refactor(func): Remove unused functions

Remvoe the logging functions replaced by the new structured implementation.

.gitattributes

@@ -55,6 +55,23 @@
 *.bat      text eol=crlf
 *.cmd      text eol=crlf
 
+# web frontend stack -- force LF so SRI hashes are always correct
+*.html     text eol=lf
+*.htm      text eol=lf
+*.css      text eol=lf
+*.min.css  text eol=lf
+*.js       text eol=lf
+*.min.js   text eol=lf
+*.php      text eol=lf
+
+# Visual Studio projects (Rider also)
+*.cs     diff=csharp
+*.sln    merge=union
+*.csproj merge=union
+*.vbproj merge=union
+*.fsproj merge=union
+*.dbproj merge=union
+
 # Serialisation
 *.json     text
 *.toml     text
@@ -76,6 +93,8 @@
 # Exclude files from exporting
 #
 
-.gitattributes export-ignore
-.gitignore     export-ignore
-.gitkeep       export-ignore
+.gitattributes  export-ignore
+.gitignore      export-ignore
+.gitkeep        export-ignore
+.idea           export-ignore
+.vscode         export-ignore

.gitignore

@@ -1 +1,35 @@
+#
+# JetBrains exclusions
+#
+
+riderModule.iml
+/_ReSharper.Caches/
+
+# User-specific stuff
+.idea/**/workspace.xml
+.idea/**/tasks.xml
+.idea/**/usage.statistics.xml
+.idea/**/dictionaries
+.idea/**/shelf
+
+# Generated files
+.idea/**/contentModel.xml
+.idea/**/GitCommitMessageStorage.xml
+
+# Sensitive or high-churn files
+.idea/**/dataSources/
+.idea/**/dataSources.ids
+.idea/**/dataSources.local.xml
+.idea/**/sqlDataSources.xml
+.idea/**/dynamic.xml
+.idea/**/uiDesigner.xml
+.idea/**/dbnavigator.xml
+
+# modules
+.idea_modules/
+
+# Editor-based Rest Client
+.idea/httpRequests
+
+# project-specific exclusions
 *.log

.idea/developer-tools.xml

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<project version="4">
+  <component name="DeveloperToolsToolWindowSettingsV1" lastSelectedContentNodeId="base64-encoder-decoder" pluginVersion="9.0.0">
+    <developerToolsConfigurations />
+  </component>
+</project>

.idea/git_toolbox_prj.xml

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<project version="4">
+  <component name="GitToolBoxProjectSettings">
+    <option name="commitMessageIssueKeyValidationOverride">
+      <BoolValueOverride>
+        <option name="enabled" value="true" />
+      </BoolValueOverride>
+    </option>
+    <option name="commitMessageValidationEnabledOverride">
+      <BoolValueOverride>
+        <option name="enabled" value="true" />
+      </BoolValueOverride>
+    </option>
+  </component>
+</project>

.idea/indexLayout.xml

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<project version="4">
+  <component name="UserContentModel">
+    <attachedFolders />
+    <explicitIncludes />
+    <explicitExcludes />
+  </component>
+</project>

.idea/misc.xml

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<project version="4">
+  <component name="com.itcodebox.notebooks.projectservice.ProjectUIState">
+    <option name="selectedNotebookId" value="1" />
+    <option name="selectedChapterId" value="1" />
+    <option name="selectedNoteId" value="1" />
+  </component>
+</project>

.idea/projectSettingsUpdater.xml

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<project version="4">
+  <component name="RiderProjectSettingsUpdater">
+    <option name="singleClickDiffPreview" value="1" />
+    <option name="unhandledExceptionsIgnoreList" value="1" />
+    <option name="vcsConfiguration" value="3" />
+  </component>
+</project>

.idea/vcs.xml

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<project version="4">
+  <component name="VcsDirectoryMappings">
+    <mapping directory="" vcs="Git" />
+  </component>
+</project>

cfddns.sh

@@ -3,256 +3,230 @@
 #
 # update Cloudflare DNS records with current (dynamic) IP address
 #    Script by Asif Bacchus <asif@bacchus.cloud>
-#    Last modified: May 10, 2021
-#    Version 2.2
+#    Last modified: July 19, 2026
+#    Version 3.0
 #
 
