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Logging in Swift
NSLog or Print
There are multiple ways to log in Swift. This article will explore them!
Difficulty: Beginner | Easy | Normal | Challenging
Prerequisites:
- None, although to follow the code you might like to use Playgrounds. Guide: HERE and String interpolation is used later in the article (guide: HERE)
Terminology
Console: A simple window for programming that can display output and (usually) process input
Debugger: A computer program used to test and debug other programs
Function: A group of statements that together can perform a function
IDE: An application that provides a set of features that are used by software developers to create computer software
NSLog: Logging using an error message to the Apple System Log facility
OSLog: Logging, in a way that can log with categories
print: Write items to the standard output
String: A collection of Characters
Logging: A way to capture log messages to memory and disk
Trace: A use of logging to record information of the program’s execution
Why Logging is important
You have a bug. You don’t know how to fix it, but most likely you know where about the problem might be you might choose the debugger or logging to the console. Both approaches are valid, and let us explore them. Note that the use of the debugger and logging to the console are not mutually exclusive and many programmers use a combination of the two.
The debugger
One way of debugging is to use the debugger, and the one provided in Xcode is actually pretty good (as well as being convenient). The debugger allows you to see what the state of a variable is as you move through time, and the state of the system at a moment in time.
This is excellent, but some people exist who never want to use a debugger at all. This is because another way of tracing the program’s execution.
Logging to the console
