Re: [Fetchmail-users] how to log date/time in daemon mode?

[Matthias A. <mat...@gm...>]

Am 03.10.18 um 00:42 schrieb Carlos E. R.:
> On 02/10/2018 21.23, Kamil Jońca wrote:
>> "Carlos E. R." <> writes:
>>
>>> On 02/10/2018 20.03, Kamil Jońca wrote:
>>>> "Carlos E. R." <> writes:
>>>>
>>>>> On 01/10/2018 20.09, Kamil Jońca wrote:
>>>>>> Matthias Andree <mat...@gm...> writes:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> [..]
>>>>>>> The consideration is whether this could go into 6.4, or would have to
>>>>>>> wait for 7.0. The log file format is not really specified, so changing
>>>>>>> it isn't breaking any documented interface, just breaking past practice,
>>>>>>> so it might cause some astonishment. Opinions?
>>>>>> Regardless of these questions I would as NOT to change logging via
>>>>>> syslog.
>>>>> Timestamping via syslog is done by the syslog daemon, not by the
>>>>> application that sends the messages.
>>> Don't you understand? Fetchmail can not change logging via syslog.
>> Please correct me if I am wrong.
>> 1. So far fetchmail produces "log messages"
>> 2. these messages are identical, in case when logging to file/stderr or
>> syslog.
>> 3. syslog adds timestamp to messages received from fetchmail
>> 4. now we want to extend tetchmail log message with timestamps.
>> 5. so syslog will get messages with timestamps, and adds its own
>> timestamp.
>> 6. so, after adding timestamp to fetchmail messages and logging to
>> syslog we will have TWO timestamps in logs. I think this is ugly, and I
>> kindly ask Mathhias, not to change messages when someone pick "set
>> syslog" option.
> Well, I have never seen a programmer make that error in a released
> version. I'm sure they know. The message is formed, sent to syslog, or
> some extra entries are added, like a timestapmp, then printed (or
> written to file).
>
>
To calm your concerns,

1. I thank Kamil for the hint to make sure we don't bluntly apply
timestamping all over the map, to avoid double logging in syslog;

2. I thank Carlos for the trust. Carlos, rest assured that oversights
and mistakes do happen, and if the code that formats the message is
shared between syslog and fetchmail code, that concern of Kamil's is
indeed rather substantiated. And the formatting itself _is_ shared code.
O:-) See report.c for the function report(). Hans's patch, however, only
changed the file output, not the syslog output, and generated an
additional system call, and would not change the log buffer, so syslog
output would remain unadorned with the new logfile time stamp.