IMO there are at least 2 advantages to those frameworks: - Separating the decision of what to log from the decision of "where" to place the log - Allowing you to change your mind post installation (via a watched external config file) Been using both web systems for almost 20 years. I've been continually glad for the ability to diagnose problems in the field in a straightforward way using mechanisms that are publicly documented and widely understood. Countless real bugs have been quickly identified and resolved thanks to this instrumentation.