Logging Application Block Properties

Article
07/14/2010

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The tables in this topic explain the Logging Application Block properties.

Trace Listener Properties

These tables explain the properties for the different trace listeners. There are tables for the following trace listeners:

CustomTrace Listener. This is a class you have created that derives from the CustomTraceListener class.
EmailTrace Listener. This is a trace listener that sends out log entries as e-mail.
Flat FileTrace Listener. This is a trace listener that writes log entries to a text file.
Database Trace Listener. This is a trace listener that writes formatted log entries to a database.
FormattedEvent LogTraceListener. This is a trace listener that formats log entries and writes them to an event log.
MsmqTraceListener. This is a trace listener that writes log entries to a message queue.
System DiagnosticsTraceListener. This is one of the .NET Framework trace listeners such as the Console Trace Listener.
WMITraceListener. This is a****trace listener that raises a WMI management event for each log entry received.
Rolling Flat File Trace Listener. This is a trace listener that creates a new log file depending on the current log file's age and/or size.
XML TraceListener. This trace listener is used to integrate the Logging Application Block with applications that use WCF.

Custom TraceListener

Table 1 lists the properties that appear when you add a custom trace listener to the configuration.

Table 1: Custom TraceListener Properties

Property	Description
Attributes	The key/value pairs. To edit these, click the ellipsis button (…) and use the EditableKeyValueCollectionEditor. The attributes are a collection of key/value string pairs of configuration information for the custom trace listener.
Formatter	The formatter to use with this trace listener. Click the formatter you want to use in the drop-down list. The default is none. This is optional.
Name	The name of the trace listener. The default is CustomTrace Listener. This is required.
TraceOutputOptions	Trace listeners use this property to determine which options, or elements, should be included in the trace output. Possible values are: CallStack, DateTime, LogicalOperationStack, None, ProcessId, ThreadId, and Timestamp. The default is None. For an explanation of these values, see the TraceOutputOptions Values table. This is optional.
Type	The type of the trace listener. The type must derive from the CustomTraceListener class. Click the ellipsis (…) button to view the Type Selector dialog box, and then click the type you want. This is required.

Database TraceListener

Table 2 lists the properties that appear when you add a DatabaseTraceListener.

Table 2 Database TraceListener Properties

Property	Description
AddCategoryStoredProcedure	The name of the stored procedure that adds a category. The default is AddCategory. This is required.
DatabaseInstance	The name of the database instance to use. The default is none. This is required.
Formatter	The formatter to use with this trace listener. Select from the drop-down list. The default is none. This is optional.
Name	The name of the trace listener. The default is Database Trace Listener. This is required.
TraceOutputOptions	A property used by trace listeners to determine which options, or elements, should be included in the trace output. Possible values are: CallStack, DateTime, LogicalOperationStack, None, ProcessId, ThreadId, and Timestamp. The default is None. For an explanation of these values, see the TraceOutputOptions Values table. This is optional.
WriteLogStoredProcedureName	The name of the stored procedure that writes the log entries. The default is WriteLog. This is required.

Email TraceListener

Table 3 lists the properties that appear when you add an EmailTraceListener.

Table 3: Email TraceListener Properties

Property	Description
Formatter	The formatter to use with this trace listener. Select from the drop-down list. The default is none. This is optional.
FromAddress	The address where the log entry originated. The default is from@example.com. This is required.
Name	The name of the trace listener. The default is EmailTraceListener. This is required.
SmtpPort	The SMTP port that receives e-mail messages. The default is 25. This is optional.
SmtpServer	The SMTP server used to send e-mail messages. The default is 127.0.0.1. This is optional.
SubjectLineEnder	The subject line suffix. This is optional.
SubjectLineStarter	The subject line prefix. This is optional.
ToAddress	The address where the log entry is sent. The default is to@example.com. This is required.
TraceOutputOptions	Trace listeners use this property to determine which options, or elements, should be included in the trace output. Possible values are: CallStack, DateTime, LogicalOperationStack, None, ProcessId, ThreadId, and Timestamp. The default is None. For an explanation of these values, see the TraceOutputOptions Values table. This is optional.

