What are the benefits and drawbacks of using logging frameworks vs. custom logging code?

2 What are the benefits of logging frameworks?

Logging frameworks can provide a variety of benefits, such as saving time and effort by reducing custom logging code, improving the consistency and readability of log messages, adjusting the verbosity and granularity without changing code, sending log messages to different destinations and formats, enhancing performance and reliability with buffering, batching, compression, encryption, or asynchronous techniques, and integrating with other tools and frameworks.

3 What are the drawbacks of logging frameworks?

Logging frameworks can also have some drawbacks, such as introducing complexity and dependencies to your project, increasing the risk of compatibility or interoperability issues, limiting customization and flexibility, and potentially introducing bugs or vulnerabilities. You may have to learn and use a new library or tool, manage its configuration and updates, follow the conventions and restrictions of the logging framework, and be aware of potential errors or flaws in their implementation or documentation that could expose sensitive information or resources through logging.

4 What is custom logging code?

Custom logging code is the code that you write yourself to implement logging functionality and features in your software, without using any external logging framework or library. Custom logging code can give you more control and freedom over your logging design and implementation, as well as more visibility and understanding of your logging code.

5 What are the benefits of custom logging code?

Custom logging code can offer some advantages, such as avoiding complexity and dependencies, ensuring compatibility and interoperability, enabling customization and flexibility, and reducing potential bugs or vulnerabilities. This is because you do not have to rely on any external logging framework or library or deal with its configuration and updates. Additionally, you can use the same logging code across different platforms, languages, or libraries, or adapt it to your specific needs and preferences. Moreover, you have more control and knowledge over your logging code, so that you can implement any logging functionality or feature that you want or need without being constrained by the conventions or restrictions of a logging framework. Additionally, this can help you avoid exposing sensitive information or resources through logging.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?