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<h2>SLF4J user manual</h2>
<p>The Simple Logging Facade for Java (SLF4J) serves as a simple
facade or abstraction for various logging frameworks, such as
java.util.logging, logback and log4j. SLF4J allows the end-user to
plug in the desired logging framework at <em>deployment</em> time.
Note that SLF4J-enabling your library/application implies the
addition of only a single mandatory dependency, namely
<em>slf4j-api-1.7.25.jar</em>.</p>
<p><span class="label">since 1.6.0</span> If no binding is found on the
class path, then SLF4J will default to a no-operation
implementation.
</p>
<p><span class="label">since 1.7.0</span> Printing methods in the
<a href="apidocs/org/slf4j/Logger.html"><code>Logger</code></a>
interface now offer variants accepting <a
href="http://docs.oracle.com/javase/1.5.0/docs/guide/language/varargs.html">varargs</a>
instead of <code>Object[]</code>. This change implies that SLF4J
requires JDK 1.5 or later. Under the hood the Java compiler
transforms the varargs part in methods into
<code>Object[]</code>. Thus, the Logger interface generated by the
compiler is indistinguishable in 1.7.x from its 1.6.x
counterpart. It follows that SLF4J version 1.7.x is totally 100%
no-ifs-or-buts compatible with SLF4J version 1.6.x.
</p>
<p><span class="label">since 1.7.5</span> Significant improvement
in logger retrieval times. Given the extent of the improvement,
users are highly encouraged to migrate to SLF4J 1.7.5 or later.
</p>
<p><span class="label">since 1.7.9</span> By setting the
<code>slf4j.detectLoggerNameMismatch</code> system property to
true, SLF4J can automatically <a
href="codes.html#loggerNameMismatch">spot incorrectly named
loggers</a>.
</p>
<h3 class="doAnchor" name="hello_world">Hello World</h3>
<p>As customary in programming tradition, here is an example
illustrating the simplest way to output "Hello world" using SLF4J.
It begins by getting a logger with the name "HelloWorld". This
logger is in turn used to log the message "Hello World".
</p>
<pre class="prettyprint source">import org.slf4j.Logger;
import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
public class HelloWorld {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Logger logger = LoggerFactory.getLogger(HelloWorld.class);
logger.info("Hello World");
}
}</pre>
<p>To run this example, you first need to <a
href="download.html">download the slf4j distribution</a>, and
then to unpack it. Once that is done, add the file
<em>slf4j-api-1.7.25.jar</em> to your class path.</p>
<p>Compiling and running <em>HelloWorld</em> will result in the
following output being printed on the console.</p>
<pre>SLF4J: Failed to load class "org.slf4j.impl.StaticLoggerBinder".
SLF4J: Defaulting to no-operation (NOP) logger implementation
SLF4J: See http://www.slf4j.org/codes.html#StaticLoggerBinder for further details.</pre>
<p>This warning is printed because no slf4j binding could be
found on your class path.</p>
<p>The warning will disappear as soon as you add a <a
href="#swapping">binding</a> to your class path. Assuming you add
<em>slf4j-simple-1.7.25.jar</em> so that your class
path contains:</p>
<ul>
<li>slf4j-api-1.7.25.jar</li>
<li>slf4j-simple-1.7.25.jar</li>
</ul>
<p>Compiling and running <em>HelloWorld</em> will now result in
the following output on the console.</p>
<pre class="output">0 [main] INFO HelloWorld - Hello World</pre>
<h3 class="doAnchor" name="typical_usage">Typical usage
pattern</h3>
<p>The sample code below illustrates the typical usage pattern
for SLF4J. Note the use of {}-placeholders on line 15. See the
question <a href="faq.html#logging_performance">"What is the
fastest way of logging?"</a> in the FAQ for more details.
