Relational database logging

Introduction

In case of issues when using Orbeon Forms with a relational database, you might want to see what's happening between Orbeon Forms and said database. We have found that P6Spy is a useful tool for troubleshooting this scenario.

Configuration

Below, you'll find a summary of the steps you can follow to install and configure P6Spy. For more options, or if you're using an application server other than Tomcat, you'll most likely want to refer to the P6Spy documentation, and specifically their installation and configuration instructions.

1. Download the P6Spy jar file.

2. Move the P6Spy jar file to Tomcat's lib directory, or the equivalent directory on your application server. This should be the same directory where you installed your database driver jar file.

3. In the same directory, create a spy.properties as follows. On the first line replace /var/log/tomcat by the directory where your log files are stored. If you're using a database other than MySQL, on the second line replace com.mysql.cj.jdbc.Driver by the corresponding JDBC driver class name for your database.

    logfile=/var/log/tomcat/spy.log
    driverlist=com.mysql.cj.jdbc.Driver
    dateformat=MM-dd-yy HH:mm:ss:SS
    logMessageFormat=com.p6spy.engine.spy.appender.CustomLineFormat
    customLogMessageFormat=%(currentTime)|%(executionTime)|%(category)|connection%(connectionId)\n%(sql)

4. Where you define the datasource for Orbeon Forms, replace the driver class name by com.p6spy.engine.spy.P6SpyDriver and prefix the URL by jdbc:p6spy:. On Tomcat, this is done by editing Tomcat's server.xml, and in that file, inside the Context you have defined for Orbeon Forms, change the Resource setting the value of the driverClassName attribute to com.p6spy.engine.spy.P6SpyDriver, and prefixing the value of the url attribute by jdbc:p6spy:, as in:

    <Resource
        name="jdbc/mysql"
        driverClassName="com.p6spy.engine.spy.P6SpyDriver"
   
        auth="Container"
        type="javax.sql.DataSource"
   
        initialSize="3"
        maxActive="10"
        maxIdle="10"
        maxWait="30000"
   
        poolPreparedStatements="true"
   
        testOnBorrow="true"
        validationQuery="select 1"
   
        username="orbeon"
        password=""
        url="jdbc:p6spy:mysql://localhost:3306/orbeon?useUnicode=true&amp;characterEncoding=UTF8"/>
    `

5. Restart Tomcat or the application server you're using. Check that no error messages show on the console, catalina.out, or equivalent with your setup. If none show and Orbeon Forms starts properly, run tail -f spy.log in a terminal window, or equivalent on your operating system, and check that as you access, say, the Form Builder summary page, SQL statement are properly being logged.

See also

• Using Form Runner with a Relational Database

• Troubleshooting with the orbeon.log

• Logging

• XForms logging