Flatfile TraceListener

Table 4 lists the properties that appear when you add a FlatfileTraceListener.

Table 4: Flatfile TraceListener Properties

Property	Description
Filename	The name of the file where entries are written. The default name is trace.log. This is required.
Footer	Additional information contained in the file footer. The default is ----------------------------------------. This is optional.
Formatter	The formatter to use with this trace listener. Select from the drop-down list. The default is none. This is optional.
Header	Additional information contained in the file header. The default is ----------------------------------------. This is optional.
Name	The name of the trace listener. The default is FlatFile TraceListener. This is required.
TraceOutputOptions	Trace listeners use this property to determine which options, or elements, should be included in the trace output. Possible values are: CallStack, DateTime, LogicalOperationStack, None, ProcessId, ThreadId, and Timestamp. The default is None. For an explanation of these values, see the TraceOutputOptions Values table. This is optional.

Note

When you use the FlatFileTraceListener class to write log information to a file, the application block locks the file until the application closes. It is possible to open and read the file but you cannot move or delete the log file until you close the application.

Formatted EventLog TraceListener

Table 5 lists the properties that appear when you add a FormattedEventLogTraceListener.

Table 5: Formatted EventLog TraceListener Properties

Property	Description
Formatter	The formatter to use with this trace listener. Select from the drop-down list. The default is none. This is optional.
Log	The name of the event log where entries are written. The default is Application. This is optional.
MachineName	The name of the computer on which to write log entries. This is optional.
Name	The name of the trace listener. The default is Formatted EventLog TraceListener. This is required.
Source	The source name to use when writing to the log. The default is Enterprise Library Logging. This is required.
TraceOutputOptions	Trace listeners use this property to determine which options, or elements, should be included in the trace output. Possible values are: CallStack, DateTime, LogicalOperationStack, None, ProcessId, ThreadId, and Timestamp. The default is None. For an explanation of these values, see the TraceOutputOptions Values table. This is optional.

MSMQ TraceListener

Table 6 lists the properties that appear when you add an MsmqTraceListener.

Table 6: Msmq TraceListener Properties

Property	Description
Formatter	The formatter to use with this trace listener. Select from the drop-down list. This must be the Binary Formatter when you use this listener with the Message Queuing distributor service. This is optional.
MessagePriority	Sets the priority of a log entry. This determines its place while the log entry is traveling and when it is inserted into its destination queue. Possible values are AboveNormal,High, Highest, Low, Lowest, Normal, VeryHigh, and VeryLow. It applies to the MsmqTraceListener class. The default is Normal. This is optional.
Name	The name of the trace listener. The default is MsmqTraceListener.
QueuePath	The path to the queue that the MsmqTraceListener instance uses. This attribute is a message queuing path, and it applies to the MsmqTraceListener class. The default is .\Private$\myQueue. This is required.
Recoverable	Specifies whether the log entry is guaranteed to be delivered if there is a computer failure or network problem. The default is False. This is optional.
TimeToBeReceived	The total time for a log entry to be received by the destination queue. The default is 49710,06:28:15. This is optional.
TimeToReachQueue	The maximum time for the log entry to reach the queue. The default is 49710,06:28:15. This is optional.
TraceOutputOptions	Attaches additional information to platform-provided trace listener output. Possible values are CallStack, DateTime, LogicalOperationStack, None, ProcessId, ThreadId, and Timestamp. The default is None. This is optional.
TransactionType	The type of a Message Queuing transaction. Possible values are Automatic, None, and Single. It applies to the MsmqTraceListener class. The default is None. This is optional.
UseAuthentication	Specifies whether the message was (or must be) authenticated before being sent. The default is False. This is optional.
UseDeadLetterQueue	Specifies whether a copy of a message that could not be delivered should be sent to a dead-letter queue. The default is False. This is optional.
UseEncryption	Specifies whether to make the message private. The default is False. This is optional.

Rolling Flat File Trace Listener

Table 7 lists the properties that appear when you add a Rolling Flat File Trace Listener. This trace listener allows you to control the size and age of a log file.

