windows

windows event log

1. Introduce

Application can use the Event logging API to report and view events.
For details on reporting events, see Reporting Events.
To view events that have been written to log files, see Querying for Event Source Messages
and Receiving Event Notification.

You can find widows event log files(binary file) on C:\WINDOWS\system32\config\, list as below:

C:\WINDOWS\system32\config\AppEvent.Evt
C:\WINDOWS\system32\config\SecEvent.Evt
C:\WINDOWS\system32\config\SysEvent.Evt

2. Program

2.1 Prepare work

2.1.1 Write a message text file, name provider.mc, the follow show it

; // MyEventProvider.mc 

; // This is the header section.


SeverityNames=(Success=0x0:STATUS_SEVERITY_SUCCESS
               Informational=0x1:STATUS_SEVERITY_INFORMATIONAL
               Warning=0x2:STATUS_SEVERITY_WARNING
               Error=0x3:STATUS_SEVERITY_ERROR
              )


FacilityNames=(System=0x0:FACILITY_SYSTEM
               Runtime=0x2:FACILITY_RUNTIME
               Stubs=0x3:FACILITY_STUBS
               Io=0x4:FACILITY_IO_ERROR_CODE
              )

LanguageNames=(English=0x409:MSG00409)


; // The following are the categories of events.

MessageIdTypedef=WORD

MessageId=0x1
SymbolicName=NETWORK_CATEGORY
Language=English
Network Events
.

MessageId=0x2
SymbolicName=DATABASE_CATEGORY
Language=English
Database Events
.

MessageId=0x3
SymbolicName=UI_CATEGORY
Language=English
UI Events
.


; // The following are the message definitions.

MessageIdTypedef=DWORD

MessageId=0x100
Severity=Error
Facility=Runtime
SymbolicName=MSG_INVALID_COMMAND
Language=English
The command is not valid.
.


MessageId=0x101
Severity=Error
Facility=System
SymbolicName=MSG_BAD_FILE_CONTENTS
Language=English
File %1 contains content that is not valid.
.

MessageId=0x102
Severity=Warning
Facility=System
SymbolicName=MSG_RETRIES
Language=English
There have been %1 retries with %2 success! Disconnect from
the server and try again later.
.

MessageId=0x103
Severity=Informational
Facility=System
SymbolicName=MSG_COMPUTE_CONVERSION
Language=English
%1 %%4096 = %2 %%4097. 
.


; // The following are the parameter strings */


MessageId=0x1000
Severity=Success
Facility=System
SymbolicName=QUARTS_UNITS
Language=English
quarts%0
.

MessageId=0x1001
Severity=Success
Facility=System
SymbolicName=GALLONS_UNITS
Language=English
gallons%0
.

Use the following command to compile the message text file:

mc -U provider.mc

It will generate 3 files: (the report event project use provider.h)

provider.h
provider.rc
MSG0409.bin

Compile the resources file:

rc provider.rc

Generate only one file, provider.res

Last use link to create resource-dll file:

link -dll -noentry provider.res

Output file, provider.dll, with these library, event log viewer can show the
the detail description by ID, Type … etc.(at the follow, Receiving event
notification use thid library)

2.2 Report event log

An example show how to report event.
Create a win32 console project, with empty file.
Then, add a reportevent.cpp to it, and add the follow code.

#ifndef UNICODE
#define UNICODE
#endif
#include <windows.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include "provider.h"

#pragma comment(lib, "advapi32.lib")

#define PROVIDER_NAME L"MyEventProvider"

// Hardcoded insert string for the event messages.
CONST LPWSTR pBadCommand = L"The command that was not valid";
CONST LPWSTR pFilename = L"c:\\folder\\file.ext";
CONST LPWSTR pNumberOfRetries = L"3";
CONST LPWSTR pSuccessfulRetries = L"0";
CONST LPWSTR pQuarts = L"8";
CONST LPWSTR pGallons = L"2";

void wmain(void)
{
    HANDLE hEventLog = NULL;
    LPWSTR pInsertStrings[2] = {NULL, NULL};
    DWORD dwEventDataSize = 0;

    // The source name (provider) must exist as a subkey of Application.
    hEventLog = RegisterEventSource(NULL, PROVIDER_NAME);
    if (NULL == hEventLog)
    {
        wprintf(L"RegisterEventSource failed with 0x%x.\n", GetLastError());
        goto cleanup;
    }

    // This event includes user-defined data as part of the event. The event message
    // does not use insert strings.
    dwEventDataSize = ((DWORD)wcslen(pBadCommand) + 1) * sizeof(WCHAR);
    if (!ReportEvent(hEventLog, EVENTLOG_ERROR_TYPE, UI_CATEGORY, MSG_INVALID_COMMAND, NULL, 0, dwEventDataSize, NULL, pBadCommand))
    {
        wprintf(L"ReportEvent failed with 0x%x for event 0x%x.\n", GetLastError(), MSG_INVALID_COMMAND);
        goto cleanup;
    }

    // This event uses insert strings.
    pInsertStrings[0] = pFilename;
    if (!ReportEvent(hEventLog, EVENTLOG_ERROR_TYPE, DATABASE_CATEGORY, MSG_BAD_FILE_CONTENTS, NULL, 1, 0, (LPCWSTR*)pInsertStrings, NULL))
    {
        wprintf(L"ReportEvent failed with 0x%x for event 0x%x.\n", GetLastError(), MSG_BAD_FILE_CONTENTS);
        goto cleanup;
    }

    // This event uses insert strings.
    pInsertStrings[0] = pNumberOfRetries;
    pInsertStrings[1] = pSuccessfulRetries;
    if (!ReportEvent(hEventLog, EVENTLOG_WARNING_TYPE, NETWORK_CATEGORY, MSG_RETRIES, NULL, 2, 0, (LPCWSTR*)pInsertStrings, NULL))
    {
        wprintf(L"ReportEvent failed with 0x%x for event 0x%x.\n", GetLastError(), MSG_RETRIES);
        goto cleanup;
    }

    // This event uses insert strings.
    pInsertStrings[0] = pQuarts;
    pInsertStrings[1] = pGallons;
    if (!ReportEvent(hEventLog, EVENTLOG_INFORMATION_TYPE, UI_CATEGORY, MSG_COMPUTE_CONVERSION, NULL, 2, 0, (LPCWSTR*)pInsertStrings, NULL))
    {
        wprintf(L"ReportEvent failed with 0x%x for event 0x%x.\n", GetLastError(), MSG_COMPUTE_CONVERSION);
        goto cleanup;
    }

    wprintf(L"All events successfully reported.\n");

cleanup:

    if (hEventLog)
        DeregisterEventSource(hEventLog);
}

2.3 View event log

go to http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa363677(v=vs.85).aspx
get the source code of “Receiving Event Notification”.

Notice that, change these two lines for your apply: 

#define PROVIDER_NAME L"MyEventProvider"
#define RESOURCE_DLL  L"<path>\\Provider.dll"

3. Questions

How to monitor multi event logs? And make it to be a component.
I want to implement it, on this site you can find a first version project
Click here

But I think, it was a pool method to check each event name. Is there exist any
good method to do it? I meet the same problem with this guy,
Unexpected behavior of WaitForMultipleObjects for events used in NotifyChangeEventLog
I’m sad, why he don’t told the detail info.

4. Reference