 ### text formatting presets using tput
 if command -v tput >/dev/null; then
-    [ -z "$TERM" ] && export TERM=xterm
-    bold=$(tput bold)
-    cyan=$(tput setaf 6)
-    err=$(tput bold)$(tput setaf 1)
-    magenta=$(tput setaf 5)
-    norm=$(tput sgr0)
-    ok=$(tput setaf 2)
-    warn=$(tput bold)$(tput setaf 3)
-    yellow=$(tput setaf 3)
-    width=$(tput cols)
+  [ -z "$TERM" ] && export TERM=xterm
+  bold=$(tput bold)
+  cyan=$(tput setaf 6)
+  err=$(tput bold)$(tput setaf 1)
+  magenta=$(tput setaf 5)
+  norm=$(tput sgr0)
+  ok=$(tput setaf 2)
+  warn=$(tput bold)$(tput setaf 3)
+  yellow=$(tput setaf 3)
+  width=$(tput cols)
 else
-    bold=""
-    cyan=""
-    err=""
-    magenta=""
-    norm=""
-    ok=""
-    warn=""
-    yellow=""
-    width=80
+  bold=""
+  cyan=""
+  err=""
+  magenta=""
+  norm=""
+  ok=""
+  warn=""
+  yellow=""
+  width=80
 fi
 
-### functions
 badParam() {
-    if [ "$1" = "null" ]; then
-        printf "\n%sERROR: '%s' cannot have a NULL (empty) value.\n" "$err" "$2"
-        printf "%sPlease use '--help' for assistance.%s\n\n" "$cyan" "$norm"
-        exit 1
-    elif [ "$1" = "dne" ]; then
-        printf "\n%sERROR: '%s %s'\n" "$err" "$2" "$3"
-        printf "file or directory does not exist or is empty.%s\n\n" "$norm"
-        exit 1
-    elif [ "$1" = "errMsg" ]; then
-        printf "\n%sERROR: %s%s\n\n" "$err" "$2" "$norm"
-        exit 1
-    fi
+  if [ "$1" = "null" ]; then
+    printf "\n%sERROR: '%s' cannot have a NULL (empty) value.\n" "$err" "$2"
+    printf "%sPlease use '--help' for assistance.%s\n\n" "$cyan" "$norm"
+    exit 1
+  elif [ "$1" = "dne" ]; then
+    printf "\n%sERROR: '%s %s'\n" "$err" "$2" "$3"
+    printf "file or directory does not exist or is empty.%s\n\n" "$norm"
+    exit 1
+  elif [ "$1" = "errMsg" ]; then
+    printf "\n%sERROR: %s%s\n\n" "$err" "$2" "$norm"
+    exit 1
+  fi
 }
 
-exitError() {
-    case "$1" in
-    3)
-        errMsg="Unable to connect to Cloudflare servers. This is probably a temporary networking issue. Please try again later."
-        ;;
-    10)
-        errMsg="Unable to auto-detect IP address. Try again later or supply the IP address to be used."
-        ;;
-    20)
-        errMsg="Cloudflare authorized email address (cfEmail) is either null or undefined. Please check your Cloudflare credentials file."
-        ;;
-    21)
-        errMsg="Cloudflare authorized API key (cfKey) is either null or undefined. Please check your Cloudflare credentials file."
-        ;;
-    22)
-        errMsg="Cloudflare zone id (cfZoneId) is either null or undefined. Please check your Cloudflare credentials file."
-        ;;
-    25)
-        errMsg="Cloudflare API error. Please review any 'CF-ERR:' lines in this log for details."
-        ;;
-    26)
-        errMsg="${failedHostCount} host update(s) failed. Any 'CF-ERR:' lines noted in this log may help determine what went wrong."
-        ;;
-    *)
-        writeLog error "An unspecified error occurred. (code: 99)"
-        printf "%s[%s] -- Cloudflare DDNS update-script: completed with error(s) --%s\n" "$err" "$(stamp)" "$norm" >>"$logFile"
-        exit 99
-        ;;
-    esac
-    writeLog error "$errMsg" "$1"
-    printf "%s[%s] -- Cloudflare DDNS update-script: completed with error(s) --%s\n" "$err" "$(stamp)" "$norm" >>"$logFile"
-    exit "$1"
+getHostname() {
+  (hostname -s)
 }
 
