Basic Logging Tools vs Distributed Tracing

Developers should learn and use basic logging tools to implement essential observability in applications, especially during development and testing phases to catch bugs early and understand program flow meets developers should learn and use distributed tracing when building or maintaining microservices-based applications, cloud-native systems, or any distributed architecture where requests span multiple services. Here's our take.

Basic Logging Tools

Nice Pick

Developers should learn and use basic logging tools to implement essential observability in applications, especially during development and testing phases to catch bugs early and understand program flow

Pros

• They are crucial for small to medium projects, scripts, or when starting with logging before adopting more advanced frameworks, as they offer low overhead and straightforward integration without complex configuration
• Related to: structured-logging, log-aggregation

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Distributed Tracing

Developers should learn and use distributed tracing when building or maintaining microservices-based applications, cloud-native systems, or any distributed architecture where requests span multiple services

Pros

• It is crucial for performance monitoring, troubleshooting latency issues, and ensuring reliability in production environments, as it provides end-to-end visibility into request flows and dependencies
• Related to: microservices, observability

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. Basic Logging Tools is a tool while Distributed Tracing is a concept. We picked Basic Logging Tools based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

Basic Logging Tools wins

Based on overall popularity. Basic Logging Tools is more widely used, but Distributed Tracing excels in its own space.