syslog-ng Open Source Edition 3.16 - Release Notes

Using template functions

A template function is a transformation: it modifies the way macros or name-value pairs are expanded. Template functions can be used in template definitions, or when macros are used in the configuration of syslog-ng OSE. Template functions use the following syntax:

$(function-name parameter1 parameter2 parameter3 ...)

For example, the $(echo) template function simply returns the value of the macro it receives as a parameter, thus $(echo ${HOST}) is equivalent to ${HOST}.

The parameters of template functions are separated by a whitespace character. If you want to use a longer string or multiple macros as a single parameter, enclose the parameter in double-quotes or apostrophes. For example:

$(echo "${HOST} ${PROGRAM} ${PID}")

Template functions can be nested into each other, so the parameter of a template function can be another template function, like:

$(echo $(echo ${HOST}))

For details on the available template functions, see the descriptions of the individual template functions in Template functions of syslog-ng OSE.

You can define your own template function as a regular configuration object (for example, to reuse the same function in different places in your configuration).

template-function <name-of-the-template-function> "<template-expression-using-strings-macros-template-functions>";

template-function my-template-function "${ISODATE} ${HOST} message-length=$(length "${MSG}") ${MESSAGE}";
destination d_file {
    file("/tmp/mylogs.log" template("$(my-template-function)\n"));
};

template my-custom-header-template "${ISODATE} ${HOST_FROM} ${MSGHDR}";
template-function my-template-function "$(my-custom-header-template) message-length=$(length "${MESSAGE}") ${MESSAGE}";