# phpman > perldoc > Log::Dispatch

## NAME
    [Log::Dispatch](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch/markdown) - Dispatches messages to one or more outputs

## VERSION
    version 2.70

## SYNOPSIS
      use [Log::Dispatch](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch/markdown);

      # Simple API
      #
      my $log = [Log::Dispatch](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch/markdown)->new(
          outputs => [
              [ 'File',   min_level => 'debug', filename => 'logfile' ],
              [ 'Screen', min_level => 'warning' ],
          ],
      );

      $log->info('Blah, blah');

      # More verbose API
      #
      my $log = [Log::Dispatch](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch/markdown)->new();
      $log->add(
          [Log::Dispatch::File](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3AFile/markdown)->new(
              name      => 'file1',
              min_level => 'debug',
              filename  => 'logfile'
          )
      );
      $log->add(
          [Log::Dispatch::Screen](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3AScreen/markdown)->new(
              name      => 'screen',
              min_level => 'warning',
          )
      );

      $log->log( level => 'info', message => 'Blah, blah' );

      my $sub = sub { my %p = @_; return reverse $p{message}; };
      my $reversing_dispatcher = [Log::Dispatch](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch/markdown)->new( callbacks => $sub );

## DESCRIPTION
    This module manages a set of [Log::Dispatch](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch/markdown)::* output objects that can be logged to via a unified
    interface.

    The idea is that you create a [Log::Dispatch](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch/markdown) object and then add various logging objects to it
    (such as a file logger or screen logger). Then you call the "log" method of the dispatch object,
    which passes the message to each of the objects, which in turn decide whether or not to accept
    the message and what to do with it.

    This makes it possible to call single method and send a message to a log file, via email, to the
    screen, and anywhere else, all with very little code needed on your part, once the dispatching
    object has been created.

## METHODS
    This class provides the following methods:

  [Log::Dispatch](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch/markdown)->new(...)
    This method takes the following parameters:

    *   outputs( [ [ class, params, ... ], [ class, params, ... ], ... ] )

        This parameter is a reference to a list of lists. Each inner list consists of a class name
        and a set of constructor params. The class is automatically prefixed with '[Log::Dispatch](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch/markdown)::'
        unless it begins with '+', in which case the string following '+' is taken to be a full
        classname. e.g.

            outputs => [ [ 'File',          min_level => 'debug', filename => 'logfile' ],
                         [ '+[My::Dispatch](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/My%3A%3ADispatch/markdown)', min_level => 'info' ] ]

        For each inner list, a new output object is created and added to the dispatcher (via the
        "add()" method).

        See "OUTPUT CLASSES" for the parameters that can be used when creating an output object.

    *   callbacks( \& or [ \&, \&, ... ] )

        This parameter may be a single subroutine reference or an array reference of subroutine
        references. These callbacks will be called in the order they are given and passed a hash
        containing the following keys:

         ( message => $log_message, level => $log_level )

        In addition, any key/value pairs passed to a logging method will be passed onto your
        callback.

        The callbacks are expected to modify the message and then return a single scalar containing
        that modified message. These callbacks will be called when either the "log" or "log_to"
        methods are called and will only be applied to a given message once. If they do not return
        the message then you will get no output. Make sure to return the message!

  $dispatch->clone()
    This returns a *shallow* clone of the original object. The underlying output objects and
    callbacks are shared between the two objects. However any changes made to the outputs or
    callbacks that the object contains are not shared.

  $dispatch->log( level => $, message => $ or \& )
    Sends the message (at the appropriate level) to all the output objects that the dispatcher
    contains (by calling the "log_to" method repeatedly).

    The level can be specified by name or by an integer from 0 (debug) to 7 (emergency).

    This method also accepts a subroutine reference as the message argument. This reference will be
    called only if there is an output that will accept a message of the specified level.

  $dispatch->debug (message), info (message), ...
    You may call any valid log level (including valid abbreviations) as a method with a single
    argument that is the message to be logged. This is converted into a call to the "log" method
    with the appropriate level.

    For example:

     $log->alert('Strange data in incoming request');

    translates to:

     $log->log( level => 'alert', message => 'Strange data in incoming request' );

    If you pass an array to these methods, it will be stringified as is:

     my @array = ('Something', 'bad', 'is', 'here');
     $log->alert(@array);

     # is equivalent to

     $log->alert("@array");

    You can also pass a subroutine reference, just like passing one to the "log()" method.

  $dispatch->log_and_die( level => $, message => $ or \& )
    Has the same behavior as calling "log()" but calls "_die_with_message()" at the end.

    You can throw exception objects by subclassing this method.

    If the "carp_level" parameter is present its value will be added to the current value of
    $[Carp::CarpLevel](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Carp%3A%3ACarpLevel/markdown).

  $dispatch->log_and_croak( level => $, message => $ or \& )
    A synonym for "$dispatch-"log_and_die()>.

  $dispatch->log_to( name => $, level => $, message => $ )
    Sends the message only to the named object. Note: this will not properly handle a subroutine
    reference as the message.

