Keep order of arguments in SlogHandler

[jgrieger]

Affects v0.12.74

Expected behavior

SlogHandler keeps order of arguments when printing, similar to slog.JSONHandler or slog.TextHandler

Actual behavior

The order of arguments being printed seems to be random.
See the following example with slog.TextHandler output compared to SlogHandler output:

First run:

time=2024-01-04T15:27:52.845+01:00 level=INFO msg="this is an args test" compiler=gc "Go version"=go1.21.5 platform=windows arch=amd64 machine=my-host
2024-01-04 15:27:52 INFO  this is an args test
                      ├ compiler: gc
                      ├ Go version: go1.21.5
                      ├ platform: windows
                      ├ arch: amd64
                      └ machine: my-host

Second run:

time=2024-01-04T15:27:54.497+01:00 level=INFO msg="this is an args test" compiler=gc "Go version"=go1.21.5 platform=windows arch=amd64 machine=my-host
2024-01-04 15:27:54 INFO  this is an args test
                      ├ platform: windows
                      ├ arch: amd64
                      ├ machine: my-host
                      ├ compiler: gc
                      └ Go version: go1.21.5

The arguments order of slog.TextHandler output is kept, the arguments order of SlogHandler output varies.

[MarvinJWendt]

Thanks for making this issue.

I am wondering if we should sort the arguments alphabetically, or if we should keep the original order.

• Sorting it alphabetically would make it easier to find a specific argument in a long list, but the order would not be customizable.
• Keeping the original order would be closer to the raw slog implementation, but it would require more refactoring and the output would be harder to read (sometimes).

A third option would be to make the behavior configurable. Maybe an option in the Logger like SortArguments, which sorts the arguments alphabetically if set to true and if false, the original order is kept.

EDIT: I'll most likely go with option 3.

[jgrieger]

Thanks for making this issue.

I am wondering if we should sort the arguments alphabetically, or if we should keep the original order.

• Sorting it alphabetically would make it easier to find a specific argument in a long list, but the order would not be customizable.
• Keeping the original order would be closer to the raw slog implementation, but it would require more refactoring and the output would be harder to read (sometimes).

A third option would be to make the behavior configurable. Maybe an option in the Logger like SortArguments, which sorts the arguments alphabetically if set to true and if false, the original order is kept.

EDIT: I'll most likely go with option 3.

Agreed 💯. Thank you!