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author | Vinay Sajip <vinay_sajip@yahoo.co.uk> | 2010-12-19 12:56:57 (GMT) |
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committer | Vinay Sajip <vinay_sajip@yahoo.co.uk> | 2010-12-19 12:56:57 (GMT) |
commit | c63619bcf286128b6d870aadc1991b1e39ac7b01 (patch) | |
tree | dc08fc539f040afba9a03c3cf41c28a8f14b3843 /Doc/library/logging.handlers.rst | |
parent | 7ca6d90681a890791edbc0752353fb400cc6aff0 (diff) | |
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Logging documentation reorganised.
Diffstat (limited to 'Doc/library/logging.handlers.rst')
-rw-r--r-- | Doc/library/logging.handlers.rst | 814 |
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diff --git a/Doc/library/logging.handlers.rst b/Doc/library/logging.handlers.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a2e1be8 --- /dev/null +++ b/Doc/library/logging.handlers.rst @@ -0,0 +1,814 @@ +:mod:`logging.handlers` --- Logging handlers +============================================ + +.. module:: logging.handlers + :synopsis: Handlers for the logging module. + + +.. moduleauthor:: Vinay Sajip <vinay_sajip@red-dove.com> +.. sectionauthor:: Vinay Sajip <vinay_sajip@red-dove.com> + +The following useful handlers are provided in the package. + +.. currentmodule:: logging + +.. _stream-handler: + +StreamHandler +^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +The :class:`StreamHandler` class, located in the core :mod:`logging` package, +sends logging output to streams such as *sys.stdout*, *sys.stderr* or any +file-like object (or, more precisely, any object which supports :meth:`write` +and :meth:`flush` methods). + + +.. class:: StreamHandler(stream=None) + + Returns a new instance of the :class:`StreamHandler` class. If *stream* is + specified, the instance will use it for logging output; otherwise, *sys.stderr* + will be used. + + + .. method:: emit(record) + + If a formatter is specified, it is used to format the record. The record + is then written to the stream with a trailing newline. If exception + information is present, it is formatted using + :func:`traceback.print_exception` and appended to the stream. + + + .. method:: flush() + + Flushes the stream by calling its :meth:`flush` method. Note that the + :meth:`close` method is inherited from :class:`Handler` and so does + no output, so an explicit :meth:`flush` call may be needed at times. + +.. versionchanged:: 3.2 + The ``StreamHandler`` class now has a ``terminator`` attribute, default + value ``'\n'``, which is used as the terminator when writing a formatted + record to a stream. If you don't want this newline termination, you can + set the handler instance's ``terminator`` attribute to the empty string. + +.. _file-handler: + +FileHandler +^^^^^^^^^^^ + +The :class:`FileHandler` class, located in the core :mod:`logging` package, +sends logging output to a disk file. It inherits the output functionality from +:class:`StreamHandler`. + + +.. class:: FileHandler(filename, mode='a', encoding=None, delay=False) + + Returns a new instance of the :class:`FileHandler` class. The specified file is + opened and used as the stream for logging. If *mode* is not specified, + :const:`'a'` is used. If *encoding* is not *None*, it is used to open the file + with that encoding. If *delay* is true, then file opening is deferred until the + first call to :meth:`emit`. By default, the file grows indefinitely. + + + .. method:: close() + + Closes the file. + + + .. method:: emit(record) + + Outputs the record to the file. + + +.. _null-handler: + +NullHandler +^^^^^^^^^^^ + +.. versionadded:: 3.1 + +The :class:`NullHandler` class, located in the core :mod:`logging` package, +does not do any formatting or output. It is essentially a 'no-op' handler +for use by library developers. + +.. class:: NullHandler() + + Returns a new instance of the :class:`NullHandler` class. + + .. method:: emit(record) + + This method does nothing. + + .. method:: handle(record) + + This method does nothing. + + .. method:: createLock() + + This method returns ``None`` for the lock, since there is no + underlying I/O to which access needs to be serialized. + + +See :ref:`library-config` for more information on how to use +:class:`NullHandler`. + +.. _watched-file-handler: + +WatchedFileHandler +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +.. currentmodule:: logging.handlers + +The :class:`WatchedFileHandler` class, located in the :mod:`logging.handlers` +module, is a :class:`FileHandler` which watches the file it is logging to. If +the file changes, it is closed and reopened using the file name. + +A file change can happen because of usage of programs such as *newsyslog* and +*logrotate* which perform log file rotation. This handler, intended for use +under Unix/Linux, watches the file to see if it has changed since the last emit. +(A file is deemed to have changed if its device or inode have changed.) If the +file has changed, the old file stream is closed, and