  $dispatch->add_callback( $code )
    Adds a callback (like those given during construction). It is added to the end of the list of
    callbacks. Note that this can also be called on individual output objects.

  $dispatch->remove_callback( $code )
    Remove the given callback from the list of callbacks. Note that this can also be called on
    individual output objects.

  $dispatch->callbacks()
    Returns a list of the callbacks in a given output.

  $dispatch->level_is_valid( $string )
    Returns true or false to indicate whether or not the given string is a valid log level. Can be
    called as either a class or object method.

  $dispatch->would_log( $string )
    Given a log level, returns true or false to indicate whether or not anything would be logged for
    that log level.

  $dispatch->is_$level
    There are methods for every log level: "is_debug()", "is_warning()", etc.

    This returns true if the logger will log a message at the given level.

  $dispatch->add( [Log::Dispatch](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch/markdown)::* OBJECT )
    Adds a new output object to the dispatcher. If an object of the same name already exists, then
    that object is replaced, with a warning if $^W is true.

  $dispatch->remove($)
    Removes the output object that matches the name given to the remove method. The return value is
    the object being removed or undef if no object matched this.

  $dispatch->outputs()
    Returns a list of output objects.

  $dispatch->output( $name )
    Returns the output object of the given name. Returns undef or an empty list, depending on
    context, if the given output does not exist.

  $dispatch->_die_with_message( message => $, carp_level => $ )
    This method is used by "log_and_die" and will either die() or croak() depending on the value of
    "message": if it's a reference or it ends with a new line then a plain die will be used,
    otherwise it will croak.

## OUTPUT CLASSES
    An output class - e.g. [Log::Dispatch::File](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3AFile/markdown) or [Log::Dispatch::Screen](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3AScreen/markdown) - implements a particular
    way of dispatching logs. Many output classes come with this distribution, and others are
    available separately on CPAN.

    The following common parameters can be used when creating an output class. All are optional.
    Most output classes will have additional parameters beyond these, see their documentation for
    details.

    *   name ($)

        A name for the object (not the filename!). This is useful if you want to refer to the object
        later, e.g. to log specifically to it or remove it.

        By default a unique name will be generated. You should not depend on the form of generated
        names, as they may change.

    *   min_level ($)

        The minimum logging level this object will accept. Required.

    *   max_level ($)

        The maximum logging level this object will accept. By default the maximum is the highest
        possible level (which means functionally that the object has no maximum).

    *   callbacks( \& or [ \&, \&, ... ] )

        This parameter may be a single subroutine reference or an array reference of subroutine
        references. These callbacks will be called in the order they are given and passed a hash
        containing the following keys:

         ( message => $log_message, level => $log_level )

        The callbacks are expected to modify the message and then return a single scalar containing
        that modified message. These callbacks will be called when either the "log" or "log_to"
        methods are called and will only be applied to a given message once. If they do not return
        the message then you will get no output. Make sure to return the message!

    *   newline (0|1)

        If true, a callback will be added to the end of the callbacks list that adds a newline to
        the end of each message. Default is false, but some output classes may decide to make the
        default true.

## LOG LEVELS
    The log levels that [Log::Dispatch](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch/markdown) uses are taken directly from the syslog man pages (except that
    I expanded them to full words). Valid levels are:

    debug
    info
    notice
    warning
    error
    critical
    alert
    emergency

    Alternately, the numbers 0 through 7 may be used (debug is 0 and emergency is 7). The syslog
    standard of 'err', 'crit', and 'emerg' is also acceptable. We also allow 'warn' as a synonym for
    'warning'.

## SUBCLASSING
    This module was designed to be easy to subclass. If you want to handle messaging in a way not
    implemented in this package, you should be able to add this with minimal effort. It is generally
    as simple as subclassing [Log::Dispatch::Output](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3AOutput/markdown) and overriding the "new" and "log_message"
    methods. See the [Log::Dispatch::Output](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3AOutput/markdown) docs for more details.

    If you would like to create your own subclass for sending email then it is even simpler. Simply
    subclass [Log::Dispatch::Email](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3AEmail/markdown) and override the "send_email" method. See the [Log::Dispatch::Email](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3AEmail/markdown)
    docs for more details.

    The logging levels that [Log::Dispatch](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch/markdown) uses are borrowed from the standard UNIX syslog levels,
    except that where syslog uses partial words ("err") [Log::Dispatch](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch/markdown) also allows the use of the
    full word as well ("error").

## RELATED MODULES
### [Log::Dispatch::DBI](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3ADBI/markdown)
    Written by Tatsuhiko Miyagawa. Log output to a database table.

### [Log::Dispatch::FileRotate](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3AFileRotate/markdown)
    Written by Mark Pfeiffer. Rotates log files periodically as part of its usage.

### [Log::Dispatch::File::Stamped](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3AFile%3A%3AStamped/markdown)
    Written by Eric Cholet. Stamps log files with date and time information.

### [Log::Dispatch::Jabber](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3AJabber/markdown)
    Written by Aaron Straup Cope. Logs messages via Jabber.

