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Logging Performance Guide

Performance Impact​

The Brobot logging system is designed for minimal performance impact:

  • Disabled logging: ~0 overhead (early filtering)
  • INFO level logging: ~1-2ms per action
  • DEBUG level with enrichment: ~3-5ms per action
  • With screenshots: ~50-100ms per failed action

Optimization Strategies​

1. Early Filtering​

The system checks log levels before building log entries:

import io.github.jspinak.brobot.logging.BrobotLogger;
import io.github.jspinak.brobot.logging.LogCategory;
import io.github.jspinak.brobot.logging.LogLevel;

public class PerformanceExample {
    private final BrobotLogger logger;

    public void performAction() {
        // Level check happens first - no object creation if disabled
        if (logger.isLoggingEnabled(LogCategory.ACTIONS, LogLevel.DEBUG)) {
            // Only build the log entry if it will be logged
            logger.debug(LogCategory.ACTIONS,
                "Expensive operation: " + generateExpensiveReport());
        }
    }

    private String generateExpensiveReport() {
        // Expensive operation
        return "Report data";
    }
}

Note: The isLoggingEnabled() method in Brobot currently delegates all level checking to SLF4J/Logback. This means actual filtering happens at the SLF4J level based on logging.level.* properties. The pattern above is still recommended to avoid expensive string building operations when logging is disabled.

2. Async Logging​

Enable async logging for production:

# Async logging improves throughput
brobot.logging.performance.async=true
brobot.logging.performance.buffer-size=16384

Benefits:

  • Non-blocking log writes
  • Better application throughput
  • Reduced I/O contention

Trade-offs:

  • Potential log loss on crash
  • Slightly delayed log visibility
  • Additional memory usage

3. Selective Enrichment​

Only enable enrichment you need:

# Minimal enrichment for production
brobot.logging.enrichment.include-screenshots=false
brobot.logging.enrichment.include-timing-breakdown=false
brobot.logging.enrichment.include-memory-usage=false
brobot.logging.enrichment.include-similarity-scores=true  # Low overhead

Note: include-timing-breakdown defaults to true in source code, but is typically disabled in production for optimal performance. The default enables comprehensive timing data during development, which can then be selectively disabled for deployment.

4. Category-Specific Levels​

Reduce noise by setting appropriate levels per package:

# Production configuration
logging.level.io.github.jspinak.brobot.action=INFO       # Only success/failure
logging.level.io.github.jspinak.brobot.matching=WARN     # Only problems
logging.level.io.github.jspinak.brobot.performance=INFO  # Key metrics only
logging.level.io.github.jspinak.brobot.validation=ERROR  # Only errors

Available Log Levels (in order of severity):

  • OFF - Disable all logging (maximum performance)
  • ERROR - Only errors requiring attention
  • WARN - Warnings and potential issues
  • INFO - Key events and action results
  • DEBUG - Detailed debugging information
  • TRACE - Most detailed information (highest overhead)

Memory Management​

Buffer Sizes​

Configure buffer sizes based on load:

# Light load (< 100 actions/min)
brobot.logging.performance.buffer-size=8192

# Medium load (100-1000 actions/min)
brobot.logging.performance.buffer-size=32768

# Heavy load (> 1000 actions/min)
brobot.logging.performance.buffer-size=65536

Memory Usage Estimates​

ConfigurationMemory per ThreadBuffer MemoryTotal (10 threads)
Minimal~1KB8KB~18KB
Standard~2KB32KB~52KB
Full Enrichment~5KB64KB~114KB

Benchmarks​

Action Logging Performance​

Test setup: 1000 find operations, averaged over 10 runs

Log LevelSync (ms/action)Async (ms/action)
OFF0.00.0
ERROR0.10.05
INFO1.20.3
DEBUG2.50.8
TRACE4.11.5

With Enrichment​

FeatureAdditional Overhead
Similarity scores+0.1ms
Timing breakdown+0.5ms
Memory usage+1.0ms
Screenshots (on failure)+50-100ms

Best Practices for Performance​

1. Production Configuration​

# Optimized for production
logging.level.root=WARN
logging.level.io.github.jspinak.brobot.action=INFO
logging.level.io.github.jspinak.brobot.performance=INFO
brobot.logging.output.format=JSON
brobot.logging.performance.async=true
brobot.logging.performance.buffer-size=32768
brobot.logging.enrichment.include-screenshots=false
brobot.logging.enrichment.include-timing-breakdown=false

2. Development Configuration​

# Full visibility for development
logging.level.root=DEBUG
logging.level.io.github.jspinak.brobot=DEBUG
brobot.logging.output.format=SIMPLE
brobot.logging.performance.async=false
brobot.logging.enrichment.include-screenshots=true
brobot.logging.enrichment.include-timing-breakdown=true

3. High-Performance Configuration​

# Maximum performance
logging.level.root=ERROR
brobot.logging.performance.async=true
brobot.logging.performance.buffer-size=65536
brobot.logging.output.format=JSON
# Disable all enrichment
brobot.logging.enrichment.include-screenshots=false
brobot.logging.enrichment.include-similarity-scores=false
brobot.logging.enrichment.include-timing-breakdown=false
brobot.logging.enrichment.include-memory-usage=false

Monitoring Logging Performance​

Enable Performance Logging​

To monitor application performance (not logging system overhead):

logging.level.io.github.jspinak.brobot.performance=DEBUG
brobot.logging.enrichment.include-timing-breakdown=true

This enables logging of:

  • Action execution times
  • State transition durations
  • Pattern matching performance
  • Memory usage statistics

Note: Brobot currently logs application performance metrics (action durations, memory usage) but does not yet track logging system overhead itself (log formatting time, write time, etc.). The performance benchmarks in this document are based on external measurements.

Troubleshooting Performance Issues​

Symptoms: High CPU Usage​

Cause: Too much DEBUG/TRACE logging Solution: Reduce log levels

logging.level.root=INFO
logging.level.io.github.jspinak.brobot=WARN

Symptoms: Memory Growth​

Cause: Large async buffers with slow I/O Solution: Reduce buffer size or disable async

brobot.logging.performance.async=false
# OR
brobot.logging.performance.buffer-size=8192

Symptoms: Slow Action Execution​

Cause: Screenshot capture on every action Solution: Disable screenshots

brobot.logging.enrichment.include-screenshots=false

Symptoms: Log File Growth​

Cause: TRACE level or JSON format Solution: Use appropriate levels and consider log rotation

logging.level.root=INFO
# Configure logback for rotation

Logging System​

  • Logging Overview - Introduction to Brobot's transparent, configuration-driven logging system
  • Logging Configuration Guide - Comprehensive configuration options for output formats, enrichment, and performance settings
  • Logging Usage Guide - How to use custom logging with ActionConfig methods and session management
  • Output Formats - Detailed guide to SIMPLE, STRUCTURED, and JSON output formats with performance implications

Configuration & Properties​

Testing & Debugging​

Action Configuration​

Getting Started​

Advanced Topics​

Integration​