Simple way to perform error logging?

Question

I\'ve created a small C# winforms application, as an added feature I was considering adding some form of error logging into it. Anyone have any suggestions for good ways to go a

Answer 1

Instead of using log4net which is an external library I have created my own simple class, highly customizable and easy to use (edit YOURNAMESPACEHERE with the namespace that you need).

CONSOLE APP

using System;
using System.IO;

namespace YOURNAMESPACEHERE
{
    enum LogEvent
    {
        Info = 0,
        Success = 1,
        Warning = 2,
        Error = 3
    }

    internal static class Log
    {
        private static readonly string LogSession = DateTime.Now.ToLocalTime().ToString("ddMMyyyy_HHmmss");
        private static readonly string LogPath = AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory + "logs";

        internal static void Write(LogEvent Level, string Message, bool ShowConsole = true, bool WritelogFile = true)
        {
            string Event = string.Empty;
            ConsoleColor ColorEvent = Console.ForegroundColor;

            switch (Level)
            {
                case LogEvent.Info:
                    Event = "INFO";
                    ColorEvent = ConsoleColor.White;
                    break;
                case LogEvent.Success:
                    Event = "SUCCESS";
                    ColorEvent = ConsoleColor.Green;
                    break;
                case LogEvent.Warning:
                    Event = "WARNING";
                    ColorEvent = ConsoleColor.Yellow;
                    break;
                case LogEvent.Error:
                    Event = "ERROR";
                    ColorEvent = ConsoleColor.Red;
                    break;
            }

            if (ShowConsole)
            {
                Console.ForegroundColor = ColorEvent;
                Console.WriteLine(" [{0}] => {1}", DateTime.Now.ToString("HH:mm:ss"), Message);
                Console.ResetColor();
            }

            if (WritelogFile)
            {
                if (!Directory.Exists(LogPath))
                    Directory.CreateDirectory(LogPath);

                File.AppendAllText(LogPath + @"\" + LogSession + ".log", string.Format("[{0}] => {1}: {2}\n", DateTime.Now.ToString("HH:mm:ss"), Event, Message));
            }
        }
    }
}

NO CONSOLE APP (ONLY LOG)

using System;
using System.IO;

namespace YOURNAMESPACEHERE
{
    enum LogEvent
    {
        Info = 0,
        Success = 1,
        Warning = 2,
        Error = 3
    }

internal static class Log
{
    private static readonly string LogSession = DateTime.Now.ToLocalTime().ToString("ddMMyyyy_HHmmss");
    private static readonly string LogPath = AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory + "logs";

    internal static void Write(LogEvent Level, string Message)
    {
        string Event = string.Empty;

        switch (Level)
        {
            case LogEvent.Info:
                Event = "INFO";
                break;
            case LogEvent.Success:
                Event = "SUCCESS";
                break;
            case LogEvent.Warning:
                Event = "WARNING";
                break;
            case LogEvent.Error:
                Event = "ERROR";
                break;
        }

        if (!Directory.Exists(LogPath))
            Directory.CreateDirectory(LogPath);

        File.AppendAllText(LogPath + @"\" + LogSession + ".log", string.Format("[{0}] => {1}: {2}\n", DateTime.Now.ToString("HH:mm:ss"), Event, Message));
    }
}

Usage:

CONSOLE APP

Log.Write(LogEvent.Info, "Test message"); // It will print an info in your console, also will save a copy of this print in a .log file.
Log.Write(LogEvent.Warning, "Test message", false); // It will save the print as warning only in your .log file.
Log.Write(LogEvent.Error, "Test message", true, false); // It will print an error only in your console.

NO CONSOLE APP (ONLY LOG)

Log.Write(LogEvent.Info, "Test message"); // It will print an info in your .log file.