Re: http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/TR/WD-logfile.html

>> [1019] Reword to make it clear that placing the end data at the head of
the >>log is an option not an obligation.
>
>I assume you mean "end date", not "end data". Since Version and Fields
>are required, I'd say that the others are clearly optional at the head
>of the log. There's no other wording to indicate that there is a
>required placement for anything, or for that matter to indicate that
>those two are not allowed elsewhere in the log file. We even talked
>about putting Fields elsewhere in the log file to indicate that the
>user has changed the log file configuration in the middle of a log
>file.

Here's how I envision a log file for Joe's lightly used webserver would look:

--------------begin log.txt
#Version: 1.0
#Fields: time cs-method cs-uri
#Start-Date: 12-Jan-1996 23:00:00
#Date: 12-Jan-1996
23:20:00 GET /foo
23:30:00 GET /foo
23:55:00 GET /foo
#Date: 13-Jan-1996
00:30:00 GET /foo
05:30:00 GET /foo
09:30:00 GET /foo
20:30:00 GET /foo
#End-Date: 13-Jan-1996 21:00:00
#Remark: Joe stopped server, left town for 4 days, reconfigured & restarted
#Version: 1.0
#Fields: time cs-method cs-uri cs(user-agent)
#Start-Date: 17-Jan-1996 22:00:00
#Date: 17-Jan-1996
23:20:00 GET /foo "Spyglass Mosaic"
23:30:00 GET /foo "Spyglass Mosaic"
23:55:00 GET /foo "Spyglass Mosaic"
#Date: 18-Jan-1996
20:30:00 GET /foo "Spyglass Mosaic"
#End-Date: 13-Jan-1996 21:00:00
--------------end log.txt

I definately think the power of XLFF comes from embedded, multiple #
directives.  Not having the date in each line, and instead having a #Date
directive only when the date changes, is the single biggest hard drive space
saver that in an of itself makes XLFF worthwhile.  If anyone was thinking
#directives were only appropriate at the begining of the file, I have to
strongly disagree.

-----
the Programmer formerly known as Dan          
                                     http://www.spyglass.com/~ddubois/

Received on Wednesday, 27 March 1996 14:07:41 UTC