-exitOK() {
-    printf "%s[%s] -- Cloudflare DDNS update-script: completed successfully --%s\n" "$ok" "$(stamp)" "$norm" >>"$logFile"
-    exit 0
+getTimeStamp() {
+  (date -u +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ")
 }
 
+lowercase() {
+  echo "$1" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]'
+}
+
+uppercase() {
+  echo "$1" | tr '[:lower:]' '[:upper:]'
+}
+
+# 1: cloudflare error object, 2: operation identifier
 listCFErrors() {
-    # extract error codes and messages in separate variables, replace newlines with underscores
-    codes="$(printf "%s" "$1" | jq -r '.errors | .[] | .code' | tr '\n' '_')"
-    messages="$(printf "%s" "$1" | jq -r '.errors | .[] | .message' | tr '\n' '_')"
+  # extract error codes and messages in separate variables, replace newlines with underscores
+  codes="$(printf "%s" "$1" | jq -r '.errors | .[] | .code' | tr '\n' '_')"
+  messages="$(printf "%s" "$1" | jq -r '.errors | .[] | .message' | tr '\n' '_')"
 
-    # iterate codes and messages and assemble into coherent messages in log
-    while [ -n "$codes" ] && [ -n "$messages" ]; do
-        # get first code and message in respective sets
-        code="${codes%%_*}"
-        message="${messages%%_*}"
+  # iterate codes and messages, assemble into a coherent log message
+  while [ -n "$codes" ] && [ -n "$messages" ]; do
+    # get the first code and message in respective sets
+    code="${codes%%_*}"
+    message="${messages%%_*}"
 
-        # update codes and messages sets by removing first item in each set
-        codes="${codes#*_}"
-        messages="${messages#*_}"
+    # update sets of codes and messages by removing the first item (above) in each set
+    codes="${codes#*_}"
+    messages="${messages#*_}"
 
-        # output to log
-        writeLog cf "$message" "$code"
-    done
+    # output to log
+    writePlainTextLog "${message}" "err" "fail" "$2" "$code"
+  done
+}
+
+standardizeLogLevels() {
+  LEVEL_TO_STANDARDIZE="$(lowercase "$1")"
+  case "$LEVEL_TO_STANDARDIZE" in
+  "critical" | "crit" | "fatal")
+    echo "CRIT"
+    ;;
+  "error" | "err")
+    echo "ERR"
+    ;;
+  "warning" | "warn")
+    echo "WARN"
+    ;;
+  "information" | "info")
+    echo "INFO"
+    ;;
+  "debug" | "verbose")
+    echo "DEBUG"
+    ;;
+  *)
+    echo "INFO"
+    ;;
+  esac
+}
+
+# modified syslog fmt: <ISO-8601 timestamp> <hostname> <tag>[pid]: [LEVEL:$2] [STATUS:$3] <MESSAGE:$1> (<OPERATION:$4>:<CODE:$5>)
+writePlainTextLog() {
+  # not enough information to generate a meaningful log message
+  if [ -z "$1" ] || [ $# -lt 3 ]; then
+    return
+  fi
+
+  printf "%s %s %s[%s]: [%s] [%s] %s (%s:%s)\n" \
+    "$(getTimeStamp)" "$(getHostname)" "$LOG_PROGRAM_NAME" "$$" \
+    "$(standardizeLogLevels "$2")" "$(uppercase "$3")" "$1" "${4:-UNSPECIFIED}" "${5:-0}" \
+    >>"$logFile"
 }
 
