Systemd journal provides more informative messages

A recently introduced systemd enhancement allows programs to add a unique identifier to log messages sent to systemd's Journal, which lets it retrieve extra information about the logged event from a message catalogue. Developers could, for example, add some further details and internet links concerning an error message to the information in the catalogue; the information could also explain the log data in a user's local language if a suitable translation exists.

The feature is planned to be integrated into systemd 196. The developers of the init system have already created catalogue files for many of systemd's own error messages. This added information is displayed by the journalctl program when the program is called with the new "-x" parameter. Developers of other background services can create catalogue files for their own program messages, and journalctl can then consult the additional information if the catalogue files have been stored in the right place and integrated into a database. Further details and an in-depth description of the new feature can be found on the systemd home page and in a Google+ post by systemd developer Lennart Poettering.

Journalctl returns further information on log entry "Suppressed 753 Messages...".
Source: Lennart Poettering

None of the major Linux distributions are currently logging with systemd's journal. In some of the more recent Linux distributions, however, the journal does already provide information (for example console output) that isn't included in the log files and normally does not reach users with sysvinit. Poettering says that his target is to expand the use of the journal in Fedora 19, which is scheduled for release in early summer 2013, but the Fedora project has yet to decide whether the journal will replace Fedora's current rsyslogd default logging software.

See also:

• Latest release of systemd includes time-based log rotation, a report from The H.
  
• Control Centre: The systemd Linux init system, a feature from The H.
• Booting up: Tools and tips for systemd, a Linux init tool, a feature from The H.

(crve)