# Loguru: a header-only C++ logging library.

[![Build status](https://ci.appveyor.com/api/projects/status/hret4rx3xakjs7j4?svg=true)](https://ci.appveyor.com/project/emilk/loguru)

## At a glance

![Loguru terminal output](images/terminal_colors.png)

## Documentation
Documentation can be found at https://emilk.github.io/loguru/index.html.

## License
This software is in the public domain. Where that dedication is not recognized, you are granted a perpetual, irrevocable license to copy and modify this file as you see fit.

That being said, I would appreciate credit!
If you find Loguru useful, tweet me at @ernerfeldt mail me at emil.ernerfeldt@gmail.com.

## Why another logging library?
I have yet to come across a nice, light-weight logging library for C++ that does everything I want. So I made one!

In particular, I want logging that produces logs that are both human-readable and easily grep:ed. I also want to be able to hook into the logging process to print some of the more severe messages on-screen in my app (for dev-purposes).

## Features:
* Header only
	* No linking woes! Just include and enjoy.
* Small, simple library.
	* Small header with no `#include`s for **fast compile times** (see separate heading).
	* No dependencies.
	* Cross-platform
* Flexible:
	* User can install callbacks for logging (e.g. to draw log messages on screen in a game).
	* User can install callbacks for fatal error (e.g. to pause an attached debugger or throw an exception).
* Support multiple file outputs, either trunc or append:
	* e.g. a logfile with just the latest run at low verbosity (high readability).
	* e.g. a full logfile at highest verbosity which is appended to on every run.
* Full featured:
	* Verbosity levels.
	* Supports assertions: `CHECK_F(fp != nullptr, "Failed to open '%s'", filename)`
	* Supports abort: `ABORT_F("Something went wrong, debug value is %d", value)`.
* Stack traces printed on abort.
	* Stack traces are cleaned up somewhat.
		* Before cleanup: `some_function_name(std::__1::vector<std::__1::basic_string<char, std::__1::char_traits<char>, std::__1::allocator<char> >, std::__1::allocator<std::__1::basic_string<char, std::__1::char_traits<char>, std::__1::allocator<char> > > > const&)`
		* After cleanup: `some_function_name(std::vector<std::string> const&)`
	* Stack traces are printed [the right way](http://yellerapp.com/posts/2015-01-22-upside-down-stacktraces.html):
		* Chronological order with the most relevant at the end.
* (most) signals writes stack traces.
* Fast:
	- When configured in unbuffered mode (loguru::g_flush_interval_ms = 0):
		+ 6-8 us when logging to stderr + file (rMBP + SSD + Clang).
		+ About 25%-75% faster than GLOG on my MacBook Pro (Clang).
		+ About the same as GLOG on my Linux Desktop (GCC).
	- With loguru::g_flush_interval_ms set to ~100 ms:
		+ 3-5 us when logging to stderr + file (rMBP + SSD + Clang).
		+ About twice as fast as GLOG.
* Drop-in replacement for most of GLOG (except for setup code).
* Choose between using printf-style or std::cout-style formatting.
* Compile-time checked printf-formating (on supported compilers).
* Support for [fmtlib](https://github.com/fmtlib/fmt) formatting.
	* Add `#define LOGURU_USE_FMTLIB 1`, before including `loguru.hpp`
	* You also need to set up the `fmtlib` include directory for building as well as linking against `fmtlib`, alternatively use the `FMT_HEADER_ONLY` preprocessor definition.
* Assertion failures are marked with `noreturn` for the benefit of the static analyzer and optimizer.
* All logging also written to stderr.
	* With colors on supported terminals.
* Thread-safe.
* Can be configured to either:
	* Flush every `loguru::g_flush_interval_ms` in a background thread
	* Flushes output on each call so you won't miss anything even on hard crashes (and still faster than buffered GLOG!).
* Prefixes each log line with:
	* Date and time to millisecond precision.
	* Application uptime to millisecond precision.
	* Thread name or id (you can set the name with `loguru::set_thread_name`).
	* File and line.
	* Log level.
	* Indentation (see *Scopes*).
* Error context:
	* Catch the values of local variables and print them only on a crash (see *Error context*).
* Scopes (see *Scopes*).
* grep:able logs:
	* Each line has all the info you need (e.g. date).
	* You can easily filter out high verbosity levels after the fact.

## Compiling

Just include <loguru.hpp> where you want to use Loguru.
Then, in one .cpp file:
``` C++
	#define LOGURU_IMPLEMENTATION 1
	#include <loguru.hpp>
```
Make sure you compile with `-std=c++11 -lpthread -ldl` on relevant environments.