 scriptExamples() {
-    newline
-    printf "Update Cloudflare DNS host A/AAAA records with current IP address.\n"
-    printf "%sUsage: %s --records host.domain.tld[,host2.domain.tld,...] [parameters]%s\n\n" "$bold" "$scriptName" "$norm"
-    textBlock "${magenta}--- usage examples ---${norm}"
-    newline
-    textBlockSwitches "${scriptName} -r myserver.mydomain.net"
-    textBlock "Update Cloudflare DNS records for myserver.mydomain.net with the auto-detected public IP4 address. Credentials will be expected in the default location and the log will be written in the default location also."
-    newline
-    textBlockSwitches "${scriptName} -r myserver.mydomain.net -6"
-    textBlock "Same as above, but update AAAA host records with the auto-detected public IP6 address."
-    newline
-    textBlockSwitches "${scriptName} -r myserver.mydomain.net,myserver2.mydomain.net -l /var/log/cfddns.log --nc"
-    textBlock "Update DNS entries for both listed hosts using auto-detected IP4 address. Write a non-coloured log to '/var/log/cfddns.log'."
-    newline
-    textBlockSwitches "${scriptName} -r myserver.mydomain.net,myserver2.mydomain.net -l /var/log/cfddns.log --ip6 --ip fd21:7a62:2737:9c3a::a151"
-    textBlock "Update DNS AAAA entries for listed hosts using the *specified* IP address. Write a colourful log to the location specified."
-    newline
-    textBlockSwitches "${scriptName} -r myserver.mydomain.net -c /root/cloudflare.creds -l /var/log/cfddns.log --ip 1.2.3.4"
-    textBlock "Update DNS A entry for listed hostname with the provided IP address. Read cloudflare credentials file from specified location, save log in specified location."
-    newline
-    textBlockSwitches "${scriptName} -r myserver.mydomain.net -c /root/cloudflare.creds -l /var/log/cfddns.log -6 -i fd21:7a62:2737:9c3a::a151"
-    textBlock "Exact same as above, but change the AAAA record. This is how you run the script once for IP4 and again for IP6."
-    exit 0
+  newline
+  printf "Update Cloudflare DNS host A/AAAA records with current IP address.\n"
+  printf "%sUsage: %s --records host.domain.tld[,host2.domain.tld,...] [parameters]%s\n\n" "$bold" "$scriptName" "$norm"
+  textBlock "${magenta}--- usage examples ---${norm}"
+  newline
+  textBlockSwitches "${scriptName} -r myserver.mydomain.net"
+  textBlock "Update Cloudflare DNS records for myserver.mydomain.net with the auto-detected public IP4 address. Credentials will be expected in the default location and the log will be written in the default location also."
+  newline
+  textBlockSwitches "${scriptName} -r myserver.mydomain.net -6"
+  textBlock "Same as above, but update AAAA host records with the auto-detected public IP6 address."
+  newline
+  textBlockSwitches "${scriptName} -r myserver.mydomain.net,myserver2.mydomain.net -l /var/log/cfddns.log --nc"
+  textBlock "Update DNS entries for both listed hosts using auto-detected IP4 address. Write a non-coloured log to '/var/log/cfddns.log'."
+  newline
+  textBlockSwitches "${scriptName} -r myserver.mydomain.net,myserver2.mydomain.net -l /var/log/cfddns.log --ip6 --ip fd21:7a62:2737:9c3a::a151"
+  textBlock "Update DNS AAAA entries for listed hosts using the *specified* IP address. Write a colourful log to the location specified."
+  newline
+  textBlockSwitches "${scriptName} -r myserver.mydomain.net -c /root/cloudflare.creds -l /var/log/cfddns.log --ip 1.2.3.4"
+  textBlock "Update DNS A entry for listed hostname with the provided IP address. Read cloudflare credentials file from specified location, save log in specified location."
+  newline
+  textBlockSwitches "${scriptName} -r myserver.mydomain.net -c /root/cloudflare.creds -l /var/log/cfddns.log -6 -i fd21:7a62:2737:9c3a::a151"
+  textBlock "Exact same as above, but change the AAAA record. This is how you run the script once for IP4 and again for IP6."
+  exit 0
 }
 
