While working on database appenders, I figured that the best place to "connect" is in Appender#start() and, likewise, the best place to "disconnect" is in Appender#stop(). However, then I noticed that AbstractAppender defines a close() method with the JavaDoc comment "Close the stream associated with the Appender." This could be read "Close the database connection associated with the Appender."
So, with that said, where should I close the connection? In stop() or in close()? The AbstractOutputStreamAppender closes the stream in stop() (which is what I originally expected) and never overrides close(). Since close() is not part of the Appender or Lifecycle interface, will it ever even be called? It's not called in the default start() implementation, and it's not overridden in any implementations. These two are a little confusing. I recommend either JavaDoc clarification explaining the difference between the two, or simply removing close() (makes more sense to me). Nick
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