---
title: "Discussion on \"Pretty Logger for Java - improve the aesthetics of java console apps\" | Hashnode"
description: "Discussion on \"Pretty Logger for Java - improve the aesthetics of java console apps\". Overview\nJava might not be the first choice when wanting to build command line applications, but as a Java developer myself, I don't see any reason for not doing so. With the rise of frameworks like Spring Boot or Quarkus and GraalVM you can create f..."
url: "https://hashnode.com/posts/pretty-logger-for-java-improve-the-aesthetics-of-java-console-apps/5fda058cdf6ee928d12ba6f6"
---

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# [Pretty Logger for Java - improve the aesthetics of java console apps](https://ludovicianul.hashnode.dev/pretty-logger-for-java-improve-the-aesthetics-of-java-console-apps?utm_source=hashnode&utm_medium=feed)

Overview Java might not be the first choice when wanting to build command line applications, but as a Java developer myself, I don't see any reason for not doing so. With the rise of frameworks like Spring Boot or Quarkus and GraalVM you can create f...

Dec 16, 2020 · 3 min read · ludovicianul.hashnode.dev  
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-   [#java](https://hashnode.com/tag/java)
-   [#logging](https://hashnode.com/tag/logging)

## Written by

[madalin ilie](https://hashnode.com/@ludovicianul)

@ludovicianul

  
[View profile](https://hashnode.com/@ludovicianul)

geek

## Responses 2

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[Josh Martin](https://hashnode.com/@joshmartindev)

[Dec 17, 2020](https://hashnode.com/posts/pretty-logger-for-java-improve-the-aesthetics-of-java-console-apps/5fda058cdf6ee928d12ba6f6/comment/5fdab5b7b78ac62dff808a3f)

Being new to java, this is mind blowing to me! I can't wait to dig into this. Just so I am clear, I would need to be using slf4j to use pl4j?

[madalin ilie](https://hashnode.com/@ludovicianul)

[Dec 17, 2020](https://hashnode.com/posts/pretty-logger-for-java-improve-the-aesthetics-of-java-console-apps/5fda058cdf6ee928d12ba6f6/comment/5fdab5b7b78ac62dff808a3f#reply-5fdb21abb78ac62dff809487)

pl4j is a wrapper over sl4j. So by using pl4j you will actually interact with the sl4j api. This is implicit and nothing else is needed. But what you need is an actual implementation of sl4j, presumably logback. There is an example in the project with a `TestClass` and a `logback.xml` configuration file.

[Josh Martin](https://hashnode.com/@joshmartindev)

[Dec 17, 2020](https://hashnode.com/posts/pretty-logger-for-java-improve-the-aesthetics-of-java-console-apps/5fda058cdf6ee928d12ba6f6/comment/5fdab5b7b78ac62dff808a3f#reply-5fdb4d13b78ac62dff809aee)

[madalin ilie](https://hashnode.com/@ludovicianul) Got it! I'll check this out. I've never been so excited to log things to the console!

[Nicolas Fränkel](https://hashnode.com/@nfrankel)

[Dec 16, 2020](https://hashnode.com/posts/pretty-logger-for-java-improve-the-aesthetics-of-java-console-apps/5fda058cdf6ee928d12ba6f6/comment/5fda13004d058528f6ceefc9)

IMHO, this is not the right abstraction level to handle it.

SLF4J is an API. The "prettiness" is an implementation detail and should be handled by the underlying logging engine. You could move to the `Appender` level - and yes, it would require one such appender for each implementation (Logback, Log4J, etc.).

[madalin ilie](https://hashnode.com/@ludovicianul)

[Dec 16, 2020](https://hashnode.com/posts/pretty-logger-for-java-improve-the-aesthetics-of-java-console-apps/5fda058cdf6ee928d12ba6f6/comment/5fda13004d058528f6ceefc9#reply-5fda55e8d296552b064898dc)

It's true. It might not be the best abstraction, but I like the benefit of explicitivness i.e. the ability to call methods that will mark the logs accordingly. I prefer to say _complete_ rather than _info_ with additional configuration. Sl4j (and implementations) supports a limited number of log levels. Using this library, even if the log levels remain the same, you can explicitly call the intended marker method. And it's still decoupled and require no change in the logging patterns.