 scriptHelp() {
-    newline
-    printf "Update Cloudflare DNS host A/AAAA records with current IP address.\n"
-    printf "%sUsage: %s --records host.domain.tld[,host2.domain.tld,...] [parameters]%s\n\n" "$bold" "$scriptName" "$norm"
-    textBlock "The only required parameter is '--records' which is a comma-delimited list of hostnames to update. However, there are several other options which may be useful to implement."
-    textBlock "Parameters are listed below and followed by a description of their effect. If a default value exists, it will be listed on the following line in (parentheses)."
-    newline
-    textBlock "${magenta}--- script related parameters ---${norm}"
-    newline
-    textBlockSwitches "-c | --cred | --creds | --credentials | -f (deprecated, backward-compatibility)"
-    textBlock "Path to file containing your Cloudflare *token* credentials. Please refer to the repo README for more information on format, etc."
-    textBlockDefaults "(${accountFile})"
-    newline
-    textBlockSwitches "-l | --log"
-    textBlock "Path where the log file should be written."
-    textBlockDefaults "(${logFile})"
-    newline
-    textBlockSwitches "--nc | --no-color | --no-colour"
-    textBlock "Switch value. Disables ANSI colours in the log. Useful if you review the logs using a reader that does not parse ANSI colour codes."
-    textBlockDefaults "(disabled: print logs in colour)"
-    newline
-    textBlockSwitches "--log-console"
-    textBlock "Switch value. Output log to console (stdout) instead of a log file. Can be combined with --nc if desired."
-    textBlockDefaults "(disabled: output to log file)"
-    newline
-    textBlockSwitches "--no-log"
-    textBlock "Switch value. Do not create a log (i.e. no console, no file). You will not have *any* output from the script if you choose this option, so you will not know if updates succeeded or failed."
-    textBlockDefaults "(disabled: output to log file)"
-    newline
-    textBlockSwitches "-h | --help | -?"
-    textBlock "Display this help screen."
-    newline
-    textBlockSwitches "--examples"
-    textBlock "Show some usage examples."
-    newline
-    textBlock "${magenta}--- DNS related parameters ---${norm}"
-    newline
-    textBlockSwitches "-r | --record | --records"
-    textBlock "Comma-delimited list of hostnames for which IP addresses should be updated in Cloudflare DNS. This parameter is REQUIRED. Note that this script will only *update* records, it will not create new ones. If you supply hostnames that are not already defined in DNS, the script will log a warning and will skip those hostnames."
-    newline
-    textBlockSwitches "-i | --ip | --ip-address | -a | --address"
-    textBlock "New IP address for DNS host records. If you omit this, the script will attempt to auto-detect your public IP address and use that."
-    newline
-    textBlockSwitches "-4 | --ip4 | --ipv4"
-    textBlock "Switch value. Update Host 'A' records (IP4) only. Note that this script can only update either A *or* AAAA records. If you need to update both, you'll have to run the script once in IP4 mode and again in IP6 mode. If you specify both this switch and the IP6 switch, the last one specified will take effect."
-    textBlockDefaults "(enabled: update A records)"
-    newline
-    textBlockSwitches "-6 | --ip6 | --ipv6"
-    textBlock "Switch value. Update Host 'AAAA' records (IP6) only. Note that this script can only update either A *or* AAAA records. If you need to update both, you'll have to run the script once in IP4 mode and again in IP6 mode. If you specify both this switch and the IP4 switch, the last one specified will take effect."
-    textBlockDefaults "(disabled: update A records)"
-    newline
-    textBlock "Please refer to the repo README for more detailed information regarding this script and how to automate and monitor it."
-    newline
-    exit 0
-}
-
-stamp() {
-    (date +%F" "%T)
+  newline
+  printf "Update Cloudflare DNS host A/AAAA records with current IP address.\n"
+  printf "%sUsage: %s --records host.domain.tld[,host2.domain.tld,...] [parameters]%s\n\n" "$bold" "$scriptName" "$norm"
+  textBlock "The only required parameter is '--records' which is a comma-delimited list of hostnames to update. However, there are several other options which may be useful to implement."
+  textBlock "Parameters are listed below and followed by a description of their effect. If a default value exists, it will be listed on the following line in (parentheses)."
+  newline
+  textBlock "${magenta}--- script related parameters ---${norm}"
+  newline
+  textBlockSwitches "-c | --cred | --creds | --credentials | -f (deprecated, backward-compatibility)"
+  textBlock "Path to file containing your Cloudflare *token* credentials. Please refer to the repo README for more information on format, etc."
+  textBlockDefaults "(${accountFile})"
+  newline
+  textBlockSwitches "-l | --log"
+  textBlock "Path where the log file should be written."
+  textBlockDefaults "(${logFile})"
+  newline
+  textBlockSwitches "--nc | --no-color | --no-colour"
+  textBlock "Switch value. Disables ANSI colours in the log. Useful if you review the logs using a reader that does not parse ANSI colour codes."
+  textBlockDefaults "(disabled: print logs in colour)"
+  newline
+  textBlockSwitches "--log-console"
+  textBlock "Switch value. Output log to console (stdout) instead of a log file. Can be combined with --nc if desired."
+  textBlockDefaults "(disabled: output to log file)"
+  newline
+  textBlockSwitches "--log-journal"
+  textBlock "Switch value. Output a structured log entry to your journaling system instead of a log file. Implies --nc."
+  textBlockDefaults "(disabled: output to log file)"
+  newline
+  textBlockSwitches "--no-log"
+  textBlock "Switch value. Do not create a log (i.e. no console, no file). You will not have *any* output from the script if you choose this option, so you will not know if updates succeeded or failed."
+  textBlockDefaults "(disabled: output to log file)"
+  newline
+  textBlockSwitches "-h | --help | -?"
+  textBlock "Display this help screen."
+  newline
+  textBlockSwitches "--examples"
+  textBlock "Show some usage examples."
+  newline
+  textBlock "${magenta}--- DNS related parameters ---${norm}"
+  newline
+  textBlockSwitches "-r | --record | --records"
+  textBlock "Comma-delimited list of hostnames for which IP addresses should be updated in Cloudflare DNS. This parameter is REQUIRED. Note that this script will only *update* records, it will not create new ones. If you supply hostnames that are not already defined in DNS, the script will log a warning and will skip those hostnames."
+  newline
+  textBlockSwitches "-i | --ip | --ip-address | -a | --address"
+  textBlock "New IP address for DNS host records. If you omit this, the script will attempt to auto-detect your public IP address and use that."
+  newline
+  textBlockSwitches "-4 | --ip4 | --ipv4"
+  textBlock "Switch value. Update Host 'A' records (IP4) only. Note that this script can only update either A *or* AAAA records. If you need to update both, you'll have to run the script once in IP4 mode and again in IP6 mode. If you specify both this switch and the IP6 switch, the last one specified will take effect."
+  textBlockDefaults "(enabled: update A records)"
+  newline
+  textBlockSwitches "-6 | --ip6 | --ipv6"
+  textBlock "Switch value. Update Host 'AAAA' records (IP6) only. Note that this script can only update either A *or* AAAA records. If you need to update both, you'll have to run the script once in IP4 mode and again in IP6 mode. If you specify both this switch and the IP4 switch, the last one specified will take effect."
+  textBlockDefaults "(disabled: update A records)"
+  newline
+  textBlock "Please refer to the repo README for more detailed information regarding this script and how to automate and monitor it."
+  newline
+  exit 0
 }
 
