Logging to file

[ptvrajsk]

As discussed earlier,

We should implement Logging capabilities to give further insights on errors that users may face.

Currently Client-Side JS Applications do not have access to disk so writing a local log-file is impossible. Alternatively these are some possible solutions to tackling logging.

Work-Arounds

1. • Write to localStorage from Angular to cache information on the browser.

• localStorage works as a key-value pair. So we can add data with a Log Key and verify SessionData before appending log information.
• We can have a button added to the App where the user can download log information as a text file from the browser and send it to us for a review (in addition to screenshots, etc...)

We can solve this issue with the following steps.

• Implement Logging to localStorage mechanism (Enhancing our current LoggingService) (PR Implement cached logging capability #616)
• Verifying Session Information (SessionID) prior to appending to log. [ We could keep the last 3/4 SessionLogs (We can discuss how many session infos would be prudent to keep)] (PR Implement cached logging capability #616)
• Adding a Download Log type button to the Header (Location not fixed, we can discuss where might be optimal) (PR Implement cached logging capability #616)
• Formatting Log file to allow for easier troubleshooting (There is a chance that the file may come out as 1 long string since we are just pulling it from memory and dumping into a text file) (PR Implement cached logging capability #616)

We may also want to add more log information around our codebase that documents user actions in the future so that our log files can be more detailed and we can have a clearer picture on the steps taken by users prior to a crash or issue.

Resources

• Invoking Local Storage in Angular
• Storing Text in File and making it downloadable

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2. - [ ] Write to individual repository (Bug-Reporting Phase / Tester-Response Phase)

• Directly writing to repository file on each major action. (Submitting Issue / Deleting Issues / Editing Issues)
• If we have both implemented we can verify the 'Local Actions' and what was registered by the Backend for troubleshooting but this might take more time to do.

[ptvrajsk]

@CATcher-org/2021-devs @anubh-v

Should the button to download the log be left on the HeaderComponent? Or do you guys have any suggestions on where we can place it?