When should you use logging in scripts?

Logging in scripts is an essential practice for several reasons:

  • Error Tracking: Helps in identifying where and why a script has failed.
  • Performance Monitoring: Provides insights into the execution time and resource usage of various parts of the script.
  • Audit Trail: Maintains a record of events for security and compliance purposes.
  • Debugging: Assists developers in understanding the flow of execution and diagnosing issues more effectively.
  • Operational Insights: Can reveal trends and patterns that can inform future developments or improvements.

Below is an example of how to implement logging in a PHP script:

<?php // Simple logging function function logMessage($message) { $timestamp = date("Y-m-d H:i:s"); file_put_contents("script.log", "[$timestamp] $message\n", FILE_APPEND); } // Usage of logging logMessage("Script started."); try { // Suppose some processing is done here logMessage("Processing data..."); // Simulate an error throw new Exception("An error occurred while processing data."); } catch (Exception $e) { logMessage("Error: " . $e->getMessage()); } logMessage("Script ended."); ?>

logging scripts PHP logging error tracking performance monitoring audit trail debugging operational insights