genius-logger

Table of Contents

• Install
• Introduction
• Configuration
• Options
• Main Logger
• Simple Logger
• Email
• Todo

Install

$ npm install genius-logger

Introduction

This specific package is built for node.js applications and is used for a better logging system that is a bit more suited for us here at Bag of Bots. Instead of using logs generated by systems such as Forever, we use this. It just makes things easier.

Here is an example of how to use the main logger:

var genius = require('genius-logger');

var logger = genius(__dirname + '/config.json');

logger.log('Hello! I\'m a simple log message.');
logger.info('Hey, just so you know. This is an info message.');
logger.error('Whoa, something just went wrong!');

Here is an example of how to use the simple logger:

var genius = require('genius-logger');

var simple = genius.simple('name.log');

simple.log('Hello! I\'m a simple log message.');
simple.info('Hey, just so you know. This is an info message.');
simple.error('Whoa, something just went wrong!');

Each log message is preceded by a tag telling you what happened. Here's an example of what the output looks like in your log file:

2015/12/04 @ 7:02 pm >> Hello! I'm a simple log message.
2015/12/04 @ 7:02 pm >> [INFO] Hey, just so you know. This is an info message.
2015/12/04 @ 7:02 pm >> [ERROR] Whoa, something just went wrong!

Configuration

The logger package uses a json configuaration file that is passed through when you initiate the module. Here's what a config.json should look like:

{
    "ProductName": "Example",
    "settings": {
        "LogFile": "my.log",
        "UseTimes": true,
        "TimeFormat": "YYYY[/]MM[/]DD [@] h[:]mma",
        "UseEmail": true,
        "EmailAdminsOnCritical": true
    },
    "email": {
        "name": "Example Email",
        "user": "[e-mail]",
        "password": "mysupersecretpassword",
        "host": "stmp.big.com",
        "port": 26,
        "ssl": false
    },
    "administrators": [
        {
            "name": "Joe Big",
            "email": "[e-mail]"
        }
    ]
}

Configuration In Depth

Let's go into the configuration in a bit more depth.

ProductName

This is your application name. This will show up mainly in the emails that are sent if you have the emails turned on.

LogFile

This is the location and name of the file to log to.

UseTimes

If you have this activated a timestamp of the device that is running Genius Logger will be added onto every message logged.

TimeFormat

We use moment.js for all our time related features. We will default to the format you've seen if this option is removed. If you would like to come up with your own format and need help, please refer to their documentation on displaying time here.

Email

I'll go over the email section and the EmailAdminsOnCritical here. If EmailAdminsOnCritical is turned on and the email section is not filled out properly, Genius Logger will fail. Other than that, the configuration should be straight forward.

Administrators

This is just a list of the administrators to email when EmailAdminsOnCritical is turned on.

Options

Along with the configuration file that is passed through, you can also pass through an array of options.

Currently there's only one option.

• debug (off by default)

Building off the example given in the introduction, here's what it would look like with options:

var logger = genius(__dirname + '/config.json', { "debug": true });

Debug

The debug option just enabled information to be logged to the console. It will display information such as: Debug mode on. Genius Logger initialized, configured, and ready to go. Email has been sent to Joe Big <[e-mail]>.

Main Logging

There are 4 different types of logs you can call on: log, info, warning, error, and critical. Sadly though, I am restricted because of the fact you can not format text. So things get really interesting with the critical category.

Logger Log

Usage

logger.log('My basic message.');

Ouput

2015/12/04 @ 7:02 pm >> My basic message.

Logger Info

Usage

logger.info('Hey, this is something you should be aware of.');

Ouput

2015/12/04 @ 7:02 pm >> [INFO] Hey, this is something you should be aware of.

Logger Warning

Usage

logger.warning('Whoa, hold up there cowboy!');

Ouput

2015/12/04 @ 7:02 pm >> [WARNING] Whoa, hold up there cowboy!

Logger Error

Usage

logger.error('There seems to be something wrong.');

Ouput

2015/12/04 @ 7:02 pm >> [ERROR] There seems to be something wrong.

Logger Critical

This is where things get really interesting. If you have the EmailAdminsOnCritical turned on then critical will not only log the message, but it will send an email with the same information. An example email is displayed under the output

Usage

logger.critical('Something major is going down! Oh crap!');

Ouput Log

2015/12/04 @ 7:02 pm >> [CRITICAL] Something major is going down! Oh crap!

Output Email

This is an automated message from the Genius Logger package.

Product: Example

Error Level: Critical

Message:

Something major is going down! Oh crap!

Simple Logging

Simple logging is the same as the main logger except in a few points:

• It does not take a configuration file.
• It does not email on critical errors.

So how do you use the simple logger? Easy, just call it like this:

var logger = genius.simple('my.log');

That's it! Just like the main logger you can also pass the second parameters for other options. Please refer to Options for more information on that.

Email

Sometimes logging something just doesn't suit your needs as a developer. I know sometimes I just need to send an email for some miscellaneous purpose. So with that, I've decided to create a logger.email() function for use. This function requires the UseEmail option to be set to true. This feature is not included in genius.simple(), please do not attempt to use it.

Now it is kind of tricky to configure. You have to pass an array of options for it to use. The only field that's not really required is the subject field. Here is how you can use the email function:

var options = {
        "recipients": [
            {
                "name": "Test User",
                "email": "[e-mail]"
            }
        ],
        "message": {
            "text": "My awesome email.",
            "html": "<b>My awesome email.</b>"
        }
};

logger.email(options);

Todo

• Add text messaging support