Alternatives to Console.Writeline() for printing debug information from a console application?

Question

I have a C# console application. It is gathering info from several data sources and centralising them in another. Occasionally, it hits some bugs - connection strings stop working; schemas change etc.

At the moment, I am simply printing out debug information using Console.WriteLine(); - this is obviously an awful idea...not least because the application is a scheduled task running every night, so I never see this debug information anyway!

What should I do to allow for simple debugging when the program fails? What is my best practice in this case ?

Thanks very much.

Write the informatin to a log file. – Security Hound Jul 05 '12 at 13:31 — Security Hound, Jul 05 '12 at 13:31

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 05 '12 at 13:31

3

You can use a logging library. log4net seems to be the most popular choice.

answered Jul 05 '12 at 13:31

Tim S.

55,448
7
96
122

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 05 '12 at 13:31

Use Debug.WriteLine(). It'll print to the assigned listeners (default only your Visual Studio Output window, but you can hook it up to the Console). If this is for troubleshooting production issues, I'd strongly advise to implement logging in your application.

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 05 '12 at 13:31

2

Check out System.Diagnostics. Debug class is a better choice than Console, for starters.

log4net (as linked by @Tim S.) is a useful framework for general diagnostics output, at different levels of severity.

answered Jul 05 '12 at 13:31

Steve Townsend

53,498
9
91
140

score 1 · Answer 4 · edited May 23 '17 at 11:43

1

You should read about different logging/error strategies.

I suggest that you start off by using a library like log4net where you can define what kind of format you want for your logs.

edited May 23 '17 at 11:43

Community

1
1

answered Jul 05 '12 at 13:31

Filip Ekberg

36,033
20
126
183

score 1 · Answer 5 · answered Jul 05 '12 at 13:33

I would recommend using the EventLog class to write to the application event log (or your own custom log). You could alternatively write to a custom log file of your own choosing. The event log, however has the advantage of easily being viewable remotely from any machine. In addition, if this application is truly unattended, you could have it send an email notification when it fails to the system administrator.

score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Jul 05 '12 at 13:34

0

You want a logging framework, such as log4net or the Enterprise Library Logging Block. These frameworks will allow you to log to a database, log file, or the Event Log for later viewing and retrieval.

answered Jul 05 '12 at 13:34

mgnoonan

7,060
5
24
27

Alternatives to Console.Writeline() for printing debug information from a console application?

6 Answers6