5.5.5. Sample XML Configuration for a Periodic Log Handler

Procedure 5.5. Configure the Periodic Log Handler

1. Add the Periodic Log Handler Identifier Information

   The name property sets the unique identifier for this log handler.
   When autoflush is set to "true" the log messages will be sent to the handler's target immediately upon request.

   <periodic-rotating-file-handler name="FILE" autoflush="true">
   

2. Set the level Property

   The level property sets the maximum level of log message that the root logger records.

   <periodic-rotating-file-handler name="FILE" autoflush="true">
      <level name="INFO"/>
   

3. Set the encoding Output

   Use encoding to set the character encoding scheme to be used for the output.

   <periodic-rotating-file-handler name="FILE" autoflush="true">
      <level name="INFO"/>
      <encoding value="UTF-8"/>
   

4. Specify the formatter

   Use formatter to list the log formatter used by the log handler.

   <periodic-rotating-file-handler name="FILE" autoflush="true">
      <level name="INFO"/>
      <encoding value="UTF-8"/>
      <formatter>
         <pattern-formatter pattern="%d{HH:mm:ss,SSS} %-5p [%c] (%t) %s%E%n"/>
      </formatter>
   

5. Set the file Object

   The file object represents the file where the output of this log handler is written to. It has two configuration properties: relative-to and path.
   The relative-to property is the directory where the log file is written to. JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 6 file path variables can be specified here. The jboss.server.log.dir variable points to the log/ directory of the server.
   The path property is the name of the file where the log messages will be written. It is a relative path name that is appended to the value of the relative-to property to determine the complete path.

   <periodic-rotating-file-handler name="FILE" autoflush="true">
      <level name="INFO"/>
      <encoding value="UTF-8"/>
      <formatter>
         <pattern-formatter pattern="%d{HH:mm:ss,SSS} %-5p [%c] (%t) %s%E%n"/>
      </formatter>
      <file relative-to="jboss.server.log.dir" path="server.log"/>
   

6. Set the suffix Value

   The suffix is appended to the filename of the rotated logs and is used to determine the frequency of rotation. The format of the suffix is a dot (.) followed by a date string, which is parsable by the java.text.SimpleDateFormat class. The log is rotated on the basis of the smallest time unit defined by the suffix. For example, yyyy-MM-dd will result in daily log rotation. See http://docs.oracle.com/javase/6/docs/api/index.html?java/text/SimpleDateFormat.html

   <periodic-rotating-file-handler name="FILE" autoflush="true">
      <level name="INFO"/>
      <encoding value="UTF-8"/>
      <formatter>
         <pattern-formatter pattern="%d{HH:mm:ss,SSS} %-5p [%c] (%t) %s%E%n"/>
      </formatter>
      <file relative-to="jboss.server.log.dir" path="server.log"/>
      <suffix value=".yyyy-MM-dd"/>
   

7. Set the append Property

   When the append property is set to "true", all messages written by this handler will be appended to an existing file. If set to "false" a new file will be created each time the application server launches. Changes to append require a server reboot to take effect.

   <periodic-rotating-file-handler name="FILE" autoflush="true">
      <level name="INFO"/>
      <encoding value="UTF-8"/>
      <formatter>
         <pattern-formatter pattern="%d{HH:mm:ss,SSS} %-5p [%c] (%t) %s%E%n"/>
      </formatter>
      <file relative-to="jboss.server.log.dir" path="server.log"/>
      <suffix value=".yyyy-MM-dd"/>
      <append value="true"/>
   </periodic-rotating-file-handler>