the file opened to get a +new stream. + +This handler is not appropriate for use under Windows, because under Windows +open log files cannot be moved or renamed - logging opens the files with +exclusive locks - and so there is no need for such a handler. Furthermore, +*ST_INO* is not supported under Windows; :func:`stat` always returns zero for +this value. + + +.. class:: WatchedFileHandler(filename[,mode[, encoding[, delay]]]) + + Returns a new instance of the :class:`WatchedFileHandler` class. The specified + file is opened and used as the stream for logging. If *mode* is not specified, + :const:`'a'` is used. If *encoding* is not *None*, it is used to open the file + with that encoding. If *delay* is true, then file opening is deferred until the + first call to :meth:`emit`. By default, the file grows indefinitely. + + + .. method:: emit(record) + + Outputs the record to the file, but first checks to see if the file has + changed. If it has, the existing stream is flushed and closed and the + file opened again, before outputting the record to the file. + +.. _rotating-file-handler: + +RotatingFileHandler +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +The :class:`RotatingFileHandler` class, located in the :mod:`logging.handlers` +module, supports rotation of disk log files. + + +.. class:: RotatingFileHandler(filename, mode='a', maxBytes=0, backupCount=0, encoding=None, delay=0) + + Returns a new instance of the :class:`RotatingFileHandler` class. The specified + file is opened and used as the stream for logging. If *mode* is not specified, + ``'a'`` is used. If *encoding* is not *None*, it is used to open the file + with that encoding. If *delay* is true, then file opening is deferred until the + first call to :meth:`emit`. By default, the file grows indefinitely. + + You can use the *maxBytes* and *backupCount* values to allow the file to + :dfn:`rollover` at a predetermined size. When the size is about to be exceeded, + the file is closed and a new file is silently opened for output. Rollover occurs + whenever the current log file is nearly *maxBytes* in length; if *maxBytes* is + zero, rollover never occurs. If *backupCount* is non-zero, the system will save + old log files by appending the extensions '.1', '.2' etc., to the filename. For + example, with a *backupCount* of 5 and a base file name of :file:`app.log`, you + would get :file:`app.log`, :file:`app.log.1`, :file:`app.log.2`, up to + :file:`app.log.5`. The file being written to is always :file:`app.log`. When + this file is filled, it is closed and renamed to :file:`app.log.1`, and if files + :file:`app.log.1`, :file:`app.log.2`, etc. exist, then they are renamed to + :file:`app.log.2`, :file:`app.log.3` etc. respectively. + + + .. method:: doRollover() + + Does a rollover, as described above. + + + .. method:: emit(record) + + Outputs the record to the file, catering for rollover as described + previously. + +.. _timed-rotating-file-handler: + +TimedRotatingFileHandler +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +The :class:`TimedRotatingFileHandler` class, located in the +:mod:`logging.handlers` module, supports rotation of disk log files at certain +timed intervals. + + +.. class:: TimedRotatingFileHandler(filename, when='h', interval=1, backupCount=0, encoding=None, delay=False, utc=False) + + Returns a new instance of the :class:`TimedRotatingFileHandler` class. The + specified file is opened and used as the stream for logging. On rotating it also + sets the filename suffix. Rotating happens based on the product of *when* and + *interval*. + + You can use the *when* to specify the type of *interval*. The list of possible + values is below. Note that they are not case sensitive. + + +----------------+-----------------------+ + | Value | Type of interval | + +================+=======================+ + | ``'S'`` | Seconds | + +----------------+-----------------------+ + | ``'M'`` | Minutes | + +----------------+-----------------------+ + | ``'H'`` | Hours | + +----------------+-----------------------+ + | ``'D'`` | Days | + +----------------+-----------------------+ + | ``'W'`` | Week day (0=Monday) | + +----------------+-----------------------+ + | ``'midnight'`` | Roll over at midnight | + +----------------+-----------------------+ + + The system will save old log files by appending extensions to the filename. + The extensions are date-and-time based, using the strftime format + ``%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S`` or a leading portion thereof, depending on the + rollover interval. + + When computing the next rollover time for the first time (when the handler + is created), the last modification time of an existing log file, or else + the current time, is used to compute when the next rotation will occur. + + If the *utc* argument is true, times in UTC will be used; otherwise + local time is used. + + If *backupCount* is nonzero, at most *backupCount* files + will be kept, and if more would be created when rollover