I'd suggest configuring Chainsaw with a LogFilePatternReceiver (or VFSLogFilePatternReceiver if you need to tail the log files or get to log files accessible via Jakarta Commons-VFS supported file systems).
The JavaDoc for LogFilePatternReceiver is available from inside Chainsaw - help/Receiver Javadoc. A few things you can do with the receiver: - define a custom expression (logFormat) which will define how your log file is parsed. It could be as simple as 'MSG' or it could include custom properties (which will end up as separate columns in the table) - see the receiver javadoc for information on how to define the logFormat. - define a 'filterExpression' param (an ExpressionFilter, which supports regular expressions via the 'like' keyword) which determines which log file entries will be processed (ignoring all other entries) - the svn HEAD version of the receiver includes an 'appendNonMatches' param which will also include (with an 'unknown' logger) any rows which don't match the logFormat expression With Chainsaw itself, you can enable or disable cyclic buffering on a per-tab basis - if you turn off cyclic buffering or make it a large size, I'd suggest downloading Chainsaw and modify the script to increase your heap size). I also recently added a handy 'marker' feature - double-click or ctrl-f2 to toggle the marker on or off for a row..when you toggle a marker on, it creates an editable column that you can use in expressions to filter and search, and you can navigate between markers via f2/shift f2. If you save the events, the markers are also saved, so you can forward a log to someone else and they can see your 'notes' you've added to the log. I use Chainsaw to parse 50MB log files and it works pretty well..of course, I've spent a lot of time recently on the receiver and Chainsaw itself, so svn HEAD will be a lot better than the WebStart/bundle download version. Hope that helps Scott On Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 8:55 AM, Mike Clarke <[email protected]>wrote: > Hello, > > I work with a application that generates huge text files that are not > XML based whatsoever. There is a structure but nothing that Chainsaw > can read. > > What I would like to do is to use chainsaw to read these files but I'm > not sure how to proceed. > (I've done a ton of searching but still am just spinning my wheels) > > > Ideally I would like to just create some short of filter using regular > expressions that would enable Chainsaw to read and parse the files. > Q1: Is this possible/and is this documented enough that I can make it > happen? Please send links! > > > Q2: If I can't just create some sort of config file for Chainsaw, can > I extend Chainsaw and add my own receiver. > (My receiver being my code that I tell how to read the logs) > If so, links please, can't find anything on how to get started with this! > > I'm not looking to do anything across sockets, this is entirely for > offline reading. > > > > Q3: Failing on Q1 and Q2 I could write a standalone converter to > convert my text logs got log4j but that seems very ugly. > > > > > Any ideas/links and tips would be very, very appreciated. Currently I > work with a group who reads these huge logs text editors and it sucks! > > > Thanks, > Mike Clarke > http://mystyleit.com > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] > For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected] > >