 newline() {
-    printf "\n"
+  printf "\n"
 }
 
 textBlock() {
-    printf "%s\n" "$1" | fold -w "$width" -s
+  printf "%s\n" "$1" | fold -w "$width" -s
 }
 
 textBlockDefaults() {
-    printf "%s%s%s\n" "$yellow" "$1" "$norm"
+  printf "%s%s%s\n" "$yellow" "$1" "$norm"
 }
 
 textBlockSwitches() {
-    printf "%s%s%s\n" "$cyan" "$1" "$norm"
-}
-
-writeLog() {
-    case "$1" in
-    cf)
-        printf "[%s] CF-ERR: %s (code: %s)\n" "$(stamp)" "$2" "$3" >>"$logFile"
-        ;;
-    err)
-        printf "%s[%s] ERR: %s%s\n" "$err" "$(stamp)" "$2" "$norm" >>"$logFile"
-        ;;
-    error)
-        printf "%s[%s] ERROR: %s (code: %s)%s\n" "$err" "$(stamp)" "$2" "$3" "$norm" >>"$logFile"
-        ;;
-    process)
-        printf "%s[%s] %s... %s" "$cyan" "$(stamp)" "$2" "$norm" >>"$logFile"
-        ;;
-    process-done)
-        printf "%s%s%s\n" "$cyan" "$2" "$norm" >>"$logFile"
-        ;;
-    process-error)
-        printf "%sERROR%s\n" "$err" "$norm" >>"$logFile"
-        ;;
-    process-warning)
-        printf "%s%s%s\n" "$warn" "$2" "$norm" >>"$logFile"
-        ;;
-    stamped)
-        printf "[%s] %s\n" "$(stamp)" "$2" >>"$logFile"
-        ;;
-    success)
-        printf "%s[%s] SUCCESS: %s%s\n" "$ok" "$(stamp)" "$2" "$norm" >>"$logFile"
-        ;;
-    warn)
-        printf "%s[%s] WARN: %s%s\n" "$warn" "$(stamp)" "$2" "$norm" >>"$logFile"
-        ;;
-    warning)
-        printf "%s[%s] WARNING: %s%s\n" "$warn" "$(stamp)" "$2" "$norm" >>"$logFile"
-        ;;
-    *)
-        printf "%s\n" "$2" >>"$logFile"
-        ;;
-    esac
+  printf "%s%s%s\n" "$cyan" "$1" "$norm"
 }
 
