chunk_logger – Asynchronous Logging
**Configuration Change. ** This feature is available as beta in Momentum 3.6.5.
The chunk_logger module provides a safe interface for logging asynchronously from Lua, C, and C++.
Historically, the paniclog has been used for low-volume logging via print() in Lua, ec_log in Sieve++, or ec_mod_debug() or log_error() in C/C++. However, logging to the paniclog is not suitable for general debug logging or more than occassional debug logging.
Logging to the paniclog in the scheduler thread (the main thread) can limit throughput and cause watchdog kills. The scheduler thread's job is to multiplex file descriptors and execute timed events, handing off time-consuming tasks to other threads. Logging to the paniclog involves disk I/O, and writing to the paniclog in the scheduler thread may block its execution for a long time, thereby holding up other tasks in the scheduler thread and decreasing throughput. If enough data is logged to the paniclog in the scheduler thread, it may become so unresponsive to the watchdog process that the watchdog timeout triggers. The chunk_logger module does not have this limitation.
chunk_logger is configured through the ecelerity.conf file with a stanza such as:
chunk_logger chunk_logger1 { destination = "/path/to/log/file" }
You can specify the timestamp in a strftime() format, as in the following example:
chunk_logger chunk_logger1
{
timestamp_format = "%m:%d:%H:%M:%S"
destination = "/path/to/log/file"
add_newline = "true"
}
Note
add_newline enables you to specify whether a new line is added automatically to every item of data that is logged. It defaults to true.
The module is in the msys.beta.chunk_logger_int namespace:
msys.beta.chunk_logger_int.log("Hello World!")
The module msys.ts.chunk_logger and the function msys.ts.chunk_logger.log() provides the Lua interface, as shown by the following example:
require("msys.beta.chunk_logger_int")
...
msys.beta.chunk_logger_int.log()
The C interface uses Momentum's module hooks system to provide a callable hook point. chunk_logger provides an implementation of the hook point, as shown in the following example:
#include <module-hooks.h>
#include "hooks/chunk_logger/log.h"
...
call_chunk_logger_log_hook("default", buf, buflen);
Note
"default" is specified here as the name of the log destination. Currently chunk_logger only supports one log destination, so this field is ignored. It is recommended that you pass "default" until different log destinations are supported.