Can I use Apache HTTPClient without Commons-logging.jar

Question

I'm trying to user Apache HTTPClient in my project. Here does not required any logging for this application. So Can I use HTTPClient without Commons-logging.jar. Otherwise it will be a extra unnecessary burden for my distribution package.

Answer 1

Yes you can. As Hannes suggested - here is my own HttpClient maven setup:

<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.httpcomponents</groupId>
    <artifactId>httpclient</artifactId>
    <version>4.3.1</version>
    <exclusions>
        <exclusion>
            <artifactId>commons-logging</artifactId>
            <groupId>commons-logging</groupId>
        </exclusion>
    </exclusions>
</dependency>

Next, since common-logging is indeed a runtime dependency, you will need to define the SLF4J bridge for commons-logging:

<dependency>
    <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
    <artifactId>jcl-over-slf4j</artifactId>
    <version>1.7.5</version>
</dependency>

And finally, you will of course need to have a valid SLF4J configuration - here is mine:

<dependency>
    <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
    <artifactId>slf4j-api</artifactId>
    <version>1.7.5</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
    <groupId>ch.qos.logback</groupId>
    <artifactId>logback-classic</artifactId>
    <version>1.0.11</version>
</dependency>

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

You can use slf4j with the JCL bridge. This will forward JCL logging to slf4j. Than you add a slf4j adapter like log back or log4j and configure it properly.

When using maven, do not forget to exclude the JCL dependency.

http://www.slf4j.org/legacy.html