Event Logs
Event log are the files used by Microsoft Windows to store the details of
important events, such as a user starting a file transfer, and the details of
resource problems, such as memory allocation failure. You can use the
information in event logs to determine the cause of critical events. For
example, if the file server is down when a web server tries to upload a file,
the application can write an entry to an event log.
Types of event logs
Windows maintains the following types of event logs:
- System Event Log: Logs information that
takes place on system level hardware.
- Security Event Logs: Logs security level
events. These events are the success and failure messages of users logging
on and logging off Windows, SQL Server, and other types of applications.
- Application Log: Contains events logged
by applications or programs.
Implementation of the EventLog
You can view event logs programmatically in you code by using the EventLog
class in the .NET Framework. The EventLog class allows you to read, write, and
delete entries within a log. Yu can also create custom logs that you use to
write to from your application. You can also create, modify, and delete event
sources.
The following code example demonstrates the creation of a custom eventlog
and a custom event source.
Class
MyEventLog
{
static void Main(string[]
args)
{
//Create the source, if it does not
already exist.
if (!EventLog.SourceExists("MySource"))
{
EventLog.CreateEventSource("MySource",
"MyNewLog");
Console.WriteLine("CreatingEventSource");
}
//Create an EventLog instance and
assign its source.
EventLog mylog =
new EventLog();
mylog.Source =
"MySource";
mylog.WriteEntry("Writing
to event log.");
Console.ReadLine();
}
}