[Python-Dev] PEP 282: "FATAL" a misnomer

[David Goodger]

One thing I've found uncomfortable in the PEP (& log4j spec) was the
"FATAL" name for the highest logging level.  I think it's a misnomer
and should be renamed.  "FATAL" implies death, which in Python implies
a raised and uncaught exception, traceback, and exit.  If the logging
module enforces such an outcome from a FATAL-level log entry, that
would make sense, but I don't think that's the case (nor should it be,
at least not invariably).

In the logging class I wrote [#]_, I used the term "SEVERE".  Paul
Svensson mentions "CRITICAL" in his system.  I think either one of
these expresses the intrinsic meaning better (a bad error, worse than
"ERROR", ignored at peril), without the misleading connotations of
"FATAL".

So, how about renaming "FATAL" to "SEVERE" or "CRITICAL"?

.. [#] The "Reporter" class in http://docstring.sf.net/dps/utils.py;
   with copious documentation in docstrings.  Also, this class *does*
   support raising exceptions via an 'errorlevel' exception threshold.
   I've mentioned it before; please check it out!

-- 
David Goodger    goodger@users.sourceforge.net    Open-source projects:
 - Python Docstring Processing System: http://docstring.sourceforge.net
 - reStructuredText: http://structuredtext.sourceforge.net
 - The Go Tools Project: http://gotools.sourceforge.net