Does one have to enclose an android logging statement in an if(DEBUG)?

Question

I was surprised to learn that one has to enclose an android logging statement in an

if(DEBUG) {
  Slog.d(...);
}

see https://stackoverflow.com/a/2020964/398348

It is cumbersome.

In the android documentation, it seems to say that one does not have to - the api seems similar to log4j where the log level is configured via external means using a properties file, and only logs above the log level are output.

I would have expected that the implementation of Log.d() would have the if() inside it, so that the developer does not have to enclose it.

class Log {
  void d() {
    if(DEBUG) {....}
  }
...
}

Can someone please clarify?

Note: I do not wish to use proguard as mentioned in several places.

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 16 '15 at 17:59

0

I use it all the time. Really helps when you publish your application. You really don't want all that logging printing at a production app. By using a simple static boolean DEBUG you can easily turn debugging on and off.

answered Jan 16 '15 at 17:59

Chris Margonis

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how do you set the value of DEBUG - inside your code? do you have to recompile – likejudo Jan 16 '15 at 18:05
Use it as a `public static boolean` variable in your code. For example I'd use a `Helper` class which holds my global flags and a statement checking for that would be like `if ( Helper.DEBUG){// code}` – Chris Margonis Jan 16 '15 at 18:08
So you have to recompile – likejudo Jan 16 '15 at 18:10

Does one have to enclose an android logging statement in an if(DEBUG)?

1 Answers1