Table 7: Rolling Flat File Trace Listener Properties

Property	Description
Name	This is the name of the trace listener. This is required.
FileName	This is the name of the rolling flat file. This is required.
Footer	Additional information contained in the file footer. The default is ----------------------------------------. This is optional.
Formatter	The formatter to use with this trace listener. Select from the drop-down list. The default is none. This is optional.
Header	Additional information contained in the file header. The default is ----------------------------------------. This is optional.
RollFileExistsBehavior	This property determines what occurs to an existing file when it rolls over. If you select Overwrite, then the existing file is overwritten. If you select Increment, the application block creates a new file and names it by incrementing the timestamp.
RollInterval	This property determines when the log file rolls over. You can select none (the default), minute, hour, day, month, or year. This is optional.
RollSizeKB	This is the maximum size the file can reach, in Kilobytes, before it rolls over. This is optional.
TimeStampPattern	This is the date/time format that is appended to the new filename as mentioned below. This is required.
TraceOutputOptions	Trace listeners use this option to determine which options, or elements, should be included in the trace output. Possible values are: CallStack, DateTime, LogicalOperationStack, None, ProcessId, ThreadId, and Timestamp. The default is None. For an explanation of these values, see the TraceOutputOptions Values table. This is optional.

Remarks

You can control either or both the size of the file and its age. For example, if you specify in configuration a RollSizeKB value of 5KB and a RollInterval value of Day, the file rolls when its size exceeds 5KB and it also rolls at the end of the day.
If you select Increment for the RoleFileExistsBehavior, the application block creates a new file when the existing file rolls over. The file’s name includes the current timestamp. If a file with this name already exists, the application block adds an integer to the end of the timestamp and increments it until it cannot find a file with that name. For example, assume there is a file named mylog2007-01-1.8.log and the file rolls over while that timestamp is still valid. The application block will then look for a file named mylog2007-01-18.1.log. If no such file exists, it will use that file name for the new file. If that file also exists, it will then attempt to locate the log with the next sequence number mylog2007-01-18.2.log.
If you select Overwrite for the RoleFileExistsBehavior, the application block creates a new file when the current file rolls over. The name of the file includes the current timestamp. If a file with that name already exists, the application block overwrites the file. If, for some reason, it cannot overwrite the file, it will generate a name according to the same process that is used with the Increment value.
Relative path names resolve to a location that is relative to the AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory directory.

XML TraceListener

Table 8: XML TraceListener Properties

Property	Description
Name	This is the name of the trace listener. This is required.
FileName	This is the name of the file where the trace listener writes the data it extracts an XmlLogEntry object. This is required.
TraceOutputOptions	Trace listeners use this property to determine which options, or elements, should be included in the trace output. Possible values are: CallStack, DateTime, LogicalOperationStack, None, ProcessId, ThreadId, and Timestamp. The default is None. For an explanation of these values, see the TraceOutputOptions Values table. This is optional.

System.Diagnostics TraceListener

The TraceListener class provides the abstract base class for trace listeners that monitor trace and debug output. Table 9 lists the properties that appear when you add a System.DiagnosticsTraceListener.

Note

If you specify a System.Diagnostics trace listener that writes to a file and that file is read-only, the trace listener does not write the data to the file and no exception occurs. Make sure the file attributes are set to read/write.

Table 9: System.Diagnostics TraceListener Properties

Property	Description
InitData	If supplied, this property is used when the application block constructs a trace listener. It is a string whose meaning depends on the type of trace listener being constructed. For the .NET Framework trace listeners, the string has the following values: TextWriterTraceListener: filename; XmlWriterListener: filename; DelimitedLIstTraceListener: filename; ConsoleTraceListener: not applicable; DefaultTraceListener: not applicable; EventLogTraceListener: event source name. If the InitData field is not specified, the application block uses the default constructor. If the user specifies the InitData field for a trace listener that does not have a constructor overload that accepts a string, an error occurs. This is optional.
Name	The name of the trace listener. The default is System.Diagnostics Trace Listener. This is required.
TraceOutputOptions	Trace listeners use this property to determine which options, or elements, should be included in the trace output. Possible values are: CallStack, DateTime, LogicalOperationStack, None, ProcessId, ThreadId, and Timestamp. The default is None. For an explanation of these values, see the TraceOutputOptions Values table. This is optional.
Type	The type of the trace listener. Select from the drop-down list. This is required.

