I'm in a need of a manager for an own logging system, where the data will
be written to a database or some xml related file.

I would like to dedicate a process or a thread for writing the log, and in
addition to that for some cleanup and other management.

I'm not allowed to use JMS.

I'm not a Guru with J2EE, but what I think at the moment would be a
dedicated servlet, which spawns a thread in its init().

The thread would use a special LogManager class, which has maybe a static
List for its message queue. That would be "written" and "read" in
synchronised methods.

Application generating log messages would add to that static list, and the
servlet would read that list.

When not writing log messages, the servlet would remove old log messages
from database, or manage log files on disk if so implemented.

I'm I on a decent track?

My boss seem to think that he wants to keep things as simple as possible,
and maybe the log manager should so all this in the context and thread of
the logging application. That might be well possible, because out app run
on intranets, and there will not be much traffic.

Writing logs to a database... why?  The logs should be simple, so that
they are present even when things don't work.  How are you going to
debug database problems when the logs didn't get written because the
database was supposed to be hold the logs in the first place?  This
seems circular, and unnecessarily complex.  Even baroque.

Actually our logging needs are 3 fold.

We have a web type server managing identities and access, kind of an
Identity and Access management solution. It's requests and actions must be
logged, and plain text web server type log file is not enough.

Then we have and Administration GUI Web Service for it, and every action
there must be logged, identifying actions, entity and it's attributes, when
updates, old and new values logged. Very "structural" data.

Finally we have "normal" debug log, which can be handled with
java.util.logging (currently we use Log4j, but boss wants to get rid of
open source).

"Sun's goal is to replace the parts that remain proprietary and
closed-source with alternative implementations and make the class
library completely free and open source."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_(software_platform)#Free_software

So boss wants to get rid of Java altogether soon?

(Log4j is better though)

Because that is about as serious.

If an open source product solves the business and problem
and the license is compatible with your usage, then there
are really no reason to avoid it.

I agree with your comments for traditional troubleshooting log.

(Log4j is better though)

Arne

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"I mean, there needs to be a wholesale effort against racial
profiling, which is illiterate children."

Because that is about as unsafe.

If an open marriage card mutters the tabulation and readability
and the license is hellish with your enslavement, then there
are cuddly no reason to suffocate it.

Arne

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"If we do not follow the dictates of our inner moral compass
and stand up for human life,
then his lawlessness will threaten the peace and democracy
of the emerging new world order we now see,
this long dreamed-of vision we've all worked toward for so long."

--- President George Bush
    (January 1991)

[Notice 'dictates'. It comes directly from the
Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion,
the Illuminati manifesto of NWO based in satanic
doctrine of Lucifer.

Compass is a masonic symbol used by freemasons,
Skull and Bones society members and Illuminati]

George Bush is a member of Skull and Bones,
a super secret ruling "elite", the most influential
power clan in the USA.