occurs, the oldest + one is deleted. The deletion logic uses the interval to determine which + files to delete, so changing the interval may leave old files lying around. + + If *delay* is true, then file opening is deferred until the first call to + :meth:`emit`. + + + .. method:: doRollover() + + Does a rollover, as described above. + + + .. method:: emit(record) + + Outputs the record to the file, catering for rollover as described above. + + +.. _socket-handler: + +SocketHandler +^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +The :class:`SocketHandler` class, located in the :mod:`logging.handlers` module, +sends logging output to a network socket. The base class uses a TCP socket. + + +.. class:: SocketHandler(host, port) + + Returns a new instance of the :class:`SocketHandler` class intended to + communicate with a remote machine whose address is given by *host* and *port*. + + + .. method:: close() + + Closes the socket. + + + .. method:: emit() + + Pickles the record's attribute dictionary and writes it to the socket in + binary format. If there is an error with the socket, silently drops the + packet. If the connection was previously lost, re-establishes the + connection. To unpickle the record at the receiving end into a + :class:`LogRecord`, use the :func:`makeLogRecord` function. + + + .. method:: handleError() + + Handles an error which has occurred during :meth:`emit`. The most likely + cause is a lost connection. Closes the socket so that we can retry on the + next event. + + + .. method:: makeSocket() + + This is a factory method which allows subclasses to define the precise + type of socket they want. The default implementation creates a TCP socket + (:const:`socket.SOCK_STREAM`). + + + .. method:: makePickle(record) + + Pickles the record's attribute dictionary in binary format with a length + prefix, and returns it ready for transmission across the socket. + + Note that pickles aren't completely secure. If you are concerned about + security, you may want to override this method to implement a more secure + mechanism. For example, you can sign pickles using HMAC and then verify + them on the receiving end, or alternatively you can disable unpickling of + global objects on the receiving end. + + .. method:: send(packet) + + Send a pickled string *packet* to the socket. This function allows for + partial sends which can happen when the network is busy. + + +.. _datagram-handler: + +DatagramHandler +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +The :class:`DatagramHandler` class, located in the :mod:`logging.handlers` +module, inherits from :class:`SocketHandler` to support sending logging messages +over UDP sockets. + + +.. class:: DatagramHandler(host, port) + + Returns a new instance of the :class:`DatagramHandler` class intended to + communicate with a remote machine whose address is given by *host* and *port*. + + + .. method:: emit() + + Pickles the record's attribute dictionary and writes it to the socket in + binary format. If there is an error with the socket, silently drops the + packet. To unpickle the record at the receiving end into a + :class:`LogRecord`, use the :func:`makeLogRecord` function. + + + .. method:: makeSocket() + + The factory method of :class:`SocketHandler` is here overridden to create + a UDP socket (:const:`socket.SOCK_DGRAM`). + + + .. method:: send(s) + + Send a pickled string to a socket. + + +.. _syslog-handler: + +SysLogHandler +^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +The :class:`SysLogHandler` class, located in the :mod:`logging.handlers` module, +supports sending logging messages to a remote or local Unix syslog. + + +.. class:: SysLogHandler(address=('localhost', SYSLOG_UDP_PORT), facility=LOG_USER, socktype=socket.SOCK_DGRAM) + + Returns a new instance of the :class:`SysLogHandler` class intended to + communicate with a remote Unix machine whose address is given by *address* in + the form of a ``(host, port)`` tuple. If *address* is not specified, + ``('localhost', 514)`` is used. The address is used to open a socket. An + alternative to providing a ``(host, port)`` tuple is providing an address as a + string, for example '/dev/log'. In this case, a Unix domain socket is used to + send the message to the syslog. If *facility* is not specified, + :const:`LOG_USER` is used. The type of socket opened depends on the + *socktype* argument, which defaults to :const:`socket.SOCK_DGRAM` and thus + opens a UDP socket. To open a TCP socket (for use with the newer syslog + daemons such as rsyslog), specify a value of :const:`socket.SOCK_STREAM`. + + Note that if your server is not listening on UDP port 514, + :class:`SysLogHandler` may appear not to work. In that case, check what + address you should be using for a domain socket - it's system dependent. + For example, on Linux it's usually '/dev/log' but on OS/X it's + '/var/run/syslog'. You'll need to check your platform and use the + appropriate address (you may need to do this check at runtime