Line Catcher (LC) is an advanced programmable log parsing tool aimed to simplify and save time on viewing, searching, and parsing large text files.
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| Issues with large files | How we solve them |
|---|---|
| Large files are hard to open since they do not fit into memory | LC keeps only the required part of the file in memory while still allowing fast navigation using indexes. Indexes are generated the first time file is opened. |
| Searches are time-consuming. For example, searches on a file of 50GB can take over 30 mins; tweaking search parameters would mean re-running this lengthy process many times. | LC is optimized for fast file processing. While there are limits to how fast a file can be read since we are bound by disk read speeds, we can search smarter by limiting the amount of lines to process. LC offers a number of tools to limit search area including reusing previous search results. As an example, you can first run a general search to note points of interest (generate an index), then run a more detailed search that narrows down results from the previous search. As a result, the next search can be significantly faster than the first. |
| There are too many results. Searching a large file can produce thousands of results, most of them may be irrelevant. | LC allows defining very specific search criteria to retrieve only relevant results. Multi-line search enables using information from adjacent lines to include more context in the search. |
| Extracting information is challenging and often requires custom parsing scripts/applications. | LC contains an embedded Lua scripting engine allowing you to write a custom parser and output data in any format. |
The LC version 1.1 adds new functionality:
- Ability to highlight text throughout the document;
- Keyboard shortcuts;
- Copy line number to clipboard;
- Improvements to error messaging and script editor.
The LC version 1.0 provides the following functionality:
- Opening and viewing large files;
- Supported files encoded with ASCII and UTF-8;
- Instant random access to any portion of a file using line navigator;
- Regular search and advanced multi-line search functionality;
- Multiple options for limiting the search area, including the reuse of previous search results;
- Script Editor for creating and running custom parsing scripts;
- Font size adjustment settings.
- OS: Windows 64 bit
- Memory: Minimum 1GB
Installation is very easy. Visit https://github.com/AlexandrSachkov/LineCatcher/releases to download installer for the latest release. Then run the installer.