22 Apr

http error log reader idea

When PHP throws a wobbly, it usually posts something useful to the Apache error log (usually at /var/log/httpd/error_log), which is nice, but you really want it in your face so you’ll actually do something about it.

I’m not sure if this application already exists, but it would be very handy.

What I want is an application which checks the error log every ten minutes or so, and adds anything new to a bug tracker such as Mantis, which the developer (me) would be using for daily work anyway.

Has anyone seen anything like this already, or should I write it?

Some more precise features:

  • Should work with multiple error logs.
  • Should work over the Net, as those error logs may be on separate machines. To manage this, run separate instances of the reader on those machines, and use a SOAP API (or other RPC) to connect to Mantis.
  • Should create issues referencing the IP address, filename, and line number. If there are multiple errors which reference the same, they should be added as comments to that issue.
  • If an issue is marked as resolved or closed, but another error comes in referencing the same details, the issue should be re-opened with a note explaining that it’s not yet resolved.
  • Other types of errors should be appropriately issued as well, with an “unknown type of issue” error for anything unexpected.

This all sounds so specific that I might just have to write the damned thing. But once it’s done, it should be useful to someone.

2 thoughts on “http error log reader idea

  1. I’ve been planning something similar to this, but built in as part of an error handler. Give me a shout if you’d like some assistance 🙂

  2. Pingback: klog » Blog Archive » error aggregator

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