if your + application needs to run on several platforms). On Windows, you pretty + much have to use the UDP option. + + .. versionchanged:: 3.2 + *socktype* was added. + + + .. method:: close() + + Closes the socket to the remote host. + + + .. method:: emit(record) + + The record is formatted, and then sent to the syslog server. If exception + information is present, it is *not* sent to the server. + + + .. method:: encodePriority(facility, priority) + + Encodes the facility and priority into an integer. You can pass in strings + or integers - if strings are passed, internal mapping dictionaries are + used to convert them to integers. + + The symbolic ``LOG_`` values are defined in :class:`SysLogHandler` and + mirror the values defined in the ``sys/syslog.h`` header file. + + **Priorities** + + +--------------------------+---------------+ + | Name (string) | Symbolic value| + +==========================+===============+ + | ``alert`` | LOG_ALERT | + +--------------------------+---------------+ + | ``crit`` or ``critical`` | LOG_CRIT | + +--------------------------+---------------+ + | ``debug`` | LOG_DEBUG | + +--------------------------+---------------+ + | ``emerg`` or ``panic`` | LOG_EMERG | + +--------------------------+---------------+ + | ``err`` or ``error`` | LOG_ERR | + +--------------------------+---------------+ + | ``info`` | LOG_INFO | + +--------------------------+---------------+ + | ``notice`` | LOG_NOTICE | + +--------------------------+---------------+ + | ``warn`` or ``warning`` | LOG_WARNING | + +--------------------------+---------------+ + + **Facilities** + + +---------------+---------------+ + | Name (string) | Symbolic value| + +===============+===============+ + | ``auth`` | LOG_AUTH | + +---------------+---------------+ + | ``authpriv`` | LOG_AUTHPRIV | + +---------------+---------------+ + | ``cron`` | LOG_CRON | + +---------------+---------------+ + | ``daemon`` | LOG_DAEMON | + +---------------+---------------+ + | ``ftp`` | LOG_FTP | + +---------------+---------------+ + | ``kern`` | LOG_KERN | + +---------------+---------------+ + | ``lpr`` | LOG_LPR | + +---------------+---------------+ + | ``mail`` | LOG_MAIL | + +---------------+---------------+ + | ``news`` | LOG_NEWS | + +---------------+---------------+ + | ``syslog`` | LOG_SYSLOG | + +---------------+---------------+ + | ``user`` | LOG_USER | + +---------------+---------------+ + | ``uucp`` | LOG_UUCP | + +---------------+---------------+ + | ``local0`` | LOG_LOCAL0 | + +---------------+---------------+ + | ``local1`` | LOG_LOCAL1 | + +---------------+---------------+ + | ``local2`` | LOG_LOCAL2 | + +---------------+---------------+ + | ``local3`` | LOG_LOCAL3 | + +---------------+---------------+ + | ``local4`` | LOG_LOCAL4 | + +---------------+---------------+ + | ``local5`` | LOG_LOCAL5 | + +---------------+---------------+ + | ``local6`` | LOG_LOCAL6 | + +---------------+---------------+ + | ``local7`` | LOG_LOCAL7 | + +---------------+---------------+ + + .. method:: mapPriority(levelname) + + Maps a logging level name to a syslog priority name. + You may need to override this if you are using custom levels, or + if the default algorithm is not suitable for your needs. The + default algorithm maps ``DEBUG``, ``INFO``, ``WARNING``, ``ERROR`` and + ``CRITICAL`` to the equivalent syslog names, and all other level + names to 'warning'. + +.. _nt-eventlog-handler: + +NTEventLogHandler +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +The :class:`NTEventLogHandler` class, located in the :mod:`logging.handlers` +module, supports sending logging messages to a local Windows NT, Windows 2000 or +Windows XP event log. Before you can use it, you need Mark Hammond's Win32 +extensions for Python installed. + + +.. class:: NTEventLogHandler(appname, dllname=None, logtype='Application') + + Returns a new instance of the :class:`NTEventLogHandler` class. The *appname* is + used to define the application name as it appears in the event log. An + appropriate registry entry is created using this name. The *dllname* should give + the fully qualified pathname of a .dll or .exe which contains message + definitions to hold in the log (if not specified, ``'win32service.pyd'`` is used + - this is installed with the Win32 extensions and contains some basic + placeholder message definitions. Note that use of these placeholders will make + your event logs big, as the entire message source is held in the log. If you + want slimmer logs, you have to pass in the name of your own .dll or .exe which + contains the message definitions you want to use in the event log). The + *logtype* is one of ``'Application'``, ``'System'`` or ``'Security'``, and + defaults to ``'Application'``. + + + .. method:: close() + + At this point, you can remove the application name from the registry as a + source of event log entries. However, if you do this, you will not be able + to see the events as you intended in the Event Log Viewer - it needs to be + able to access the