Jump to main content Jump to doc navigation

xPDO::log

Log a message with details about where and when an event occurs.

Syntax

API Docs: https://api.modx.com/revolution/2.2/db_core_xpdo_xpdo.class.html#\xPDO::log()

$xpdo->log($level, $msg, $target= '', $def= '', $file= '', $line= '');
  • $level (integer) The verbosity level of the logged message. See Verbosity Constants below
  • $msg (string) The message to log.
  • $target (mixed) The logging target. If a string, this should be FILE, HTML, or ECHO. If an array, see examples below.
  • $def (string) The name of a defining structure (such as a class) to help identify the log event source.
  • $file (string) A filename in which the log event occurred. Usually you would use the __FILE__ constant.
  • $line (string) A line number to help locate the source of the event. Usually you would use the __LINE__ constant
void log (integer $level, string $msg, [string $target = ''], [string $def = ''], [string $file = ''], [string $line = ''])

Log Levels

In many cases, you can use the MODX equivalent constants for log levels.

What gets printed is controlled by the log_level System Setting. You can override this at runtime using the setLogLevel method.

Examples

Simple

Simple log message, will write to the default log file (e.g. core/cache/logs/error.log):

$xpdo->log(xPDO::LOG_LEVEL_ERROR, '[Mobile Detect] An error occurred.');

In the logs, this would appear like this:

[2013-09-15 14:21:25] (ERROR @ /index.php) [Mobile Detect] An error occurred.

Specify the Snippet

Because MODX application ultimately runs via the index.php file, it can be helpful to add some extra information:

$xpdo->log(xPDO::LOG_LEVEL_ERROR, 'An error occurred.', '', 'MySnippet');
[2013-09-15 14:22:48] (ERROR in MySnippet @ /index.php) An error occurred

Specify File and Line

Remember that ultimately, all MODX Snippets and Plugins run from cached files, so the source file listed will be the cached file.

$xpdo->log(xPDO::LOG_LEVEL_ERROR, 'This is my error message...', '', 'MySnippet', __FILE__, __LINE__);
[2013-09-15 14:48:02] (ERROR in MySnippet @ /path/to/core/cache/includes/elements/modsnippet/28.include.cache.php : 7) This is my error message...

Custom Log File

You may wish to send errors to a destination other than the default MODX error log. To accomplish this, you must pass an array to the $target argument. You must verbosely specify 'FILE' as the target, otherwise, the message will be echoed back to the page.

$xpdo->log(xPDO::LOG_LEVEL_ERROR, 'Error for my custom log file', array(
    'target' => 'FILE',
    'options' => array(
        'filename' => 'custom.log'
    )
));

By default, the path for log files is core/cache/logs/ so in this example, we find our log message inside the custom.log file:

[2013-09-15 15:01:07] (ERROR @ /index.php) Error for my custom log file

If desired, you may also specify the path via the filepath argument.

Because this is a bit verbose, you may find it cleaner to define your logging target once then reference the array:

$log_target = array(
    'target'=>'FILE',
    'options' => array(
        'filename'=>'my_custom.log'
    )
);
$xpdo->log(xPDO::LOG_LEVEL_ERROR, 'My Error...',$log_target);
$xpdo->log(xPDO::LOG_LEVEL_ERROR, 'Some other error...',$log_target);

Debugging

You can change the level of the logged message by adjusting the first parameter. E.g. to log a debug message:

$xpdo->log(xPDO::LOG_LEVEL_DEBUG,'This is a debugging statement.');

Custom Use in Snippets

It can be really handy to increase logging verbosity for a single Snippet or plugin. To accomplish this, use the setLogLevel() function. You can use this to override the global value of the log_level System Setting:

// Call your snippet like this: [[mySnippet? &log_level=`4`]]
// Override global log_level value
$log_level = $modx->getOption('log_level', $scriptProperties, $modx->getOption('log_level'));
$modx->setLogLevel($log_level);

Verbosity Constants

xPDO Constant MODX Constant Value
xPDO::LOG_LEVEL_FATAL MODX_LOG_LEVEL_FATAL 0
xPDO::LOG_LEVEL_ERROR MODX_LOG_LEVEL_ERROR 1
xPDO::LOG_LEVEL_WARN MODX_LOG_LEVEL_WARN 2
xPDO::LOG_LEVEL_INFO MODX_LOG_LEVEL_INFO 3
xPDO::LOG_LEVEL_DEBUG MODX_LOG_LEVEL_DEBUG 4

See Also

  • log_level System Setting
  • log_target System Setting
  • xPDO

Support the team building MODX with a monthly donation.

The budget raised through OpenCollective is transparent, including payouts, and any contributor can apply to be paid for their work on MODX.

Backers

  • modmore
  • STERC
  • Jens Wittmann – Gestaltung & Entwicklung
  • Fabian Christen
  • Digital Penguin
  • Dannevang Digital
  • Sepia River Studios
  • CrewMark
  • Chris Fickling
  • deJaya
  • Following Sea
  • Anton Tarasov
  • eydolan
  • Raffy
  • Lefthandmedia
  • Murray Wood
  • Snow Creative
  • Nick Clark
  • Helen
  • JT Skaggs
  • krisznet
  • YJ
  • Yanni
  • Richard

Budget

$366 per month—let's make that $500!

Learn more