WAS v8.5 > Troubleshoot > Add logging and tracing to the application > Use Java logging in an application > Use a loggerLog formatters
Log formatters format log messages so they can be used by various log handlers.
Handlers can be configured with a log formatter that knows how to format log records. The event, which is represented by the log record object, is passed to the appropriate formatter by the handler. The formatter returns formatted output to the handler, which writes the output to the output device.
The formatter is responsible for rendering the event for output. This formatter uses the resource bundle specified in the event to look up the message in the appropriate language.
Formatters are attached to handlers using the setFormatter method.
With WebSphere Application Server, we can configure the formatter to work with trace, the SystemOut.log, and theSystemErr.log log files:
- Basic (Compatible): Preserves only basic trace information. With this option, we can minimize the amount of space taken by the trace output.
- Advanced: Preserves more specific trace information. We can see detailed trace information for troubleshooting and problem determination.
- Log analyzer trace format: Preserves trace information in the same format as produced by Showlog tool.
We can select a formatter for a handler using the dmgr console panels. See Diagnostic trace service settings for details.
We can find the java.util.logging documentation at http://java.sun.com/javase/.
IBM recommends using the HPEL log and trace infrastructure. With HPEL, one views logs using the LogViewer command-line tool in PROFILE/bin.
Related concepts:
Loggers
Log handlers
Log filters
Related
Troubleshoot applications with HPEL
Reference:
Diagnostic trace service settings
Log levels