registry to get the .dll name. The current version does + not do this. + + + .. method:: emit(record) + + Determines the message ID, event category and event type, and then logs + the message in the NT event log. + + + .. method:: getEventCategory(record) + + Returns the event category for the record. Override this if you want to + specify your own categories. This version returns 0. + + + .. method:: getEventType(record) + + Returns the event type for the record. Override this if you want to + specify your own types. This version does a mapping using the handler's + typemap attribute, which is set up in :meth:`__init__` to a dictionary + which contains mappings for :const:`DEBUG`, :const:`INFO`, + :const:`WARNING`, :const:`ERROR` and :const:`CRITICAL`. If you are using + your own levels, you will either need to override this method or place a + suitable dictionary in the handler's *typemap* attribute. + + + .. method:: getMessageID(record) + + Returns the message ID for the record. If you are using your own messages, + you could do this by having the *msg* passed to the logger being an ID + rather than a format string. Then, in here, you could use a dictionary + lookup to get the message ID. This version returns 1, which is the base + message ID in :file:`win32service.pyd`. + +.. _smtp-handler: + +SMTPHandler +^^^^^^^^^^^ + +The :class:`SMTPHandler` class, located in the :mod:`logging.handlers` module, +supports sending logging messages to an email address via SMTP. + + +.. class:: SMTPHandler(mailhost, fromaddr, toaddrs, subject, credentials=None) + + Returns a new instance of the :class:`SMTPHandler` class. The instance is + initialized with the from and to addresses and subject line of the email. The + *toaddrs* should be a list of strings. To specify a non-standard SMTP port, use + the (host, port) tuple format for the *mailhost* argument. If you use a string, + the standard SMTP port is used. If your SMTP server requires authentication, you + can specify a (username, password) tuple for the *credentials* argument. + + + .. method:: emit(record) + + Formats the record and sends it to the specified addressees. + + + .. method:: getSubject(record) + + If you want to specify a subject line which is record-dependent, override + this method. + +.. _memory-handler: + +MemoryHandler +^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +The :class:`MemoryHandler` class, located in the :mod:`logging.handlers` module, +supports buffering of logging records in memory, periodically flushing them to a +:dfn:`target` handler. Flushing occurs whenever the buffer is full, or when an +event of a certain severity or greater is seen. + +:class:`MemoryHandler` is a subclass of the more general +:class:`BufferingHandler`, which is an abstract class. This buffers logging +records in memory. Whenever each record is added to the buffer, a check is made +by calling :meth:`shouldFlush` to see if the buffer should be flushed. If it +should, then :meth:`flush` is expected to do the needful. + + +.. class:: BufferingHandler(capacity) + + Initializes the handler with a buffer of the specified capacity. + + + .. method:: emit(record) + + Appends the record to the buffer. If :meth:`shouldFlush` returns true, + calls :meth:`flush` to process the buffer. + + + .. method:: flush() + + You can override this to implement custom flushing behavior. This version + just zaps the buffer to empty. + + + .. method:: shouldFlush(record) + + Returns true if the buffer is up to capacity. This method can be + overridden to implement custom flushing strategies. + + +.. class:: MemoryHandler(capacity, flushLevel=ERROR, target=None) + + Returns a new instance of the :class:`MemoryHandler` class. The instance is + initialized with a buffer size of *capacity*. If *flushLevel* is not specified, + :const:`ERROR` is used. If no *target* is specified, the target will need to be + set using :meth:`setTarget` before this handler does anything useful. + + + .. method:: close() + + Calls :meth:`flush`, sets the target to :const:`None` and clears the + buffer. + + + .. method:: flush() + + For a :class:`MemoryHandler`, flushing means just sending the buffered + records to the target, if there is one. The buffer is also cleared when + this happens. Override if you want different behavior. + + + .. method:: setTarget(target) + + Sets the target handler for this handler. + + + .. method:: shouldFlush(record) + + Checks for buffer full or a record at the *flushLevel* or higher. + + +.. _http-handler: + +HTTPHandler +^^^^^^^^^^^ + +The :class:`HTTPHandler` class, located in the :mod:`logging.handlers` module, +supports sending logging messages to a Web server, using either ``GET`` or +``POST`` semantics. + + +.. class:: HTTPHandler(host, url, method='GET', secure=False, credentials=None) + + Returns a new instance of the :class:`HTTPHandler` class. The *host* can be + of the form ``host:port``, should you need to use a specific port number. + If no *method* is specified, ``GET`` is