATA[
$writer = new Zend_Log_Writer_Stream('php://output');
$logger = new Zend_Log($writer);
]]></programlisting>

            The Log is now ready to use.
        </para>
    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="zend.log.overview.logging-messages">
        <title>Logging Messages</title>

        <para>
            To log a message, call the <methodname>log()</methodname> method of a Log instance
            and pass it the message with a corresponding priority:

            <programlisting language="php"><![CDATA[
$logger->log('Informational message', Zend_Log::INFO);
]]></programlisting>

            The first parameter of the <methodname>log()</methodname> method is a string
            <code>message</code> and the second parameter is an integer <code>priority</code>. The
            priority must be one of the priorities recognized by the Log instance. This is explained
            in the next section.
        </para>

        <para>
            A shortcut is also available. Instead of calling the <methodname>log()</methodname>
            method, you can call a method by the same name as the priority:

            <programlisting language="php"><![CDATA[
$logger->log('Informational message', Zend_Log::INFO);
$logger->info('Informational message');

$logger->log('Emergency message', Zend_Log::EMERG);
$logger->emerg('Emergency message');
]]></programlisting>
        </para>
    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="zend.log.overview.destroying-a-logger">
        <title>Destroying a Log</title>

        <para>
            If the Log object is no longer needed, set the variable containing it to
            <constant>NULL</constant> to destroy it. This will automatically call the
            <methodname>shutdown()</methodname> instance method of each attached Writer before
            the Log object is destroyed:

            <programlisting language="php"><![CDATA[
$logger = null;
]]></programlisting>

            Explicitly destroying the log in this way is optional and is performed
            automatically at <acronym>PHP</acronym> shutdown.
        </para>
    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="zend.log.overview.builtin-priorities">
        <title>Using Built-in Priorities</title>

        <para>
            The <classname>Zend_Log</classname> class defines the following priorities:

            <programlisting language="php"><![CDATA[
EMERG   = 0;  // Emergency: system is unusable
ALERT   = 1;  // Alert: action must be taken immediately
CRIT    = 2;  // Critical: critical conditions
ERR     = 3;  // Error: error conditions
WARN    = 4;  // Warning: warning conditions
NOTICE  = 5;  // Notice: normal but significant condition
INFO    = 6;  // Informational: informational messages
DEBUG   = 7;  // Debug: debug messages
]]></programlisting>

            These priorities are always available, and a convenience method of the same name
            is available for each one.
        </para>

        <para>
            The priorities are not arbitrary. They come from the BSD <code>syslog</code> protocol,
            which is described in <ulink url="http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3164">RFC-3164</ulink>.
            The names and corresponding priority numbers are also
            compatible with another <acronym>PHP</acronym> logging system,
            <ulink url="http://pear.php.net/package/log">PEAR Log</ulink>,
            which perhaps promotes interoperability between it and <classname>Zend_Log</classname>.
        </para>

        <para>
            Priority numbers descend in order of importance. <constant>EMERG</constant> (0)
            is the most important priority. <constant>DEBUG</constant> (7) is the least
            important priority of the built-in priorities. You may define priorities
            of lower importance than <constant>DEBUG</constant>. When
            selecting the priority for your log message, be aware of this priority
            hierarchy and choose appropriately.
        </para>
    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="zend.log.overview.user-defined-priorities">
        <title>Adding User-defined Priorities</title>

        <para>
            User-defined priorities can be added at runtime using the Log's
            <methodname>addPriority()</methodname> method:

            <programlisting language="php"><![CDATA[
$logger->addPriority('FOO', 8);
]]></programlisting>

            The snippet above creates a new priority, <constant>FOO</constant>, whose
            value is <code>8</code>. The new priority is then available for logging:

            <programlisting language="php"><![CDATA[
$logger->log('Foo message', 8);
$logger->foo('Foo Message');
]]></programlisting>

            New priorities cannot overwrite existing ones.
        </para>
    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="zend.log.overview.understanding-fields">
        <title>Understanding Log Events</title>

        <para>
            When you call the <methodname>log()</methodname> method or one of its shortcuts, a
            log event is created. This is simply an associative array with data
            describing the event that is passed to the writers. The following keys
            are always created in this array: <code>timestamp</code>,
            <code>message</code>, <code>priority</code>, and
            <code>priorityName</code>.
        </para>

        <para>
            The creation of the <code>event</code> array is completely transparent.
            However, knowledge of the <code>event</code> array is required for adding an
            item that does not exist in the default set above.
        </para>

        <para>
            To add a new item to every future event, call the <methodname>setEventItem()</methodname>
            method giving a key and a value:

            <programlisting language="php"><![CDATA[
$logger->setEventItem('pid', getmypid());
]]></programlisting>

            The example above sets a new item named <code>pid</code> and populates
            it with the PID of the current process. Once a new item has been
            set, it is available automatically to all writers along with all of the
            other data event data during logging. An item can be overwritten at any
            time by calling the <methodname>setEventItem()</methodname> method again.
        </para>

        <para>
            Setting a new event item with <methodname>setEventItem()</methodname> causes the
            new item to be sent to all writers of the logger. However, this does
            not guarantee that the writers actually record the item. This is
            because the writers won't know what to do with it unless a formatter
            object is informed of the new item. Please see the section on Formatters
            to learn more.
        </para>
    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="zend.log.overview.as-errorHandler">
        <title>Log PHP Errors</title>

        <para>
            Zend_Log can also be used to log <acronym>PHP</acronym> errors.  Calling
            <methodname>registerErrorHandler()</methodname> will add Zend_Log before the current
            error handler, and will pass the error along as well.
        </para>

        <table id="zend.log.overview.as-errorHandler.properties.table-1">
            <title>Zend_Log events from PHP errors have the additional fields matching
            <methodname>handler  ( int $errno  , string $errstr  [, string $errfile  [, int $errline  [, array $errcontext  ]]] )</methodname>
            from <ulink url="http://us3.php.net/manual/en/function.set-error-handler.php">set_error_handler</ulink></title>

            <tgroup cols="3">
                <thead>
                    <row>
                        <entry>Name</entry>
                        <entry>Error Handler Paramater</entry>
                        <entry>Description</entry>
                    </row>
                </thead>

                <tbody>
                    <row>
                        <entry>message</entry>
                        <entry>errstr</entry>
                        <entry>Contains the error message, as a string.</entry>
                    </row>

                    <row>
                        <entry>errno</entry>
                        <entry>errno</entry>
                        <entry>Contains the level of the error raised, as an integer.</entry>
                    </row>

                    <row>
                        <entry>file</entry>
                        <entry>errfile</entry>
                        <entry>Contains the filename that the error was raised in, as a string.</entry>
                    </row>

                    <row>
                        <entry>line</entry>
                        <entry>errline</entry>
                        <entry>Contains the line number the error was raised at, as an integer. </entry>
                    </row>

                    <row>
                        <entry>context</entry>
                        <entry>errcontext</entry>
                        <entry>(optional) An array that points to the active symbol table at the point the
                        error occurred. In other words, errcontext  will contain an array of every variable
                        that existed in the scope the error was triggered in. User error handler must not
                        modify error context.</entry>
                    </row>

                </tbody>
            </tgroup>
        </table>
    </sect2>
</sect1>