toollogger ... let it be 1984 all over again...

Sometimes it can be useful to keep track of the usage of your tools or programs. Is someone using this nifty tool at all?? Well, this is usually done using a licensing program or something like that. But since these programs are quite expensive, the ToolLogger be a low cost (read: no cost) alternative.

The way it works is that you keep a program (the server) running on a machine. This server accepts incoming UDP messages from your programs around the world and stores these messages in log files.

It is really simple, just link your program with the ToolLogger client library. Then call a function when the program is started and when it is shutting down... When shutting down, a message will be sent to the server containing the following info:

  • Protocol - The version of the protocol.
  • Tool - The program name
  • Revision - The version of the program.
  • User - The username of the one running the program.
  • Project - Arbitrary information.
  • RunTime - The time the program was running.

It is possible to have different protocols, i.e message contents, running at the same time. However, currently the server is only supporting one protocol.

If you decide to use this facility, I strongly suggest that you inform the users of your tools that they are being 'monitored' and explain why you are doing what you are doing.

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ptorpman at sourceforge.net
Last modified: Fri Jun 3 00:43:18 CEST 2005