used. If *secure* is True, an HTTPS + connection will be used. If *credentials* is specified, it should be a + 2-tuple consisting of userid and password, which will be placed in an HTTP + 'Authorization' header using Basic authentication. If you specify + credentials, you should also specify secure=True so that your userid and + password are not passed in cleartext across the wire. + + + .. method:: emit(record) + + Sends the record to the Web server as a percent-encoded dictionary. + + +.. _queue-handler: + + +QueueHandler +^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +.. versionadded:: 3.2 + +The :class:`QueueHandler` class, located in the :mod:`logging.handlers` module, +supports sending logging messages to a queue, such as those implemented in the +:mod:`queue` or :mod:`multiprocessing` modules. + +Along with the :class:`QueueListener` class, :class:`QueueHandler` can be used +to let handlers do their work on a separate thread from the one which does the +logging. This is important in Web applications and also other service +applications where threads servicing clients need to respond as quickly as +possible, while any potentially slow operations (such as sending an email via +:class:`SMTPHandler`) are done on a separate thread. + +.. class:: QueueHandler(queue) + + Returns a new instance of the :class:`QueueHandler` class. The instance is + initialized with the queue to send messages to. The queue can be any queue- + like object; it's used as-is by the :meth:`enqueue` method, which needs + to know how to send messages to it. + + + .. method:: emit(record) + + Enqueues the result of preparing the LogRecord. + + .. method:: prepare(record) + + Prepares a record for queuing. The object returned by this + method is enqueued. + + The base implementation formats the record to merge the message + and arguments, and removes unpickleable items from the record + in-place. + + You might want to override this method if you want to convert + the record to a dict or JSON string, or send a modified copy + of the record while leaving the original intact. + + .. method:: enqueue(record) + + Enqueues the record on the queue using ``put_nowait()``; you may + want to override this if you want to use blocking behaviour, or a + timeout, or a customised queue implementation. + + + +.. queue-listener: + +QueueListener +^^^^^^^^^^^^^ + +.. versionadded:: 3.2 + +The :class:`QueueListener` class, located in the :mod:`logging.handlers` +module, supports receiving logging messages from a queue, such as those +implemented in the :mod:`queue` or :mod:`multiprocessing` modules. The +messages are received from a queue in an internal thread and passed, on +the same thread, to one or more handlers for processing. While +:class:`QueueListener` is not itself a handler, it is documented here +because it works hand-in-hand with :class:`QueueHandler`. + +Along with the :class:`QueueHandler` class, :class:`QueueListener` can be used +to let handlers do their work on a separate thread from the one which does the +logging. This is important in Web applications and also other service +applications where threads servicing clients need to respond as quickly as +possible, while any potentially slow operations (such as sending an email via +:class:`SMTPHandler`) are done on a separate thread. + +.. class:: QueueListener(queue, *handlers) + + Returns a new instance of the :class:`QueueListener` class. The instance is + initialized with the queue to send messages to and a list of handlers which + will handle entries placed on the queue. The queue can be any queue- + like object; it's passed as-is to the :meth:`dequeue` method, which needs + to know how to get messages from it. + + .. method:: dequeue(block) + + Dequeues a record and return it, optionally blocking. + + The base implementation uses ``get()``. You may want to override this + method if you want to use timeouts or work with custom queue + implementations. + + .. method:: prepare(record) + + Prepare a record for handling. + + This implementation just returns the passed-in record. You may want to + override this method if you need to do any custom marshalling or + manipulation of the record before passing it to the handlers. + + .. method:: handle(record) + + Handle a record. + + This just loops through the handlers offering them the record + to handle. The actual object passed to the handlers is that which + is returned from :meth:`prepare`. + + .. method:: start() + + Starts the listener. + + This starts up a background thread to monitor the queue for + LogRecords to process. + + .. method:: stop() + + Stops the listener. + + This asks the thread to terminate, and then waits for it to do so. + Note that if you don't call this before your application exits, there + may be some records still left on the queue, which won't be processed. + + +.. seealso:: + + Module :mod:`logging` + API reference for the logging module. + + Module :mod:`logging.config` + Configuration API for the logging module. + + |