2.1

Release date

2014-10-19

This is the fourth GA release which contains several bugfixes and new features. There are two new Maven artifacts in this release: log4j-jul and log4j-iostreams. Both components are API-based with optional Core features.

Apache Log4j 2.1 requires a minimum of Java 6 to build and run. Basic compatibility with Log4j 1.x is provided through the log4j-1.2-api component, however it does not implement some of the very implementation specific classes and methods. The package names and Maven groupId have been changed to org.apache.logging.log4j to avoid any conflicts with Log4j 1.x.

For complete information on Apache Log4j 2, including instructions on how to submit bug reports, patches, or suggestions for improvement, see the Apache Log4j 2 website.

Added

  • Implement a GELF layout. (LOG4J2-428)

  • Added Memory-Mapped File Appender. (LOG4J2-431)

  • Add the Log4j IOStreams component. (LOG4J2-547)

  • Supported filtering on custom log levels in configuration. (LOG4J2-589)

  • Add java.util.logging implementation based on log4j-api. See log4j-jul documentation for more details. (LOG4J2-608)

  • Add lookup for application main arguments. (LOG4J2-771)

  • Add lookup for JVM arguments. (LOG4J2-787)

  • Add support for custom SLF4J Markers in log4j-slf4j-impl module. (LOG4J2-793)

  • Move reflection utility class to API’s private utility classes. (LOG4J2-809)

  • Documentation: added section on XInclude to user manual Configuration page. (LOG4J2-816)

  • Add simple validation constraint annotations for the Plugin system. (LOG4J2-825)

  • Support use of TypeConverter classes through the standard Plugin system. (LOG4J2-827)

  • Documentation: added Runtime Dependencies link to left nav-bar on site. (LOG4J2-833)

  • Add a Java lookup to provide nicely formatted runtime version information. (LOG4J2-848)

  • Documentation: add sections on the JUL Adapter, IO Streams and NoSQL Appenders to the Maven and Ivy page. (LOG4J2-856)

  • Add ShutdownCallbackRegistry interface for customizable shutdown callback handling. This is particularly useful for application servers that wish to integrate with Log4j 2. (LOG4J2-868)

Changed

  • Incomplete documentation for JSONLayout. (LOG4J2-766)

  • Update Spring Framework to 3.2.11.RELEASE from 3.2.8.RELEASE. (LOG4J2-780)

  • Update Jackson to 2.4.2 from 2.4.1 (for XML and JSON processing). (LOG4J2-790)

  • All life cycle implementations should be serializable. This is still work in progress. (LOG4J2-800)

  • org.apache.logging.log4j.core.Logger should be serializable. This is still work in progress. (LOG4J2-801)

  • Update javax.mail to 1.5.2 from 1.5.0. (LOG4J2-810)

  • Unify the two JMS appenders into a single appender. Configurations written for 2.0 will still work in 2.1+. (LOG4J2-815)

  • Update org.eclipse.persistence.jpa to 2.5.2 from 2.5.1. (LOG4J2-822)

  • Documentation: updated FAQ "which jars" diagrams for JUL bridge and 2.1 version. (LOG4J2-831)

  • Update JMH to 1.1 from 0.7.2. (LOG4J2-844)

  • Add 2.1.0 to compatible versions in Log4j API ProviderUtil and update Log4jAPIVersion to 2.1.0 in core META-INF/log4j-provider.properties. (LOG4J2-845)

  • FlumeAppender: maxDelay not in seconds, but milliseconds. Add time scale to some settings, for example maxDelayMillis instead of maxDelay. The old names are aliased for compatibility. (LOG4J2-867)

Fixed

  • FlumePersistentManager now handles LockConflictExceptions in Berkeley Db when sending a batch. (LOG4J2-391)

  • Fix OSGi Import-Package problem with the JMS API. (LOG4J2-663)

  • Some typo fixes and enhancements for the site. (LOG4J2-676)

  • Documentation: fixed minor issues with Log4j2 website/documentation. (LOG4J2-678)

  • Avoid ConverterKey plugin clashes by using a more predictable plugin loading infrastructure. Plugins have been segmented into three parts: class path, user-specified packages, and OSGi bundles. (LOG4J2-745)

  • Reduced CachedClock thread contention. (LOG4J2-753)

  • Remove invalid Oracle Maven repository. (LOG4J2-782)

  • PatternLayout should use platform character encoding by default, not UTF-8. (LOG4J2-783)

  • Documentation: fixed capitalization inconsistency in user manual example config. (LOG4J2-785)

  • Fixed issue where log4j-to-slf4j did not work correctly with SLF4J Simple Logger. (LOG4J2-796)

  • Documentation: clarified why log4j-core is a compile-time dependency in Maven and Ivy page. (LOG4J2-797)

  • Fixed plugin scanning redundancy causing massive slowdowns in certain environments. (LOG4J2-798)

  • Prevent NPE when configuration with AsyncLogger/AsyncRoot is reloaded. (LOG4J2-807)

  • SimpleLogger throws ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException for an empty array. (LOG4J2-811)

  • MarkerManager Log4jMarker.hasParents() returns opposite of correct result. (LOG4J2-813)

  • Fixed memory leak in Tomcat 6 caused by clock background threads unintentionally started by Tomcat after web application stop. (LOG4J2-819)

  • Fixed issue in RollingFile filePattern: backslashes are path separators, not escape characters. (LOG4J2-829)

  • Respect external interrupt signal to allow application shutdown after joining AsyncAppender thread. (LOG4J2-830)

  • ThrowableProxy fails if a class in logged stack trace throws java.lang.Error from initializer (LOG4J2-832)

  • Migrate JdbcH2AppenderTest JUnit performance test to log4j-perf. (LOG4J2-840)

  • Migrate JdbcHyperSqlAppenderTest JUnit performance test to log4j-perf. (LOG4J2-841)

  • Migrate JpaH2AppenderTest JUnit performance test to log4j-perf. (LOG4J2-842)

  • Migrate JpaHyperSqlAppenderTest JUnit performance test to log4j-perf. (LOG4J2-843)

  • Documentation: fix broken links on Appenders manual page. (LOG4J2-855)

  • Documentation: fix broken links on left navigation Extending Log4j Configuration sub-menu. (LOG4J2-861)

  • Fixed classloader issue that prevented Log4j from finding the implementation when used in a custom Ant task. (LOG4J2-862)

  • Documentation: fixed missing closing parenthesis in code example. (LOG4J2-866)