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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:

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

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

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

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 Metrics​

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

Sample Performance Log​

{
  "category": "PERFORMANCE",
  "level": "DEBUG",
  "message": "Logging overhead analysis",
  "context": {
    "log_build_time_ms": 0.5,
    "format_time_ms": 0.2,
    "write_time_ms": 0.8,
    "total_overhead_ms": 1.5,
    "entries_per_second": 650
  }
}

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