Tiny Log Monitor
Base purpose of this application is log monitoring of Apache servers during test or
development scenarios. It is most suitable for students and freelance developers
who work with their own local servers. It is also very useful in log monitoring
of applications and services that you develop or often work with.
Log monitoring is done automatically for you - every time a log file changes, Tiny Log Monitor
will pick it up and display newly added content.
In More Details
Tiny Log Monitor is a small application for monitoring log files stored on network or locally. Its basic purpose is to watch Apache server log files during test or development, but it can be used with any other log file as well (e.g. it can monitor your own logs).
If you are a developer, you may find it useful in monitoring multiple log files of your applications where you expect exceptions, errors, or you just need extensive information aside from debug log.
This application is not the only log monitoring software available, there are many advanced tools for this purpose, but that also involve certain learning curve in order to be used properly and are often not suitable for tiny development investments. Tiny Log Monitor or TLM comes as a small package that you can quickly set up on any Windows machine (with .NET framework) to watch logs of your app, server, services and whatnot in real-time.
In most scenarios, you will want to parse up relevant log data by using multiple regex scripts and watch only what is currently important to your analysis. You have a number of command line options to control buffer size of monitored logs and application behaviour, so you can watch several log files simultaneously and quickly change which regex set is used to parse each of those files without causing application stress and unresponsiveness.
Tiny Log Monitor key features include
- Live log monitoring of multiple files
- Separates appended part of the log file from the whole file
- Regular expressions support
- Ability to use sets of multiple regex scripts and to change active set with one click
- Variable buffer size for monitored log files (e.g. monitor only last 1 megabyte of the file)
- Editing regex scripts while they are being used
Notes
- Items are sorted by priority in descending order, you can use your browser's search function to quickly find an item of interest.
- If you can't find what you're looking for, you can refer to the application's manual, accessible from the Help menu.
How do I know if I have .NET Framework installed?
To determine which versions of the .NET Framework are installed, locate the %systemroot%\Microsoft.NET\Framework
folder. To open this folder, you can paste this address into a Windows Explorer
address bar. If you see a folder that begins with v2.0 (e.g. v2.0.50727) then you have the required framework.
Are UNC paths supported? That is, can I monitor network log files?
Yes, you can use UNC paths normally and netowork files will be monitored regardless of access privilege.
I can't even run this application, what to do?
Please describe your problem in fullest detail through e-mail to support@tinylogmonitor.com. If possible,
please specify version of the .NET framework that you use - see the first question in FAQ on how to do this.
Can I monitor same file with multiple instances of log monitor?
Yes, even though it makes no sense to do this on the same computer I should still note that if you run multiple instances
of Tiny Log Monitor on one computer, a conflict may occurr on the file which is used to store regex scripts.
What are regular expressions or "regex"?
Check out this web site
for more information on regex scripts.
Can this tool parse my logs into more managable data?
By default, it does not parse your log files whatsoever - in order to do that, you must define regex scripts which can
be applied to a whole log, part of the log, or just newest chunk of log (or part of it). You can multiple scripts at the
same time.
You can check this web site
for more information on regex scripts as regex is integral part to any data analysis.
I can't even run this application, what to do?
Please describe your problem in fullest detail through e-mail to support@tinylogmonitor.com. If possible,
please specify version of the .NET framework that you use - see the first question in FAQ on how to do this.
Can I use this application for commercial/profitable purposes?
Yes. Consider putting a donation if you are happy with it.
The regex script execution is painfully slow, why is that?
Since the regex is not compiled, it is not in its full potential. However, in 99% of the cases, performance can be drastically saved
by narrowing the search - e.g. not including large chunks of log into regex engine by using stuff like .*.
Also, you can optimize performance by only monitoring limited amount of data - check the command line arguments section in
documentation on how to do that.
- Fixed bug where certain log file updates were omitted.
- Added an option to hide latest data window, and a command line argument as well.
Application has just been released.
The software is supplied “AS IS”. Its author disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The user must assume the entire risk of using the software.
Author of the software assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of the software, even if author has been advised of the possibility of such damages.
You are free to use, copy or sell this software without limitations. However, Author asks its users not to modify, reverse engineer or infect files of this software with 3rd party products including viruses, ads, spyware, adware etc. Modifying the software in any way could halt its reputation and development.