colors in /var/log

[Art Alexion]

On Sun, Nov 23, 2008 at 5:11 PM, Steven Vollom
<stevenvollom at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>> Steven Vollom wrote:
>>
>>> I am just learning how to use the terminal.  I wanted to see the health
>>> of my system, but have never read a /var/log before.  There 31 entries
>>> that are pink colored, 34 entries that are white, and 3 blue entries.
>>> Is this just patriotic for me here in the USA, or does red indicate I
>>> should be concerned, white not concerned and blue, external concerns?

The color coding has nothing to do with the health of your system.
The coding is supposed to show you what kind of files they are.  Try
looking at other folders and see.

I like the patriotic twist, though.


>>> cannot see how seeing this page can tell me the health of my computer,
>>> unless the colors are the way.  How do I make my computer healthy?

It isn't a page you are seeing, but a list of files in that directory.
 Looking at the list will not help you with anything, except maybe
learing the structure of the directory.



> the manual said viewing this location would tell me
> if my system is healthy or not.  I took that to mean that problems would
> be identified and potentially executable solutions would be available,
> am I incorrect?

Not so simple.  Looking at -- and  understanding -- the contents of
the files stored there will help you.

There are gui log viewers that help you parse out the raw logs and try
to see patterns and make sense of them.  There are also utilities
(command line), like logwatch, that can be configured to monitor the
logs there and send you an email when things that might concern you
happen.


-- 

--
artAlexion
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