How to implement a logging system with the singleton pattern using Python

Introduction

I am implementing real-world projects for each design pattern to see how they are useful when building projects, here is an article about how to benefit from the singleton pattern to build a logging system.

Logging is an important aspect of software development, as it allows developers to track what their applications are doing and to identify and fix issues as they arise. One design pattern that can be useful in implementing a logging system is the Singleton pattern, which ensures that there is only one instance of a class in the system.

UML Diagram of the Logging System

Code Implementation

Implementing a logging system with the Singleton pattern is to define a Logger class that will handle all the logging functionality. The Logger class should have a private constructor and a static method that returns the single instance of the class.

class Logger(object):

    _instance = None
    _logs = ""

    def __init__(self):
        raise RuntimeError('Call get_instance() instead')

    @classmethod
    def get_instance(cls):
        if cls._instance is None:
            cls._instance = cls.__new__(cls)
        return cls._instance

    def debug(self, message):
        self._logs += f"[DEBUG] {message}\n"

    def info(self, message):
        self._logs += f"[INFO] {message}\n"

    def warning(self, message):
        self._logs += f"[WARNING] {message}\n"

    def error(self, message):
        self._logs += f"[ERROR] {message}\n"

    def get_logs(self):
        print(self._logs)

This is a just a simple example of logging system, where it has four methods for each log level and one more method for getting the logs.

Testing the logger

We could test the logger as follows:

logger = Logger.get_instance()
logger.debug("my error")
logger.get_logs()

logger2 = Logger.get_instance()
logger2.info("my error2")
logger2.get_logs()

And here is the result:

[DEBUG] my error

[DEBUG] my error
[INFO] my error2

As you can see the new logs added to the old logs which means that the logger is instanced only once.

Conclusion

Implementing a logging system using the Singleton pattern can be a useful approach for managing logging functionality in a Python application. By defining a Logger class with a private constructor and a static method that returns the single instance of the class, we can ensure that there is only one instance of the class in the system, and simplify the process of logging messages.

References

• Head First Design Patterns: A Brain-Friendly Guide
• Singleton Pattern – Design Patterns (ep 6) by Christopher Okhravi
• I used draw.io for drawing the UML diagram

About Mustafa

A Backend Engineer with a Computer Engineering degree. Experienced in collaborating remotely with international teams across Ireland, Canada, and Kenya. Also, I've helped clients in Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, and the USA with freelance projects. With strong professional English communication skills and a flexible attitude towards learning new technologies, I am seeking an opportunity to enhance my experience by joining a skilled international and professional team and tackling challenging problems. Learn more about me on UpWork and LinkedIn