Structured logging in Golang provides critical observability for applications, moving beyond traditional text-based logs to searchable JSON objects with consistent fields.
Popular logging libraries in Go include Zap, Zerolog, Logrus, and slog, each offering unique strengths.
Setting up a Zap logger in Go involves configuring the logger based on the environment.
Creating a logger wrapper ensures consistent log structure and simplifies logging usage in applications.
Context propagation for request tracing in distributed systems helps track requests through various application components.
In microservices, adding service-specific fields like service name and version enhances troubleshooting across services.
Integrating middleware for request logging automates logging of HTTP requests and aids in traceability.
Advanced Zap configuration allows fine-tuning for production needs, including log sampling and adding stack traces to error logs.
Integrating with third-party systems like ELK or cloud providers involves adding cloud-specific fields to facilitate filtering and tracing in distributed environments.
Logging best practices include focusing on actionable information, using consistent field names, choosing appropriate log levels, including context data, and handling sensitive data securely.
Performance considerations for logging include avoiding expensive serialization, choosing the right logger for performance, implementing sampling and async logging, and benchmarking logging impact on application performance.