Skip to content

Commit

Permalink
Update TheProblem.md
Browse files Browse the repository at this point in the history
  • Loading branch information
rismay committed Jul 2, 2024
1 parent 4360a0b commit edacce7
Showing 1 changed file with 62 additions and 31 deletions.
93 changes: 62 additions & 31 deletions Sources/WrkstrmLog/Documentation.docc/Articles/TheProblem.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -10,19 +10,19 @@ Let's consider a typical logging scenario in a Swift project:
import Foundation

func someFunction() {
#if DEBUG
print("Debug: Entering someFunction")
#endif
#if DEBUG
print("Debug: Entering someFunction")
#endif

// Function logic here
// Function logic here

if let error = performOperation() {
print("Error occurred: \(error)")
}
if let error = performOperation() {
print("Error occurred: \(error)")
}

#if DEBUG
print("Debug: Exiting someFunction")
#endif
#if DEBUG
print("Debug: Exiting someFunction")
#endif
}
```

Expand All @@ -33,43 +33,70 @@ This approach has several drawbacks:
3. Limited control over log output in different environments (debug, release, etc.)
4. Lack of easy integration with external logging or monitoring systems

Moreover, a significant issue with base logging frameworks is the inconsistent experience when calling from different environments:

- Command Line
- Xcode
- Linux

Each environment may handle logs differently, leading to inconsistencies in output format, log levels, and even the presence of certain log messages. This can make debugging across different platforms and environments challenging and time-consuming.

For example, consider the following scenario:

```swift
import os

let logger = Logger(subsystem: "com.example.app", category: "network")

func fetchData() {
logger.info("Fetching data...")
// Fetch logic here
logger.debug("Data fetched successfully")
}
```

When run from Xcode, you might see nicely formatted logs in the console. However, when running the same code from the command line or on a Linux server, the output might be different or even missing certain log levels.

## Introducing WrkstrmLog

WrkstrmLog addresses these issues by providing a unified, flexible logging interface. Here's a glimpse of how it works:
WrkstrmLog addresses these issues by providing a unified, flexible logging interface that ensures consistency across all environments. Here's a glimpse of how it works:

```swift
import WrkstrmLog

let log = Log(system: "com.myapp", category: "networking")

func someFunction() {
log.debug("Entering someFunction")
log.debug("Entering someFunction")

// Function logic here
// Function logic here

if let error = performOperation() {
log.error("Operation failed: \(error)")
}
if let error = performOperation() {
log.error("Operation failed: \(error)")
}

log.debug("Exiting someFunction")
log.debug("Exiting someFunction")
}
```

With WrkstrmLog, the logging experience remains consistent whether you're running your app from Xcode, the command line, or on a Linux server. This consistency is achieved through intelligent handling of different environments and logging backends.

## Key Features of WrkstrmLog

1. **Unified Interface**: Consistent logging across your entire project.
2. **Flexible Configuration**: Easy to set up for different environments (debug, release, etc.).
3. **Categorization**: Log messages can be categorized for easier filtering and analysis.
4. **Multiple Output Styles**: Supports console output, Apple's Unified Logging System, and Swift's logging framework.
5. **Extensibility**: Can be easily extended to support additional logging destinations.
5. **Cross-Environment Consistency**: Provides the same logging experience across Xcode, command line, and Linux environments.
6. **Extensibility**: Can be easily extended to support additional logging destinations.

## Challenges We Overcame

Developing WrkstrmLog presented its own set of challenges:

1. **Cross-Platform Compatibility**:
Challenge: Ensuring the logger works consistently across iOS, macOS, and other Apple platforms.
Solution: We used conditional compilation and platform-agnostic APIs where possible.
Challenge: Ensuring the logger works consistently across iOS, macOS, and other Apple platforms, as well as Linux.
Solution: We used conditional compilation and platform-agnostic APIs where possible, with specific adaptations for each environment.

2. **Performance Optimization**:
Challenge: Minimizing the performance impact of logging, especially in release builds.
Expand All @@ -83,6 +110,10 @@ Developing WrkstrmLog presented its own set of challenges:
Challenge: Ensuring WrkstrmLog can work alongside or replace existing logging solutions.
Solution: Provided adapters for common logging frameworks and made it easy to redirect logs to custom destinations.

5. **Environment-Specific Behavior**:
Challenge: Maintaining consistent behavior across different development and deployment environments.
Solution: Implemented environment detection and adaptive logging strategies to ensure uniform output regardless of the execution context.

## Using WrkstrmLog in Your Project

Here's how you can use WrkstrmLog in your Swift package:
Expand All @@ -91,19 +122,19 @@ Here's how you can use WrkstrmLog in your Swift package:
import WrkstrmLog

struct MyNetworkManager {
private let log = Log(system: "com.myapp.networking", category: "api")
private let log = Log(system: "com.myapp.networking", category: "api")

func fetchData() {
log.info("Starting data fetch")
func fetchData() {
log.info("Starting data fetch")

// Fetch logic here
// Fetch logic here

if let error = fetchError {
log.error("Data fetch failed: \(error)")
} else {
log.debug("Data fetch successful")
}
if let error = fetchError {
log.error("Data fetch failed: \(error)")
} else {
log.debug("Data fetch successful")
}
}
}
```

Expand All @@ -116,8 +147,8 @@ Log.shared.style = .os // Use Apple's Unified Logging System

## Conclusion

WrkstrmLog transforms logging from a necessary chore into a powerful tool for understanding and debugging your Swift applications. By providing a flexible, consistent, and extensible logging solution, it helps developers focus on writing great code rather than wrestling with log management.
WrkstrmLog transforms logging from a necessary chore into a powerful tool for understanding and debugging your Swift applications. By providing a flexible, consistent, and extensible logging solution that works uniformly across all environments, it helps developers focus on writing great code rather than wrestling with log management and environmental discrepancies.

While creating WrkstrmLog had its challenges, the result is a logging utility that we believe will significantly improve the development workflow for Swift projects of all sizes.
While creating WrkstrmLog had its challenges, the result is a logging utility that we believe will significantly improve the development workflow for Swift projects of all sizes, regardless of where they're run or deployed.

Stay tuned for our next post, where we'll dive deeper into advanced features and customization options in WrkstrmLog!

0 comments on commit edacce7

Please sign in to comment.