 ### default variable values
 scriptPath="$(CDPATH='' \cd -- "$(dirname -- "$0")" && pwd -P)"
 scriptName="$(basename "$0")"
 logFile="$scriptPath/${scriptName%.*}.log"
+logToJournal=0
 accountFile="$scriptPath/cloudflare.credentials"
 colourizeLogFile=1
 dnsRecords=""
@@ -267,286 +241,299 @@ failedHostCount=0
 
 ### process startup parameters
 if [ -z "$1" ]; then
-    scriptHelp
+  scriptHelp
 fi
 while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
-    case "$1" in
-    -h | -\? | --help)
-        # display help
-        scriptHelp
-        ;;
-    --examples)
-        # display sample commands
-        scriptExamples
-        ;;
-    -l | --log)
-        # set log file location
-        if [ -n "$2" ]; then
-            logFile="${2%/}"
-            shift
-        else
-            badParam null "$@"
-        fi
-        ;;
-    --log-console)
-        # log to the console instead of a file
-        logFile="/dev/stdout"
-        ;;
-    --no-log)
-        # do not log anything
-        logFile="/dev/null"
-        ;;
-    --nc | --no-color | --no-colour)
-        # do not colourize log file
-        colourizeLogFile=0
-        ;;
-    -c | --cred* | -f)
-        # path to Cloudflare credentials file
-        if [ -n "$2" ]; then
-            if [ -f "$2" ] && [ -s "$2" ]; then
-                accountFile="${2%/}"
-                shift
-            else
-                badParam dne "$@"
-            fi
-        else
-            badParam null "$@"
-        fi
-        ;;
-    -r | --record | --records)
-        # DNS records to update
-        if [ -n "$2" ]; then
-            dnsRecords=$(printf "%s" "$2" | sed -e 's/ //g')
-            shift
-        else
-            badParam null "$@"
-        fi
-        ;;
-    -i | --ip | --ip-address | -a | --address)
-        # IP address to use (not parsed for correctness)
-        if [ -n "$2" ]; then
-            ipAddress="$2"
-            shift
-        else
-            badParam null "$@"
-        fi
-        ;;
-    -4 | --ip4 | --ipv4)
-        # operate in IP4 mode (default)
-        ip4=1
-        ip6=0
-        ;;
-    -6 | --ip6 | --ipv6)
-        # operate in IP6 mode
-        ip6=1
-        ip4=0
-        ;;
-    *)
-        printf "\n%sUnknown option: %s\n" "$err" "$1"
-        printf "%sUse '--help' for valid options.%s\n\n" "$cyan" "$norm"
-        exit 1
-        ;;
-    esac
-    shift
+  case "$1" in
+  -h | -\? | --help)
+  # display help
+    scriptHelp
+    ;;
+  --examples)
+  # display sample commands
+    scriptExamples
+    ;;
+  -l | --log)
+  # set log file location
+    if [ -n "$2" ]; then
+      logFile="${2%/}"
+      shift
+    else
+      badParam null "$@"
+    fi
+    ;;
+  --log-console)
+  # log to the console instead of a file
+    logFile="/dev/stdout"
+    ;;
+  --log-journal)
+  # log to the journal system instead of a file
+    logToJournal=1
+    ;;
+  --no-log)
+  # do not log anything
+    logFile="/dev/null"
+    ;;
+  --nc | --no-color | --no-colour)
+  # do not colourize log file
+    colourizeLogFile=0
+    ;;
+  -c | --cred* | -f)
+  # path to Cloudflare credentials file
+    if [ -n "$2" ]; then
+      if [ -f "$2" ] && [ -s "$2" ]; then
+        accountFile="${2%/}"
+        shift
+      else
+        badParam dne "$@"
+      fi
+    else
+      badParam null "$@"
+    fi
+    ;;
+  -r | --record | --records)
+  # DNS records to update
+    if [ -n "$2" ]; then
+      dnsRecords=$(printf "%s" "$2" | sed -e 's/ //g')
+      shift
+    else
+      badParam null "$@"
+    fi
+    ;;
+  -i | --ip | --ip-address | -a | --address)
+  # IP address to use (not parsed for correctness)
+    if [ -n "$2" ]; then
+      ipAddress="$2"
+      shift
+    else
+      badParam null "$@"
+    fi
+    ;;
+  -4 | --ip4 | --ipv4)
+  # operate in IP4 mode (default)
+    ip4=1
+    ip6=0
+    ;;
+  -6 | --ip6 | --ipv6)
+  # operate in IP6 mode
+    ip6=1
+    ip4=0
+    ;;
+  *)
+    printf "\n%sUnknown option: %s\n" "$err" "$1"
+    printf "%sUse '--help' for valid options.%s\n\n" "$cyan" "$norm"
+    exit 1
+    ;;
+  esac
+  shift
 done
 