## Usage

``` C++
#include <loguru.hpp>
...
// Optional, but useful to time-stamp the start of the log.
// Will also detect verbosity level on command line as -v.
loguru::init(argc, argv);

// Put every log message in "everything.log":
loguru::add_file("everything.log", loguru::Append, loguru::Verbosity_MAX);

// Only log INFO, WARNING, ERROR and FATAL to "latest_readable.log":
loguru::add_file("latest_readable.log", loguru::Truncate, loguru::Verbosity_INFO);

// Only show most relevant things on stderr:
loguru::g_stderr_verbosity = 1;

LOG_SCOPE_F(INFO, "Will indent all log messages within this scope.");
LOG_F(INFO, "I'm hungry for some %.3f!", 3.14159);
LOG_F(2, "Will only show if verbosity is 2 or higher");
VLOG_F(get_log_level(), "Use vlog for dynamic log level (integer in the range 0-9, inclusive)");
LOG_IF_F(ERROR, badness, "Will only show if badness happens");
auto fp = fopen(filename, "r");
CHECK_F(fp != nullptr, "Failed to open file '%s'", filename);
CHECK_GT_F(length, 0); // Will print the value of `length` on failure.
CHECK_EQ_F(a, b, "You can also supply a custom message, like to print something: %d", a + b);

// Each function also comes with a version prefixed with D for Debug:
DCHECK_F(expensive_check(x)); // Only checked #if !NDEBUG
DLOG_F(INFO, "Only written in debug-builds");

// Turn off writing to stderr:
loguru::g_stderr_verbosity = loguru::Verbosity_OFF;

// Turn off writing err/warn in red:
loguru::g_colorlogtostderr = false;

// Throw exceptions instead of aborting on CHECK fails:
loguru::set_fatal_handler([](const loguru::Message& message){
	throw std::runtime_error(std::string(message.prefix) + message.message);
});
```

If you prefer logging with streams:

``` C++
#define LOGURU_WITH_STREAMS 1
#include <loguru.hpp>
...
LOG_S(INFO) << "Look at my custom object: " << a.cross(b);
CHECK_EQ_S(pi, 3.14) << "Maybe it is closer to " << M_PI;
```

## Configuration options

Before including `<loguru.hpp>` you may #define the following
configuration options to 1:

`LOGURU_DEBUG_LOGGING` (default 1 #if !NDEBUG, else 0):

	Enables debug versions of logging statements.

`LOGURU_DEBUG_CHECKS` (default 1 #if !NDEBUG, else 0):

	Enables debug versions of checks.

`LOGURU_REDEFINE_ASSERT` (default 0):

	Redefine "assert" to call Loguru version instead (!NDEBUG only).

`LOGURU_WITH_STREAMS` (default 0):

	Add support for _S versions for all LOG and CHECK functions:
		LOG_S(INFO) << "My vec3: " << x.cross(y);
		CHECK_EQ_S(a, b) << "I expected a and b to be the same!";
	This is off by default to keep down compilation times.

`LOGURU_REPLACE_GLOG` (default 0):

	Make Loguru mimic GLOG as close as possible,
	including #defining LOG, CHECK, VLOG_IS_ON etc.
	LOGURU_REPLACE_GLOG implies LOGURU_WITH_STREAMS.

`LOGURU_UNSAFE_SIGNAL_HANDLER` (default 1):

	Make Loguru try to do unsafe but useful things,
	like printing a stack trace, when catching signals.
	This may lead to bad things like deadlocks in certain situations.

`LOGURU_USE_FMTLIB` (default 0):

	Use fmtlib formatting. See https://github.com/fmtlib/fmt
	This will make loguru.hpp depend on <fmt/format.h>
	You will need to link against `fmtlib` or use the `FMT_HEADER_ONLY` preprocessor definition.
	Feature by kolis (https://github.com/emilk/loguru/pull/22)

`LOGURU_WITH_FILEABS` (default 0):

	When LOGURU_WITH_FILEABS is defined, a check of file change
	will be performed on every call to file_log.  If the file is
	moved, or inode changes, file is reopened using the same
	FileMode as is done by add_file.  Such a scheme is useful if
	you have a daemon program that moves the log file every 24
	hours and expects new file to be created.  Feature by scinart
	(https://github.com/emilk/loguru/pull/23).

`LOGURU_STACKTRACES` (default 1 on supported platforms):

	Print stack traces on abort.

`LOGURU_RTTI` (try to detect automatically by default):

	Set to 0 if your platform does not support runtime type information (-fno-rtti).


## Grep:able logs
``` bash
# Only show warnings, errors and fatal messages:
cat logfile.txt | egrep "[^0-9]\|"

# Ignore verbosity-levels 4 and above:
cat logfile.txt | egrep "[^4-9]\|"

# Only show verbosity-level 6:
cat logfile.txt | egrep "6\|"

# Only show messages from the main thread:
cat logfile.txt | egrep "\[main thread     \]"
```

## No includes in loguru.h
I abhor logging libraries that `#include`'s everything from `iostream` to `windows.h` into every compilation unit in your project. Logging should be frequent in your source code, and thus as lightweight as possible. Loguru's header has *no #includes*. This means it will not slow down the compilation of your project.

In a test of a medium-sized project, including `loguru.hpp` instead of `glog/logging.hpp` everywhere gave about 10% speedup in compilation times.

Note, however, that this gives you the bare-bones version of Loguru with printf-style logging. If you want std::ostream style logging (or GLOG functionality) you need to `#define LOGURU_WITH_STREAMS 1` before `#include <loguru.hpp>`, and that will make loguru.hpp include `<sstream>`. No away around it!

