Logging with K2.Net 2003

Dec 18

The release of the K2.Net Service Pack 4 included an extensive logging framework that records and stores every K2.Net Server event. In a recent workflow project I thought I would implement logging using the Logging Framework provided. The framework contains an XML configuration file that the Logging Framework Configuration uses. It also has a list of message categories and specific predefined messages. The configuration file allows for settings to be altered after a solution has been deployed without the need for a redeployment. There is no need to restart the K2.net 2003 Server unless the ProcessModel section has been changed. There are a couple of steps involved when implementing logging.

Step 1: Configuring the Logging Configuration File
The configuration file can be altered using a text editor or the Logging Configuration Editor (LogConfig.exe found under the [InstallDrive]:\Program Files\K2.Net 2003\Bin directory). It provides a graphical interface that can be used to edit and save the configuration properties. It looks as follows:

Logging Configuration Editor

The configuration file is made up of three sections:

General Settings: allows for setting the log file name, file path, level of logging, log to Console, log to Event Viewer, log to File, max log size, etc.
Message Category: allows for setting categories under which messages can be logged.
Predefined Message List: contains known predefined messages and allows for more to be added.

Step 2: Implementing Logging in the K2.Net 2003 Studio Solution

Anywhere in the K2.Net 2003 solution where code is written you can add logging as long as you have a reference to the K2 ProcessInstance. An example would look as follows:

Logging Code