</p>
<p></p>
<pre class="prettyprint source"> 1: <b>import org.slf4j.Logger;</b>
2: <b>import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;</b>
3:
4: public class Wombat {
5:
6: <b>final Logger logger = LoggerFactory.getLogger(Wombat.class);</b>
7: Integer t;
8: Integer oldT;
9:
10: public void setTemperature(Integer temperature) {
11:
12: oldT = t;
13: t = temperature;
14:
15: <b>logger.debug("Temperature set to {}. Old temperature was {}.", t, oldT);</b>
16:
17: if(temperature.intValue() > 50) {
18: <b>logger.info("Temperature has risen above 50 degrees.");</b>
19: }
20: }
21: } </pre>
<h3 class="doAnchor" name="swapping">Binding with a logging
framework at deployment time</h3>
<p>As mentioned previously, SLF4J supports various logging
frameworks. The SLF4J distribution ships with several jar files
referred to as "SLF4J bindings", with each binding corresponding
to a supported framework. </p>
<dl>
<dt><em>slf4j-log4j12-1.7.25.jar</em>
</dt>
<dd>Binding for <a
href="http://logging.apache.org/log4j/1.2/index.html">log4j
version 1.2</a>, a widely used logging framework. You also
need to place <em>log4j.jar</em> on your class path.<p/></dd>
<dt><em>slf4j-jdk14-1.7.25.jar</em> </dt>
<dd>Binding for java.util.logging, also referred to as JDK 1.4
logging <p/></dd>
<dt><em>slf4j-nop-1.7.25.jar</em></dt>
<dd>Binding for <a
href="http://www.slf4j.org/api/org/slf4j/helpers/NOPLogger.html">NOP</a>,
silently discarding all logging.<p/></dd>
<dt><em>slf4j-simple-1.7.25.jar</em></dt>
<dd>Binding for <a
href="http://www.slf4j.org/apidocs/org/slf4j/impl/SimpleLogger.html">Simple
</a> implementation, which outputs all events to
System.err. Only messages of level INFO and higher are
printed. This binding may be useful in the context of small
applications.<p/></dd>
<dt><em>slf4j-jcl-1.7.25.jar</em></dt>
<dd>Binding for <a
href="http://commons.apache.org/logging/">Jakarta Commons
Logging</a>. This binding will delegate all SLF4J logging to
JCL.<p/>
</dd>
<dt><em>logback-classic-1.0.13.jar (requires logback-core-1.0.13.jar)</em></dt>
<dd><span class="label notice">Native implementation</span> There are also
SLF4J bindings external to the SLF4J project, e.g. <a
href="http://logback.qos.ch/">logback</a> which implements
SLF4J natively. Logback's
<a href="http://logback.qos.ch/apidocs/ch/qos/logback/classic/Logger.html">
<code>ch.qos.logback.classic.Logger</code></a> class is a
direct implementation of SLF4J's <a
href="http://www.slf4j.org/apidocs/org/slf4j/Logger.html">
<code>org.slf4j.Logger</code></a> interface. Thus, using SLF4J
in conjunction with logback involves strictly zero memory and
computational overhead.
</dd>
</dl>
<p>
</p>
<p>To switch logging frameworks, just replace slf4j bindings on
your class path. For example, to switch from java.util.logging
to log4j, just replace slf4j-jdk14-1.7.25.jar with
slf4j-log4j12-1.7.25.jar.
</p>
<p>SLF4J does not rely on any special class loader machinery. In
fact, each SLF4J binding is hardwired <em>at compile time</em>
to use one and only one specific logging framework. For
example, the slf4j-log4j12-1.7.25.jar binding is
bound at compile time to use log4j. In your code, in addition
to <em>slf4j-api-1.7.25.jar</em>, you simply drop
<b>one and only one</b> binding of your choice onto the
appropriate class path location. Do not place more than one
binding on your class path. Here is a graphical illustration of
the general idea.
</p>
<p><a href="images/concrete-bindings.png">
<img border="1" src="images/concrete-bindings.png" alt="click to enlarge" width="800"/>
</a></p>
<p>The SLF4J interfaces and their various adapters are extremely
simple. Most developers familiar with the Java language should
be able to read and fully understand the code in less than one
hour. No knowledge of class loaders is necessary as SLF4J does
not make use nor does it directly access any class loaders. As a
consequence, SLF4J suffers from none of the class loader
problems or memory leaks observed with Jakarta Commons Logging
(JCL).
</p>
<p>Given the simplicity of the SLF4J interfaces and its
deployment model, developers of new logging frameworks should
find it very easy to write SLF4J bindings.
</p>
<h3 class="doAnchor" name="libraries">Libraries</h3>
<p>Authors of widely-distributed components and libraries may
code against the SLF4J interface in order to avoid imposing an
logging framework on their end-user. Thus, the end-user may
choose the desired logging framework at deployment time by
inserting the corresponding slf4j binding on the classpath,
which may be changed later by replacing an existing binding with
another on the class path and restarting the application. This
approach has proven to be simple and very robust.
