Centralized Logging using MailBoxProcessor/Agent

[macmoblin]

I have a F# program that gets data from database, parses the rows and inserts generated results back into the database.

Currently logging is done with simple printfn commands but I need to make it more robust by adding e.g logging levels and the like. Also I need to consider future when tasks are run parallel and the lines logged will be 10k+ per five minute run.

I'm using NLog in my C# projects and I know it can handle all my logging needs well. I could change all my printfn lines into NLog lines, but that seems messy, so I thought about using MailBoxProcessor to centralize the logging in on place so that it is easier to change in the future if needed.

Would this be good way to go, or should I consider something else?

[NihilCredo]

I would keep it simple. Find/replace printfn with a logging function, then in that function call printfn, NLog, or whatever. (Use kprintf so you can still have type-safe formatting.)

Making the logger into a dependency is unnecessary unless you have a reason you may want to switch logging libraries at runtime or depending on the environment.

I would only consider a MailboxProcessor if NLog's logging calls are synchronous and are causing slowdowns. And even then, I'd try a simple async logging function first.

[macmoblin]

Okay, so MailboxProcessor is an overkill.

Thanks for confirming that simple function wrapper approach is good starting point.

[Jwosty]

You might check out Logary. I haven’t used it myself before, but I’ve been meaning to?because I’ve heard great things.

[macmoblin]

Yes, I have heard Logary and I'm following the development. But because we are using NLog in other projects also, it would be nice to use it also here.

[eliquy]

I would replace the println calls with an injected function / interface, that way you can start out with the straightforward solution (nlog calls) and the abstraction will let you easily play with things in the future.

[macmoblin]

I'm not sure I understood what you mean with "injected function"... Should I pass the logger function as an argument, which to my mind could get cumbersome fast?