## Scopes
The library supports scopes for indenting the log-file. Here's an example:

``` C++
int main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
	loguru::init(argc, argv);
	LOG_SCOPE_FUNCTION(INFO);
	LOG_F(INFO, "Doing some stuff...");
	for (int i=0; i<2; ++i) {
		VLOG_SCOPE_F(1, "Iteration %d", i);
		auto result = some_expensive_operation();
		LOG_IF_F(WARNING, result == BAD, "Bad result");
	}
	LOG_F(INFO, "Time to go!");
	return 0;
}
```

This will output:

```
date       time         ( uptime  ) [ thread name/id ]                   file:line     v|
2015-10-04 15:28:30.547 (   0.000s) [main thread     ]             loguru.cpp:184      0| arguments:       ./loguru_test test -v1
2015-10-04 15:28:30.548 (   0.000s) [main thread     ]             loguru.cpp:185      0| Verbosity level: 1
2015-10-04 15:28:30.548 (   0.000s) [main thread     ]             loguru.cpp:186      0| -----------------------------------
2015-10-04 15:28:30.548 (   0.000s) [main thread     ]        loguru_test.cpp:108      0| { int main_test(int, char **)
2015-10-04 15:28:30.548 (   0.000s) [main thread     ]        loguru_test.cpp:109      0| .   Doing some stuff...
2015-10-04 15:28:30.548 (   0.000s) [main thread     ]        loguru_test.cpp:111      1| .   { Iteration 0
2015-10-04 15:28:30.681 (   0.133s) [main thread     ]        loguru_test.cpp:111      1| .   } 0.133 s: Iteration 0
2015-10-04 15:28:30.681 (   0.133s) [main thread     ]        loguru_test.cpp:111      1| .   { Iteration 1
2015-10-04 15:28:30.815 (   0.267s) [main thread     ]        loguru_test.cpp:113      0| .   .   Bad result
2015-10-04 15:28:30.815 (   0.267s) [main thread     ]        loguru_test.cpp:111      1| .   } 0.134 s: Iteration 1
2015-10-04 15:28:30.815 (   0.267s) [main thread     ]        loguru_test.cpp:115      0| .   Time to go!
2015-10-04 15:28:30.815 (   0.267s) [main thread     ]        loguru_test.cpp:108      0| } 0.267 s: int main_test(int, char **)
```

Which looks like this in the terminal:

![Terminal colors](images/terminal_colors.png)

(Notice how verbosity levels higher than 0 are slightly gray).

Scopes affects logging on all threads.


## Error context
A stack trace gives you the names of the function at the point of a crash. With `ERROR_CONTEXT`, you can also get the values of select local variables. `ERROR_CONTEXT` is in effect a logging that only occurs if there is a crash.

Usage:

``` C++
void process_customers(const std::string& filename)
{
    ERROR_CONTEXT("Processing file", filename.c_str());
    for (size_t i = 0; i < num_customers; ++i) {
	    ERROR_CONTEXT("Customer index", i);
	    if (i == 42) { crashy_code(); }
    }
}
```

The context is in effect during the scope of the `ERROR_CONTEXT`.
To get the contents of the stack manually, use `loguru::get_error_context()`.

Example result:

	------------------------------------------------
	[ErrorContext]                main.cpp:416   Processing file:    "customers.json"
	[ErrorContext]                main.cpp:417   Customer index:     42
	------------------------------------------------

Error contexts are printed automatically on crashes. Note that values captured by `ERROR_CONTEXT` are **only printed on a crash**. They do not litter the log file otherwise. They also have a very small performance hit (about 12 nanoseconds per `ERROR_CONTEXT` on my MacBook Pro, compared to about 4-7 milliseconds a line in the logfile).

`ERROR_CONTEXT` works with built-in types (`float`, `int`, `char` etc) as well as `const char*`. You can also add support for your own types by overloading `loguru::ec_to_text` (see [`loguru.hpp`](https://github.com/emilk/loguru/blob/master/loguru.hpp) for details).

The `ERROR_CONTEXT` feature of Loguru is actually orthogonal to the logging. If you want to, you can use Loguru just for its `ERROR_CONTEXT` (and use some other library for logging). You can print the error context stack at any time like this:

```
auto text = loguru::get_error_context();
printf("%s", text.c_str());
some_stream << text.c_str(); // Or like this
```

## Streams vs printf#
Some logging libraries only supports stream style logging, not printf-style. This means that what in Loguru is:

``` C++
LOG_F(INFO, "Some float: %+05.3f", number);
```

in Glog becomes something along the lines of:

``` C++
LOG(INFO) << "Some float: " << std::setfill('0') << std::setw(5) << std::setprecision(3) << number;
```

Loguru allows you to use whatever style you prefer.


## Limitations and TODO
* Rename ERROR to avoid conflict with windows.h macro?
* File-only logging: LOG_F(FILE, "Always written to file, never to stderr")
* Windows limitations:
	* No stack-traces (you can add them yourself with `loguru::set_fatal_handler`).
	* No signal handlers.