6.2. JBoss Logging Tools

JBoss Logging Tools is a Java API that provides support for the internationalization and localization of log messages, exception messages, and generic strings. In addition to providing a mechanism for translation, JBoss Logging tools also provides support for unique identifiers for each log message.

Internationalized messages and exceptions are created as method definitions inside of interfaces annotated using org.jboss.logging annotations. It is not necessary to implement the interfaces, JBoss Logging Tools does this at compile time. Once defined you can use these methods to log messages or obtain exception objects in your code.

Internationalized logging and exception interfaces created with JBoss Logging Tools can be localized by creating a properties file for each bundle containing the translations for a specific language and region. JBoss Logging Tools can generate template property files for each bundle that can then be edited by a translator.

JBoss Logging Tools creates an implementation of each bundle for each corresponding translations property file in your project. All you have to do is use the methods defined in the bundles and JBoss Logging Tools ensures that the correct implementation is invoked for your current regional settings.

Message ids and project codes are unique identifiers that are prepended to each log message. These unique identifiers can be used in documentation to make it easy to find information about log messages. With adequate documentation, the meaning of a log message can be determined from the identifiers regardless of the language that the message was written in.

The JBoss Logging Tools quickstart, logging-tools, contains a simple Maven project that demonstrates the features of JBoss Logging Tools. It has been used extensively in this documentation for code samples.

Refer to this quickstart for a complete working demonstration of all the features described in this documentation.

A Message Logger is an interface that is used to define internationalized log messages. A Message Logger interface is annotated with @org.jboss.logging.MessageLogger.

A message bundle is an interface that can be used to define generic translatable messages and Exception objects with internationalized messages . A message bundle is not used for creating log messages.

A message bundle interface is annotated with @org.jboss.logging.MessageBundle.

Internationalized Log Messages are log messages created by defining a method in a Message Logger. The method must be annotated with the @LogMessage and @Message annotations and specify the log message using the value attribute of @Message. Internationalized log messages are localized by providing translations in a properties file.

JBoss Logging Tools generates the required logging classes for each translation at compile time and invokes the correct methods for the current locale at runtime.

An internationalized exception is an exception object returned from a method defined in a message bundle. Message bundle methods that return Java Exception objects can be annotated to define a default exception message. The default message is replaced with a translation if one is found in a matching properties file for the current locale. Internationalized exceptions can also have project codes and message ids assigned to them.

An internationalized message is a string returned from a method defined in a message bundle. Message bundle methods that return Java String objects can be annotated to define the default content of that String, known as the message. The default message is replaced with a translation if one is found in a matching properties file for the current locale.

Translation properties files are Java properties files that contain the translations of messages from one interface for one locale, country, and variant. Translation properties files are used by the JBoss Logging Tools to generated the classes that return the messages.

Project codes are strings of characters that identify groups of messages. They are displayed at the beginning of each log message, prepended to the message Id. Project codes are defined with the projectCode attribute of the @MessageLogger annotation.

Message Ids are numbers, that when combined with a project code, uniquely identify a log message. Message Ids are displayed at the beginning of each log message, appended to the project code for the message. Message Ids are defined with the id attribute of the @Message annotation.