logging - better default colors

[jrob]

What You Are Seeing?

The output background is not configurable and overrides the system settings. When the background is set to white the text becomes unreadable.

What is Expected?

Output should not override background settings.

How Did You Get This To Happen? (Steps to Reproduce)

• I used choco config list arbitrarily.
• Log output was generated by calling choco config list --verbse --debug
• Screenshot was generated by calling choco config list

Current colors set for the shell

$colors = [Enum]::GetValues( [ConsoleColor] )
$max = ($colors | foreach { "$_ ".Length } | Measure-Object -Maximum).Maximum
foreach( $color in $colors ) {
    Write-Host (" {0,2} {1,$max} " -f [int]$color,$color) -NoNewline
    Write-Host "$color" -Foreground $color
}

Windows powershell properties.

Output Log

2017-01-09 14:52:05,912 [DEBUG] - Configured chocolatey.infrastructure.logging.log4net.config.xml from assembly choco, Version=0.10.3.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=79d02ea9cad655eb
2017-01-09 14:52:05,912 [DEBUG] - Configured chocolatey.infrastructure.logging.log4net.config.xml from assembly choco, Version=0.10.3.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=79d02ea9cad655eb
2017-01-09 14:52:05,933 [DEBUG] - XmlConfiguration is now operational
2017-01-09 14:52:06,107 [DEBUG] - Attempting to delete file "C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\config\chocolatey.config.update".
2017-01-09 14:52:06,116 [INFO ] - ============================================================
2017-01-09 14:52:06,126 [INFO ] - Chocolatey v0.10.3
2017-01-09 14:52:06,144 [DEBUG] - Chocolatey is running on Windows v 10.0.14393.0
2017-01-09 14:52:06,150 [DEBUG] - Attempting to delete file "C:/ProgramData/chocolatey/choco.exe.old".
2017-01-09 14:52:06,155 [DEBUG] - Attempting to delete file "C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\choco.exe.old".
2017-01-09 14:52:06,167 [DEBUG] - Command line not shown - sensitive arguments may have been passed.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,210 [DEBUG] - RemovePendingPackagesTask is now ready and waiting for PreRunMessage.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,222 [DEBUG] - Sending message 'PreRunMessage' out if there are subscribers...
2017-01-09 14:52:06,235 [DEBUG] - [Pending] Removing all pending packages that should not be considered installed...
2017-01-09 14:52:06,401 [DEBUG] - The source '' evaluated to a 'normal' source type
2017-01-09 14:52:06,411 [DEBUG] - 
NOTE: Hiding sensitive configuration data! Please double and triple 
 check to be sure no sensitive data is shown, especially if copying 
 output to a gist for review.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,424 [DEBUG] - Configuration: CommandName='config'|CacheLocation='d:\choco-cache'|
ContainsLegacyPackageInstalls='True'|
CommandExecutionTimeoutSeconds='2700'|WebRequestTimeoutSeconds='30'|
SourceType='normal'|Debug='True'|Verbose='True'|Force='False'|
Noop='False'|HelpRequested='False'|RegularOutput='True'|
QuietOutput='False'|PromptForConfirmation='True'|AcceptLicense='False'|
AllowUnofficialBuild='False'|Input='list'|AllVersions='False'|
SkipPackageInstallProvider='False'|Prerelease='False'|ForceX86='False'|
OverrideArguments='False'|NotSilent='False'|
ApplyPackageParametersToDependencies='False'|
ApplyInstallArgumentsToDependencies='False'|IgnoreDependencies='False'|
AllowMultipleVersions='False'|AllowDowngrade='False'|
ForceDependencies='False'|Information.PlatformType='Windows'|
Information.PlatformVersion='10.0.14393.0'|
Information.PlatformName='Windows'|
Information.ChocolateyVersion='0.10.3.0'|
Information.ChocolateyProductVersion='0.10.3'|
Information.FullName='choco, Version=0.10.3.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=79d02ea9cad655eb'|
Information.Is64Bit='True'|Information.IsInteractive='True'|
Information.IsUserAdministrator='True'|
Information.IsProcessElevated='True'|
Information.IsLicensedVersion='False'|Information.LicenseType='Foss'|
Features.AutoUninstaller='True'|Features.ChecksumFiles='True'|
Features.AllowEmptyChecksums='False'|
Features.AllowEmptyChecksumsSecure='True'|
Features.FailOnAutoUninstaller='False'|
Features.FailOnStandardError='False'|Features.UsePowerShellHost='True'|
Features.LogEnvironmentValues='False'|Features.VirusCheck='False'|
Features.FailOnInvalidOrMissingLicense='False'|
Features.IgnoreInvalidOptionsSwitches='True'|
Features.UsePackageExitCodes='True'|
Features.UseFipsCompliantChecksums='False'|
Features.ScriptsCheckLastExitCode='False'|
ListCommand.LocalOnly='False'|
ListCommand.IncludeRegistryPrograms='False'|ListCommand.PageSize='25'|
ListCommand.Exact='False'|ListCommand.ByIdOnly='False'|
ListCommand.IdStartsWith='False'|ListCommand.OrderByPopularity='False'|
ListCommand.ApprovedOnly='False'|
ListCommand.DownloadCacheAvailable='False'|
ListCommand.NotBroken='False'|UpgradeCommand.FailOnUnfound='False'|
UpgradeCommand.FailOnNotInstalled='False'|
UpgradeCommand.NotifyOnlyAvailableUpgrades='False'|
NewCommand.AutomaticPackage='False'|
NewCommand.UseOriginalTemplate='False'|SourceCommand.Command='unknown'|
SourceCommand.Priority='0'|FeatureCommand.Command='unknown'|
ConfigCommand.Command='list'|PinCommand.Command='unknown'|
2017-01-09 14:52:06,438 [DEBUG] - _ Chocolatey:ChocolateyConfigCommand - Normal Run Mode _
2017-01-09 14:52:06,447 [INFO ] - Settings