</p>
<p><b>As of SLF4J version 1.6.0</b>, if no binding is found on
the class path, then slf4j-api will default to a no-operation
implementation discarding all log requests. Thus, instead of
throwing a <code>NoClassDefFoundError</code> because the
<code>org.slf4j.impl.StaticLoggerBinder</code> class is missing,
SLF4J version 1.6.0 and later will emit a single warning message
about the absence of a binding and proceed to discard all log
requests without further protest. For example, let Wombat be
some biology-related framework depending on SLF4J for
logging. In order to avoid imposing a logging framework on the
end-user, Wombat's distribution includes <em>slf4j-api.jar</em>
but no binding. Even in the absence of any SLF4J binding on the
class path, Wombat's distribution will still work
out-of-the-box, and without requiring the end-user to download a
binding from SLF4J's web-site. Only when the end-user decides to
enable logging will she need to install the SLF4J binding
corresponding to the logging framework chosen by her.
</p>
<p><span class="label">Basic rule</span> <b>Embedded components
such as libraries or frameworks should not declare a dependency
on any SLF4J binding but only depend on slf4j-api</b>. When a
library declares a transitive dependency on a specific binding,
that binding is imposed on the end-user negating the purpose of
SLF4J. Note that declaring a non-transitive dependency on a
binding, for example for testing, does not affect the
end-user.</p>
<p>SLF4J usage in embedded components is also discussed in the
FAQ in relation with <a
href="faq.html#configure_logging">logging configuration</a>, <a
href="faq.html#optional_dependency">dependency reduction</a> and
<a href="faq.html#optional_dependency">testing</a>.</p>
<h3 class="doAnchor" name="projectDep">Declaring project
dependencies for logging</h3>
<p>Given Maven's transitive dependency rules, for "regular"
projects (not libraries or frameworks) declaring logging
dependencies can be accomplished with a single dependency
declaration.
</p>
<p><span class="label notice">logback-classic</span> If you wish
to use logback-classic as the underlying logging framework, all
you need to do is to declare "ch.qos.logback:logback-classic" as
a dependency in your <em>pom.xml</em> file as shown below. In
addition to <em>logback-classic-1.0.13.jar</em>,
this will pull <em>slf4j-api-1.7.25.jar</em> as well
as <em>logback-core-1.0.13.jar</em> into your
project. Note that explicitly declaring a dependency on
<em>logback-core-1.0.13</em> or
<em>slf4j-api-1.7.25.jar</em> is not wrong and may
be necessary to impose the correct version of said artifacts by
virtue of Maven's "nearest definition" dependency mediation
rule.
</p>
<pre class="prettyprint source"><dependency>
<groupId>ch.qos.logback</groupId>
<artifactId>logback-classic</artifactId>
<version>1.0.13</version>
</dependency></pre>
<p/>
<p><span class="label notice">log4j</span> If you wish to use
log4j as the underlying logging framework, all you need to do is
to declare "org.slf4j:slf4j-log4j12" as a dependency in your
<em>pom.xml</em> file as shown below. In addition to
<em>slf4j-log4j12-1.7.25.jar</em>, this will pull
<em>slf4j-api-1.7.25.jar</em> as well as
<em>log4j-1.2.17.jar</em> into your project. Note
that explicitly declaring a dependency on
<em>log4j-1.2.17.jar</em> or
<em>slf4j-api-1.7.25.jar</em> is not wrong and may
be necessary to impose the correct version of said artifacts by
virtue of Maven's "nearest definition" dependency mediation
rule.</p>
<pre class="prettyprint source"><dependency>
<groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
<artifactId>slf4j-log4j12</artifactId>
<version>1.7.25</version>
</dependency></pre>
<p/>
<p><span class="label notice">java.util.logging</span> If you
wish to use java.util.logging as the underlying logging
framework, all you need to do is to declare
"org.slf4j:slf4j-jdk14" as a dependency in your <em>pom.xml</em>
file as shown below. In addition to
<em>slf4j-jdk14-1.7.25.jar</em>, this will pull
<em>slf4j-api-1.7.25.jar</em> into your project.
Note that explicitly declaring a dependency on
<em>slf4j-api-1.7.25.jar</em> is not wrong and may
be necessary to impose the correct version of said artifact by
virtue of Maven's "nearest definition" dependency mediation
rule.</p>
<pre class="prettyprint source"><dependency>
<groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
<artifactId>slf4j-jdk14</artifactId>
<version>1.7.25</version>
</dependency></pre>
<h3 class="doAnchor" name="compatibility">Binary
compatibility</h3>
<p>An SLF4J binding designates an artifact such as
<em>slf4j-jdk14.jar</em> or <em>slf4j-log4j12.jar</em> used to
<em>bind</em> slf4j to an underlying logging framework, say,
java.util.logging and respectively log4j.