### [Log::Dispatch::Tk](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3ATk/markdown)
    Written by Dominique Dumont. Logs messages to a Tk window.

### [Log::Dispatch::Win32EventLog](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3AWin32EventLog/markdown)
    Written by Arthur Bergman. Logs messages to the Windows event log.

### [Log::Log4perl](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ALog4perl/markdown)
    An implementation of Java's log4j API in Perl. Log messages can be limited by fine-grained
    controls, and if they end up being logged, both native Log4perl and [Log::Dispatch](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch/markdown) appenders can
    be used to perform the actual logging job. Created by Mike Schilli and Kevin Goess.

### [Log::Dispatch::Config](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3AConfig/markdown)
    Written by Tatsuhiko Miyagawa. Allows configuration of logging via a text file similar (or so
    I'm told) to how it is done with log4j. Simpler than [Log::Log4perl](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ALog4perl/markdown).

### [Log::Agent](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3AAgent/markdown)
    A very different API for doing many of the same things that [Log::Dispatch](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch/markdown) does. Originally
    written by Raphael Manfredi.

## SEE ALSO
    [Log::Dispatch::ApacheLog](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3AApacheLog/markdown), [Log::Dispatch::Email](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3AEmail/markdown), [Log::Dispatch::Email::MailSend](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3AEmail%3A%3AMailSend/markdown),
    [Log::Dispatch::Email::MailSender](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3AEmail%3A%3AMailSender/markdown), [Log::Dispatch::Email::MailSendmail](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3AEmail%3A%3AMailSendmail/markdown),
    [Log::Dispatch::Email::MIMELite](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3AEmail%3A%3AMIMELite/markdown), [Log::Dispatch::File](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3AFile/markdown), [Log::Dispatch::File::Locked](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3AFile%3A%3ALocked/markdown),
    [Log::Dispatch::Handle](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3AHandle/markdown), [Log::Dispatch::Output](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3AOutput/markdown), [Log::Dispatch::Screen](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3AScreen/markdown), [Log::Dispatch::Syslog](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Log%3A%3ADispatch%3A%3ASyslog/markdown)

## SUPPORT
    Bugs may be submitted at <<https://github.com/houseabsolute/Log-Dispatch/issues>>.

    I am also usually active on IRC as 'autarch' on "irc://irc.perl.org".

## SOURCE
    The source code repository for Log-Dispatch can be found at
    <<https://github.com/houseabsolute/Log-Dispatch>>.

## DONATIONS
    If you'd like to thank me for the work I've done on this module, please consider making a
    "donation" to me via PayPal. I spend a lot of free time creating free software, and would
    appreciate any support you'd care to offer.

    Please note that I am not suggesting that you must do this in order for me to continue working
    on this particular software. I will continue to do so, inasmuch as I have in the past, for as
    long as it interests me.

    Similarly, a donation made in this way will probably not make me work on this software much
    more, unless I get so many donations that I can consider working on free software full time
    (let's all have a chuckle at that together).

    To donate, log into PayPal and send money to <autarch@urth.org>, or use the button at
    <<https://www.urth.org/fs-donation.html>>.

## AUTHOR
    Dave Rolsky <<autarch@urth.org>>

## CONTRIBUTORS
    *   Anirvan Chatterjee <<anirvan@users.noreply.github.com>>

    *   Carsten Grohmann <<mail@carstengrohmann.de>>

    *   Doug Bell <<doug@preaction.me>>

    *   Graham Knop <<haarg@haarg.org>>

    *   Graham Ollis <<plicease@cpan.org>>

    *   Gregory Oschwald <<goschwald@maxmind.com>>

    *   hartzell <<hartzell@alerce.com>>

    *   Joelle Maslak <<jmaslak@antelope.net>>

    *   Johann Rolschewski <<jorol@cpan.org>>

    *   Jonathan Swartz <<swartz@pobox.com>>

    *   Karen Etheridge <<ether@cpan.org>>

    *   Kerin Millar <<kfm@plushkava.net>>

    *   Kivanc Yazan <<kivancyazan@gmail.com>>

    *   Konrad Bucheli <<kb@open.ch>>

    *   Michael Schout <<mschout@gkg.net>>

    *   Olaf Alders <<olaf@wundersolutions.com>>

    *   Olivier Mengué <<dolmen@cpan.org>>

    *   Rohan Carly <<se456@rohan.id.au>>

    *   Ross Attrill <<ross.attrill@gmail.com>>

    *   Salvador Fandiño <<sfandino@yahoo.com>>

    *   Sergey Leschenko <<sergle.ua@gmail.com>>

    *   Slaven Rezic <<srezic@cpan.org>>

    *   Steve Bertrand <<steveb@cpan.org>>

    *   Whitney Jackson <<whitney.jackson@baml.com>>

## COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
    This software is Copyright (c) 2020 by Dave Rolsky.

    This is free software, licensed under:

      The Artistic License 2.0 (GPL Compatible)

    The full text of the license can be found in the LICENSE file included with this distribution.