Last week I talked about changing the contents of messages to make them clearer. This week I’ll discuss the situation where the message isn’t in MAXMESSAGES and why it might not be.

What if the log message isn’t in the MAXMESSAGES table?

The MAXMESSAGES table is the recommended place to store the messages. From version 7 this is the managed by Database Configuration->Select Action->Messages.

Developers don't always use the MAXMESSAGES functionality.

If you are hunting for a message and it isn't in the table then you need to start checking code e.g. automation script or Java.

Hard coding the message is a really bad thing from a system administrator’s point of view because the message can’t be modified without identifying and changing the Java/automation script code. Often system administrators don’t have the code/skill to be able to modify the Java let alone the time/justification to retest all the code/processes.

Even if you do have the code/skill/time/justification to modify the code then you still have to find the associated code in the first place. With tens of thousands of Java classes in a standard Maximo installation this can feel like an impossible task.

Why should developers be using the MAXMESSAGES system and why don’t they?

Developers should use it because:

• It is the standard place to store messages
• Each message has a BMX code that can be searched for/highlighted by system administrators/log analysis tools
• System administrators can enter translated messages for foreign languages
• System administrators can modify the content to make the message clearer e.g. See support document/technote XXX for details about how to fix this. That information may not have been known when the code was first developed

The following are some of the reasons I/administrators/support staff have heard why the MAXMESSAGES system wasn’t used, along with my typical response:

• It is additional work/time to create the entries – Yes but a few minutes work will save the administrators hours (see last week’s article)
• I will provide all the information in the log message – In my experience system administrators can always find extra information that the developer didn’t think of
• I don’t know how to use the MAXMESSAGES system – This developer needs additional training on how the exception system works. They may also require additional training on other areas of Maximo to avoid causing other problems e.g. resource leaks

Next week

In next week’s article I’ll discuss the importance of using the right logger and how selecting the wrong logger could suddenly dramatically delay a fault investigation.