Sys::Syslog

Section: Perl Programmers Reference Guide (3perl)
Updated: 2001-03-03
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NAME

Sys::Syslog, openlog, closelog, setlogmask, syslog - Perl interface to the UNIX syslog(3) calls

SYNOPSIS

    use Sys::Syslog;                          # all except setlogsock, or:
    use Sys::Syslog qw(:DEFAULT setlogsock);  # default set, plus setlogsock

    setlogsock $sock_type;
    openlog $ident, $logopt, $facility;
    syslog $priority, $format, @args;
    $oldmask = setlogmask $mask_priority;
    closelog;

DESCRIPTION

Sys::Syslog is an interface to the UNIX syslog(3) program. Call "syslog()" with a string priority and a list of "printf()" args just like syslog(3).

Syslog provides the functions:

openlog $ident, $logopt, $facility

$ident is prepended to every message. $logopt contains zero or more of the words pid, ndelay, cons, nowait. $facility specifies the part of the system

syslog $priority, $format, @args

If$priority permits, logs ($format, @args) printed as by "printf(3V)", with the addition that %m is replaced with "$!" (the latest error message).

setlogmask $mask_priority

Sets log mask $mask_priority and returns the old mask.

setlogsock $sock_type (added in 5.004_02)

Sets the socket type to be used for the next call to "openlog()" or "syslog()" and returns TRUE on success, undef on failure.

A value of 'unix' will connect to the UNIX domain socket returned by the "_PATH_LOG" macro (if you system defines it) in syslog.h. A value of 'inet' will connect to an INET socket returned by getservbyname(). If "_PATH_LOG" is unavailable or if getservbyname() fails, returns undef. Any other value croaks.

The default on Debian systems is for the UNIX socket to be used (as the standard syslogd configuration on such systems does not accept INET connections). Note that as distributed, the default is INET.

closelog

Closes the log file.

Note that "openlog" now takes three arguments, just like openlog(3).

EXAMPLES

    openlog($program, 'cons,pid', 'user');
    syslog('info', 'this is another test');
    syslog('mail|warning', 'this is a better test: %d', time);
    closelog();

    syslog('debug', 'this is the last test');

    setlogsock('unix');
    openlog("$program $$", 'ndelay', 'user');
    syslog('notice', 'fooprogram: this is really done');

    setlogsock('inet');
    $! = 55;
    syslog('info', 'problem was %m'); # %m == $! in syslog(3)

AUTHOR

Tom Christiansen <tchrist@perl.com> and Larry Wall <larry@wall.org>.

UNIX domain sockets added by Sean Robinson <robinson_s@sc.maricopa.edu> with support from Tim Bunce <Tim.Bunce@ig.co.uk> and the perl5-porters mailing list.

Dependency on syslog.ph replaced with XS code by Tom Hughes <tom@compton.nu>.

This document was created by man2html, using the manual pages.
Time: 00:43:29 GMT, November 03, 2025