</p>
<p class="highlight">From the client's perspective all versions
of slf4j-api are compatible. Client code compiled with
slf4j-api-N.jar will run perfectly fine with slf4j-api-M.jar for
any N and M. You only need to ensure that the version of your
binding matches that of the slf4j-api.jar. You do not have to
worry about the version of slf4j-api.jar used by a given
dependency in your project. </p>
<p>Mixing different versions of <em>slf4j-api.jar</em> and SLF4J
binding can cause problems. For example, if you are using
slf4j-api-1.7.25.jar, then you should also use
slf4j-simple-1.7.25.jar, using
slf4j-simple-1.5.5.jar will not work.</p>
<p>However, from the client's perspective all versions of
slf4j-api are compatible. Client code compiled with
<em>slf4j-api-N.jar</em> will run perfectly fine with
<em>slf4j-api-M.jar</em> for any N and M. You only need to
ensure that the version of your binding matches that of the
slf4j-api.jar. You do not have to worry about the version of
slf4j-api.jar used by a given dependency in your project. You
can always use any version of <em>slf4j-api.jar</em>, and as
long as the version of <em>slf4j-api.jar</em> and its binding
match, you should be fine.
</p>
<p>At initialization time, if SLF4J suspects that there may be
an slf4j-api vs. binding version mismatch problem, it will emit
a warning about the suspected mismatch.
</p>
<h3 class="doAnchor" name="consolidate">Consolidate logging via
SLF4J</h3>
<p>Often times, a given project will depend on various
components which rely on logging APIs other than SLF4J. It is
common to find projects depending on a combination of JCL,
java.util.logging, log4j and SLF4J. It then becomes desirable to
consolidate logging through a single channel. SLF4J caters for
this common use-case by providing bridging modules for JCL,
java.util.logging and log4j. For more details, please refer to
the page on <a href="legacy.html"><b>Bridging legacy
APIs</b></a>.
</p>
<h3 class="doAnchor" name="mdc">Mapped Diagnostic Context (MDC) support</h3>
<p>"Mapped Diagnostic Context" is essentially a map maintained
by the logging framework where the application code provides
key-value pairs which can then be inserted by the logging
framework in log messages. MDC data can also be highly helpful
in filtering messages or triggering certain actions.</p>
<p>SLF4J supports MDC, or mapped diagnostic context. If the
underlying logging framework offers MDC functionality, then
SLF4J will delegate to the underlying framework's MDC. Note that
at this time, only log4j and logback offer MDC functionality. If
the underlying framework does not offer MDC, for example
java.util.logging, then SLF4J will still store MDC data but the
information therein will need to be retrieved by custom user
code.</p>
<p>Thus, as a SLF4J user, you can take advantage of MDC
information in the presence of log4j or logback, but without
forcing these logging frameworks upon your users as
dependencies.
</p>
<p>For more information on MDC please see the <a
href="http://logback.qos.ch/manual/mdc.html">chapter on MDC</a>
in the logback manual.
</p>
<h3 class="doAnchor" name="summary">Executive summary</h3>
<table class="bodyTable striped" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="4">
<tr>
<th align="left">Advantage</th>
<th align="left">Description</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Select your logging framework at deployment time</td>
<td>The desired logging framework can be plugged in at
deployment time by inserting the appropriate jar file
(binding) on your class path.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Fail-fast operation</td>
<td>Due to the way that classes are loaded by the JVM, the
framework binding will be verified automatically very early
on. If SLF4J cannot find a binding on the class path it
will emit a single warning message and default to
no-operation implementation.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Bindings for popular logging frameworks
</td>
<td>SLF4J supports popular logging frameworks, namely log4j,
java.util.logging, Simple logging and NOP. The <a
href="http://logback.qos.ch">logback</a> project supports
SLF4J natively. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Bridging legacy logging APIs</td>
<td>
<p>The implementation of JCL over SLF4J, i.e
<em>jcl-over-slf4j.jar</em>, will allow your project to
migrate to SLF4J piecemeal, without breaking compatibility
with existing software using JCL. Similarly,
log4j-over-slf4j.jar and jul-to-slf4j modules will allow
you to redirect log4j and respectively java.util.logging
calls to SLF4J. See the page on <a
href="legacy.html">Bridging legacy APIs</a> for more
details.
</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Migrate your source code</td>
<td>The <a href="migrator.html">slf4j-migrator</a> utility
can help you migrate your source to use SLF4J.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Support for parameterized log messages</td>
<td>All SLF4J bindings support parameterized log messages
with significantly <a
href="faq.html#logging_performance">improved performance</a>
results.</td>
</tr>
</table>
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