WMI Trace Listener

The WMITraceListener is a****trace listener that raises a WMI management event for each log entry it receives. Table 10 lists the properties that appear when you add a WMITraceListener.

Table 10: WMI TraceListener Properties

Property	Description
Name	The name of the trace listener. The default is WMI Trace Listener. This is required.
TraceOutputOptions	Trace listeners use this property to determine which options, or elements, should be included in the trace output. Possible values are: CallStack, DateTime, LogicalOperationStack, None, ProcessId, ThreadId, and Timestamp. The default is None. For an explanation of these values, see the TraceOutputOptions Values table. This is optional.

TraceOutputOptions Values

Table 11 lists the possible TraceOutputOptions values.

Table 11: TraceOutputOptions Values

Value	Description
CallStack	Write the call stack, which is represented by the return value of the Environment.StackTrace property.
DateTime	Write the date and time.
LogicalOperationsStack	Write the logical operation stack, which is represented by the return value of the CorrelationManager.LogicalOperationStack property.
None	Do not write any elements.
ProcessId	Write the process identity, which is represented by the return value of the Process.ID property.
ThreadId	Write the ThreadIdentity, which is represented by the return value of the Thread.ManagedThreadIdProperty for the current thread.
Timestamp	Write the timestamp, which is represented by the return value of the System.Diagnostics.Stopwatch.GetTimeStamp method.

Category Source Properties

Table 12 lists the CategorySource properties.

Table 12: Category Source Properties

Property	Description
Name	The name of the category. The default is Category Source.
SourceLevels	Possible values are ActivityTracing, All, Critical, Error, Information, Off, Verbose, and Warning. The default is All.

SwitchLevel Values

Table 13 lists the possible SourceLevels values.

Table 13: SwitchLevel Values

Value	Description
ActivityTracing	Allows the Stop, Start, Suspend, Transfer, and Resume events through.
All	Allows all events through.
Critical	Allows only Critical events through. A critical event is a fatal error or application crash.
Error	Allows Critical and Error events through. An Error event is a recoverable error.
Information	Allows Critical, Error, Warning, and Information events through. An information event is an informational message.
Off	Does not allow any events through.
Verbose	Allows Critical, Error, Warning, Information, and Verbose events through. A Verbose event is a debugging trace.
Warning	Allows Critical, Error, and Warning events through. A Warning event is a non-critical problem.

Filter Properties

These tables explain the properties for the different types of filters. There are tables for the following filters:

CategoryFilter. This allows or denies log entries based on their categories.

LogEnabledFilter. This either enables or disables logging.

PriorityFilter. This allows or denies log entries based on their priorities.

CustomFilter. This is a filter that you have added to the Logging Application Block.

Table 14 lists the properties that appear when you add a CategoryFilter.

Property	Description
CategoryFilterExpression	Sets up the rule for denying or allowing the specified categories. Use the Category Filter Editor to configure the expression.
Name	The name of the filter. The default is Category Filter.

LogEnabled Filter

Table 15 lists the properties that appear when you add a LogEnabled Filter.

Table 15: LogEnabled Filter Properties

Property	Description
Enabled	Filter is enabled if value is True. The default is False.
Name	The name of the filter. The default is LogEnabledFilter.

Priority Filter

Table 16 lists the properties that appear when you add a PriorityFilter.

Table 16: Priority Filter Properties

Property	Description
MaximumPriority	The maximum value a log entry can have to be logged. If you do not set this property, there is no maximum value.
MinimumPriority	The minimum value a log entry must have to be logged. If you do not set this property, there is no minimum value. The default is -1.
Name	The name of the filter. The default is PriorityFilter.

Custom Filter

Table 17 lists the properties that appear when you add a CustomFilter.

Table 17: Custom Filter Properties

Property	Description
Attributes	The key/value pairs for this filter. Click the ellipsis button (…) and use the EditableKeyValue Collection Editor.
Name	The name of the filter. The default is Custom Filter.
Type	The type of the trace listener. Select from the drop-down list. This is required.