2017-01-09 14:52:06,460 [INFO ] - cacheLocation = d:\choco-cache | Cache location if not TEMP folder.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,472 [INFO ] - containsLegacyPackageInstalls = true | Install has packages installed prior to 0.9.9 series.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,484 [INFO ] - commandExecutionTimeoutSeconds = 2700 | Default timeout for command execution.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,496 [INFO ] - proxy =  | Explicit proxy location.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,505 [INFO ] - proxyUser =  | Optional proxy user.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,516 [INFO ] - proxyPassword =  | Optional proxy password. Encrypted.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,524 [INFO ] - webRequestTimeoutSeconds = 30 | Default timeout for web requests. Available in 0.9.10+.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,534 [INFO ] - 
2017-01-09 14:52:06,544 [INFO ] - Sources
2017-01-09 14:52:06,555 [INFO ] - chocolatey - https://chocolatey.org/api/v2/ | Priority 0.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,565 [INFO ] - 
2017-01-09 14:52:06,575 [INFO ] - NOTE: Use choco source to interact with sources.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,587 [INFO ] - 
2017-01-09 14:52:06,598 [INFO ] - Features
2017-01-09 14:52:06,609 [INFO ] - [x] checksumFiles - Checksum files when pulled in from internet (based on package).
2017-01-09 14:52:06,619 [INFO ] - [x] autoUninstaller - Uninstall from programs and features without requiring an explicit uninstall script.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,631 [INFO ] - [ ] allowGlobalConfirmation - Prompt for confirmation in scripts or bypass.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,642 [INFO ] - [ ] failOnAutoUninstaller - Fail if automatic uninstaller fails.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,652 [INFO ] - [ ] failOnStandardError - Fail if install provider writes to stderr. Available in 0.9.10+.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,663 [INFO ] - [ ] allowEmptyChecksums - Allow packages to have empty/missing checksums for downloaded resources from non-secure locations (HTTP, FTP). Enabling is not recommended if using sources that download resources from the internet. Available in 0.10.0+.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,673 [INFO ] - [x] allowEmptyChecksumsSecure - Allow packages to have empty/missing checksums for downloaded resources from secure locations (HTTPS). Available in 0.10.0+.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,683 [INFO ] - [x] powershellHost - Use Chocolatey's built-in PowerShell host. Available in 0.9.10+.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,693 [INFO ] - [ ] logEnvironmentValues - Log Environment Values - will log values of environment before and after install (could disclose sensitive data). Available in 0.9.10+.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,702 [INFO ] - [ ] virusCheck - Virus Check - perform virus checking on downloaded files. Available in 0.9.10+. Licensed versions only.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,711 [INFO ] - [ ] failOnInvalidOrMissingLicense - Fail On Invalid Or Missing License - allows knowing when a license is expired or not applied to a machine. Available in 0.9.10+.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,720 [INFO ] - [x] ignoreInvalidOptionsSwitches - Ignore Invalid Options/Switches - If a switch or option is passed that is not recognized, should choco fail? Available in 0.9.10+.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,731 [INFO ] - [x] usePackageExitCodes - Use Package Exit Codes - Package scripts can provide exit codes. With this on, package exit codes will be what choco uses for exit when non-zero (this value can come from a dependency package). Chocolatey defines valid exit codes as 0, 1605, 1614, 1641, 3010. With this feature off, choco will exit with a 0 or a 1 (matching previous behavior). Available in 0.9.10+.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,742 [INFO ] - [ ] useFipsCompliantChecksums - Use FIPS Compliant Checksums - Ensure checksumming done by choco uses FIPS compliant algorithms. Not recommended unless required by FIPS Mode. Enabling on an existing installation could have unintended consequences related to upgrades/uninstalls. Available in 0.9.10+.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,753 [INFO ] - [ ] scriptsCheckLastExitCode - Scripts Check $LastExitCode (external commands) - Leave this off unless you absolutely need it while you fix your package scripts  to use `throw 'error message'` or `Set-PowerShellExitCode #` instead of `exit #`. This behavior started in 0.9.10 and produced hard to find bugs. If the last external process exits successfully but with an exit code of not zero, this could cause hard to detect package failures. Available in 0.10.3+. Will be removed in 0.11.0.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,764 [INFO ] - 
2017-01-09 14:52:06,773 [INFO ] - NOTE: Use choco feature to interact with features.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,783 [INFO ] - 
2017-01-09 14:52:06,793 [INFO ] - API Keys
2017-01-09 14:52:06,803 [INFO ] - NOTE: Api Keys are not shown through this command.
 Use choco apikey to interact with API keys.
2017-01-09 14:52:06,813 [DEBUG] - Sending message 'PostRunMessage' out if there are subscribers...
2017-01-09 14:52:06,822 [DEBUG] - Exiting with 0

