Below are some frequently asked questions about the logr package. Click on the links below to navigate to the full question and answer content.
Q: I followed the examples to add logr functions to my script, and I think I created a log. But I can’t find it. Where does the log go?
A: It depends on what you passed to the
file_name parameter on the log_open()
function.
If you passed nothing, the log will be created in a subdirectory named “log” in the same directory as your program, and with the program name.
If you passed a file name without a path, the log subdirectory will be created in your working directory, and the log will be named with the name you assigned it.
If you passed a full path, it will be created in the full path, but
will still be created in a subdirectory named “log” unless the
logdir parameter on log_open() is set to
FALSE.
If you still can’t find it, add the following line to your program
someplace after the call to log_open():
print(log_path())Then rerun the program. The path to the log will be printed to the console.
Note that the log_open() function also returns the path
to the log. You can save this path in a variable for easy access, like
this:
pth <- log_open()
print(pth)Q: I am able to create a log. But it doesn’t contain anything. Just a header and footer. How come nothing was logged?
A: The logr log is not a fully
automatic log, such as a SAS® log. The primary way to get something
logged is to log it explicitly with log_print() or
put(). This is the only way to guarantee that something
will be logged. Generally, if you want a complete log, it is best to
sprinkle these functions liberally throughout the program, logging
anything you feel is relevant.
The other way to get something to log is by using the
autolog feature. This feature can be turned on in one
of two ways:
1. Set the autolog parameter on the log_open()
function to TRUE.
2. Set the “logr.autolog” option using an options()
function, like so:
options("logr.autolog" = TRUE)The autolog feature will automatically log function calls from the dplyr, tidyr, and the sassy family of packages. It will not log Base R functions, or the functions from any other packages. It takes some experience to understand which functions will be automatically logged, and which will not.
To maximize the autolog feature, it is a best practice to use tidyverse functions, rather than the Base R equivalents. These functions stand a better chance of being logged automatically.
It is also a best practice to place a put() statement at
the end of your dplyr pipelines. This is a very good
habit to develop, and will greatly improve the quantity and quality of
your logs. Here is an example:
dat <- mtcars %>%
subset(mpg < 20) %>%
arrange(mpg) %>%
put()Note that the above put() statement has no effect on the
resulting data frame. It simply logs the pipeline result before
assigning it to the variable dat.
Q: I have a log. But I don’t want the default name. How can I change it to something else?
A: The file_name parameter on the
log_open() function controls the log name. You can set this
parameter to be any log name you like. When the log is created, it will
use the name set on this parameter. Example:
log_open("MyCustomName.log")Q: I have an R program that runs on a schedule every day. I want to keep the logs from this program for a certain period of time. But logr always overwrites the log from the last run. Is there a way to get a datestamp on the log name, so it won’t overwrite?
A: You can append the datestamp to the log name on
the file_name parameter. Like this:
# Concatenate log name with datestamp
nm <- paste0("mylog_", format(Sys.Date(), "%Y-%m-%d"))
# Open log
lf <- log_open(nm)Then logr will not delete the previous day’s log.
If you want a full date and time stamp, adjust the codes on the
format() function to your liking.
Q: In SAS® there is an option to log all the code in my program at the top of the log. I like this because it is a good record of my program at the time it was run. Is there a similar option in logr?
A: There is not an option, but there is a
log_code() function that will allow you to accomplish the
same thing. You just call the log_code() function at the
point where you want the code logged. Normally this would be at the top
of the program, after the call to log_open(). Like
this:
# Open log
log_open("mylog.log")
# Dump code to log
log_code()
# Continue program...The above code will dump the entire program contents to the log. The code lines will be prefixed with a right arrow (“>”) to distinguish these lines from the rest of your log.
Q: In SAS® there is an option called symbolgen that will log all the variable values in my program. This option is useful for debugging. Is there a similar option in logr?
A: Not really. You can log the values of individual
variables by sending them to the log with a put() function.
You can also log the entire environment with all variable values like
this:
# Open log
log_open("test.log")
# Write current variables to log
put(ls().str())
# Close log
log_close()Otherwise, it is better to debug R programs interactively. The interactive debugging features in R are much better than in SAS®. The logr log is geared more toward recording the execution of your program than debugging.
Q: I want to write all the environment variables and their values to the logr log. Is there a way to do that?
A: There is no built-in feature to log the
environment variables. But there is a Base R function
Sys.getenv() that will retrieve the environment variables
and their values. Then you can put them to the log like any other
object:
# Open log
log_open("test.log")
# Send environment variables to log
put(Sys.getenv())
# Close log
log_close()Q: The notes are cluttering up my log, and are not providing anything that I need. I don’t need the elapsed time, etc. How can I turn them off?
A: The notes can be disabled in one of two
ways:
1. Set the show_notes parameter on log_open()
to FALSE.
2. Set the logr.notes option to FALSE using an
options() function. Like this:
options("logr.notes" = FALSE)Q: There is another function put() that
seems similar to log_print(). What is the difference
between them?
A: There is no difference in functionality.
put() is a direct alias of log_print(). The
only difference is that put() is faster to type. It is also
easy to remember for anyone who has used SAS® software. The
put() function in the logr package does
the same thing as the %put() function in SAS®. So this
alias will warm the hearts of current/former SAS® programmers.
Q: Recently I noticed the “Base Packages” and “Other Packages” lines show up in the log header. What are these lines? Are they supposed to have all my referenced packages? How come some are missing?
A: The “Base Packages” and “Other Packages” lines in
the header are attempting to more fully describe the environment the
program/script is running in. They are showing the packages that are
installed and attached at the point the log_open() function
was called.
The information from these lines is taken from Base R
sessionInfo(), and shows a subset of information from that
function. This information is being logged so that you have some record
of the packages and versions that were in use at the time the script was
ran. This is useful information if you need to recreate the output from
a particular point in time.
Note that if you attach packages in the middle of the program, after
the call to log_open(), these packages may not be recorded
in the header. It is therefore best practice to place all of your
library() calls at the top of your program, load up
everything you need, and then call log_open(). This
practice will help ensure that the header contains all the packages that
are used by your program. This practice also makes your program easier
to read, understand, and maintain.
Q: I want to remove the blank lines in the log, to
make it as small as possible. I see there is a ‘blank_after’ parameter
on log_print() to remove the blank line for a single log
entry. But how can I get rid of all of them?
A: There is a parameter on the
log_open() function called “compact” that will remove all
the blank lines between log entries. Simply set compact = TRUE to remove
all blank lines from the log. You may achieve the same result by setting
the global option logr.compact = TRUE.
Q: The traceback is dumping a huge amount of stuff into the log when there is an error. There is so much stuff, that I find this feature annoying and useless. How can I turn it off?
A: There is a parameter on the
log_open() function called “traceback” that you can use to
turn off the traceback messaging. Simply set traceback = FALSE. The
global option logr.traceback = FALSE will do the same thing.