Sys::Syslog

NAME

Sys::Syslog, openlog, closelog, setlogmask, syslog - Perl interface to the UNIX syslog(3) calls

SYNOPSIS

    use Sys::Syslog;                          # all except setlogsock, or:
    use Sys::Syslog qw(:DEFAULT setlogsock);  # default set, plus setlogsock

    setlogsock $sock_type;
    openlog $ident, $logopt, $facility;       # don't forget this
    syslog $priority, $format, @args;
    $oldmask = setlogmask $mask_priority;
    closelog;

DESCRIPTION

Sys::Syslog is an interface to the UNIX syslog(3) program. Call "syslog()" with a string priority and a list of "printf()" args just like syslog(3).

Syslog provides the functions:

openlog $ident, $logopt, $facility

$ident is prepended to every message. $logopt contains zero or more of the words pid, ndelay, nowait. The cons option is ignored, since the failover mechanism will drop down to the console automatically if all other media fail. $facility specifies the part of the system to report about, for example LOG_USER or LOG_LOCAL0: see your syslog(3) documentation for the facilities available in your system.

You should use openlog() before calling syslog().

syslog $priority, $format, @args

If$priority permits, logs ($format, @args) printed as by "printf(3V)", with the addition that %m is replaced with "$!" (the latest error message).

If you didn't use openlog() before using syslog(), syslog will try to guess the $ident by extracting the shortest prefix of $format that ends in a ``:''.

setlogmask $mask_priority

Sets log mask $mask_priority and returns the old mask.

setlogsock $sock_type [$stream_location] (added in 5.004_02)

Sets the socket type to be used for the next call to "openlog()" or "syslog()" and returns TRUE on success, undef on failure.

A value of 'unix' will connect to the UNIX domain socket (in some systems a character special device) returned by the "_PATH_LOG" macro (if your system defines it), or /dev/log or /dev/conslog, whatever is writable. A value of 'stream' will connect to the stream indicated by the pathname provided as the optional second parameter. (For example Solaris and IRIX require 'stream' instead of 'unix'.) A value of 'inet' will connect to an INET socket (either tcp or udp, tried in that order) returned by getservbyname(). 'tcp' and 'udp' can also be given as values. The value 'console' will send messages directly to the console, as for the 'cons' option in the logopts in openlog().

A reference to an array can also be passed as the first parameter. When this calling method is used, the array should contain a list of sock_types which are attempted in order.

The default is to try tcp, udp, unix, stream, console.

Giving an invalid value for sock_type will croak.

closelog

Closes the log file.

Note that "openlog" now takes three arguments, just like openlog(3).

EXAMPLES

    openlog($program, 'cons,pid', 'user');
    syslog('info', 'this is another test');
    syslog('mail|warning', 'this is a better test: %d', time);
    closelog();

    syslog('debug', 'this is the last test');

    setlogsock('unix');
    openlog("$program $$", 'ndelay', 'user');
    syslog('notice', 'fooprogram: this is really done');

    setlogsock('inet');
    $! = 55;
    syslog('info', 'problem was %m'); # %m == $! in syslog(3)

AUTHOR

Tom Christiansen <tchrist@perl.com> and Larry Wall <larry@wall.org>.

UNIX domain sockets added by Sean Robinson <robinson_s@sc.maricopa.edu> with support from Tim Bunce <Tim.Bunce@ig.co.uk> and the perl5-porters mailing list.

Dependency on syslog.ph replaced with XS code by Tom Hughes <tom@compton.nu>.

Code for constant()s regenerated by Nicholas Clark <nick@ccl4.org>.

Failover to different communication modes by Nick Williams <Nick.Williams@morganstanley.com>.