[ferventcoder]

Yeah, that looks pretty bad.

[Zer0t3ch]

@ferventcoder I don't think completely disabling colored output is much of a solution to this, as color has a place in output; drawing attention to errors for example.

I don't have much experience with Powershell, most of my experience is with bash where you can declare a foreground color while leaving the BG color alone. Is that not possible in PS? It seems to be a plausible solution for anyone short of those using a light-background color scheme, in which case a flag of something like --dark-text to use FG colors with more contrast should work just fine.

[gregslu]

This is still not fixed... very annoying
It looks that choco will use cmd or powershell background color while installing, and than if you change bg color it will ignore it, and still use the old one

[ferventcoder]

@viszu @Zer0t3ch you can simply define your own see the comment above at #1131 (comment)

[Zer0t3ch]

@ferventcoder Yes, I saw that, but that doesn't seem to be anything more than a workaround. A consistent deviation in appearance from the default environment (we're not even talking about customized color schemes or anything, although that is where the issue becomes most significant) should not require manual intervention for every single end-user who wants to utilize colored output.

If one day GitHub changes their CSS in a way that accidentally makes all usernames invisible, it would stand to reason that people should report that as a problem. (despite the fact that each individual end-user could override the CSS locally or just not pay attention to usernames) I'm well aware that I'm a nobody, and in both the hypothetical and here: y'all are welcome to ignore me. I just figured I'd contribute my 2¢

[ferventcoder]

If one day GitHub changes their CSS in a way that accidentally makes all usernames invisible, it would stand to reason that people should report that as a problem. (despite the fact that each individual end-user could override the CSS locally or just not pay attention to usernames)

@Zer0t3ch fair statements - perhaps there is something we can do a better job of doing (or be at least a bit more dynamic based on the environment).

I'm well aware that I'm a nobody, and in both the hypothetical and here: y'all are welcome to ignore me. I just figured I'd contribute my 2¢

I'm going to ignore this statement as you are taking time to provide feedback, which helps improve the product - that sets you above quite a few (thousand/hundred thousand) folks.

[ferventcoder]

Let's unmark as duplicate and see if we can adjust defaults a bit

[ferventcoder]

In 0.10.12, this will be released - it will inspect the background color being used and make decisions on whether to put a black background behind the text for INFO, WARN, and ERROR level messages. Appreciate the patience, this should definitely be a good addition.

[ferventcoder]

I didn't grab screenshots while I was going through this unfortunately.