Comparing the available Java logging tools and frameworks and selecting one is quite time-consuming. We evaluated the most popular logging frameworks and compared the most important features, available documentation and add-on tools and share the result of the comparison below.

SmartInspect Java Logging

Comparison of Java Logging Frameworks and Libraries

Please note that the comparison of the different frameworks is a work in progress. If you believe that we missed an important feature or that we got one of the details wrong, please let us know.

SmartInspect log4j Logback ObjectGuy Framework
License Commercial Apache LGPL Custom
Source available Yes Yes Yes Yes
Vendor Gurock Apache QOS -
Website Link Link Link Link
Basic Features SmartInspect log4j Logback ObjectGuy Framework
Logging simple text messages Yes Yes Yes Yes
Log levels to filter messages Debug
Verbose
Message
Warning
Error
Fatal		 Debug
Trace
Info
Warn
Error
Fatal		 Debug
Trace
Info
Warn
Error		 Debug
Info
Status
Warning
Error
Critical
Fatal
Multiple connections or targets Yes Yes Yes Yes
Log categories or sessions Yes Yes Yes Limited
Log file rotation by date/time Yes Yes Yes No
Log file rotation by size Yes Yes Yes No
Log file rotation max parts Yes Yes Yes No
Optional configuration files Yes Yes Yes No
Advanced Features SmartInspect log4j Logback ObjectGuy Framework
Logging objects and arrays Yes Yes No No
Logging complex structures and binary data Yes No No No
Thread-safe logging Yes Yes Yes ?
Tracing method invocation Yes Text-only Text-only Text-only
Logging variable values Yes Text-only Text-only Text-only
Watching variable values Yes No No No
Logging thread and process behavior Yes No No No
Advanced protocols and connections Network
Named Pipe1)
Memory
Binary Files
Custom		 Network
JMS
Database
Custom		 Network
JMS
Database
Custom		 Network
Memory
Custom
Advanced protocol options Buffer
Reconnect
Interval
Encryption		 Buffer
 Buffer
Reconnect
Interval		 No
Asynchronous logging and backlog queues Yes Async-only No No
Log server application Yes No No No
Graphical Viewer SmartInspect log4j Logback ObjectGuy Framework
Graphical viewer application Yes1) Yes No No
Advanced filtering capabilities Yes No No No
Navigation functionality Yes Limited No No
Call stacks, graphs and message details Yes No No No
Multiple views or windows Yes Limited No No
Live monitoring via network or pipes Yes Yes No No
Viewing and inspecting application data Yes No No No
Graphical configuration utility Yes No No No
Documentation & Support SmartInspect log4j Logback ObjectGuy Framework
Getting started tutorials Yes Yes Yes Yes
Online articles / advanced topics Yes Yes Yes No
API Reference Yes Yes Yes Yes
Community support Yes Yes Yes No
Professional / priority support Yes No Yes No

1) Only available on the Windows platform

When searching for this page, typical search words include log4j vs. logback, log4j vs. slf4j, java.utils.logging etc. Log4j is sometimes also called log4java (which is actually wrong). Any suggestions? Let us know.

SmartInspect Java Logging