Should there be this much overhead? When I see all this repeated code, I don't like it. This adds 4 lines to each program (not a big deal) but it also adds 4 lines to each .t script (?!?!) and 2 lines to module...surely it shouldn't require this much repeated code?

Log::Log4perl can be used in different ways, just pick the one that suits you:

For simple scripts, people like using :easy mode. This approach is also discussed in this FAQ and uses

• a simplified init method without a configuration file and
• logging functions instead of objects/method calls

Here's an example:

    use Log::Log4perl qw(:easy);

    Log::Log4perl->easy_init( 
        { level   => $DEBUG,
          file    => ">>test.log" } );

    DEBUG("Debug this!");
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Calling DEBUG() instead of obtaining a logger reference via get_logger($category) and then calling $logger->debug() is what Log4perl calls using stealth loggers. Stealth loggers are also recommended to be used in modules, just say

package MyPackage;
use Log::Log4perl qw(:easy);
sub method {
    DEBUG "Doing something!";
}
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and you've got full-fledged logging in place. Stealth loggers use Log4perl categories equal to the current package. Performance stays the same.

The main program is responsible for calling init() or easy_init(). If it doesn't, Log::Log4perl will keep sleeping.

As for spreading like Kudzu through your application, that's a common issue with logging systems. Log::Log4perl reduces the exposure by not requiring to pass a handler around, but provides a singleton mechanism.

However, ideally, logging would be completely orthogonal to your application logic. You may have heard of aspect oriented programming (AOP), that's how it's done. Log4perl might provide a way to do that in the future.