 ### pre-flight checks
 if ! command -v curl >/dev/null; then
-    printf "\n%sThis script requires 'curl' be installed and accessible. Exiting.%s\n\n" "$err" "$norm"
-    exit 2
+  printf "\n%sThis script requires 'curl' be installed and accessible. Exiting.%s\n\n" "$err" "$norm"
+  writePlainTextLog "'curl' must be installed and accessible" "fatal" "fail" "preexec" 2
+  exit 2
 fi
 if ! command -v jq >/dev/null; then
-    printf "\n%sThis script requires 'jq' be installed and accessible. Exiting.%s\n\n" "$err" "$norm"
-    exit 2
+  printf "\n%sThis script requires 'jq' be installed and accessible. Exiting.%s\n\n" "$err" "$norm"
+  writePlainTextLog "'jq' must be installed and accessible" "fatal" "fail" "preexec" 2
+  exit 2
 fi
-[ -z "$dnsRecords" ] && badParam errMsg "You must specify at least one DNS record to update. Exiting."
-# verify credentials file exists and is not empty (default check)
+if [ -z "$dnsRecords" ]; then
+  badParam errMsg "You must specify at least one DNS record to update. Exiting."
+  writePlainTextLog "At least one DNS record to update must be specified" "fatal" "fail" "params" 1
+fi
+# verify the credentials file exists and is not empty (default check)
 if [ ! -f "$accountFile" ] || [ ! -s "$accountFile" ]; then
-    badParam errMsg "Cannot find Cloudflare credentials file (${accountFile}). Exiting."
+  badParam errMsg "Cannot find the Cloudflare credentials file (${accountFile}). Exiting."
+  writePlainTextLog "Cannot find the specified Cloudflare credentials file (${accountFile})" "fatal" "fail" "params" 1
+fi
+if [ "$logToJournal" -eq 1 ] && ! command -v logger >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  printf "\n%sThis script requires 'logger' be installed to write entries to your journaling system. Exiting.%s\n\n" "$err" "$norm"
+  exit 2
 fi
 # turn off log file colourization if parameter is set
 if [ "$colourizeLogFile" -eq 0 ]; then
-    bold=""
-    cyan=""
-    err=""
-    magenta=""
-    norm=""
-    ok=""
-    warn=""
-    yellow=""
+  bold=""
+  cyan=""
+  err=""
+  magenta=""
+  norm=""
+  ok=""
+  warn=""
+  yellow=""
 fi
 
 ### initial log entries
-{
-    printf "%s[%s] -- Cloudflare DDNS update-script: starting --%s\n" "$ok" "$(stamp)" "$norm"
-    printf "Parameters:\n"
-    printf "script path: %s\n" "$scriptPath/$scriptName"
-    printf "credentials file: %s\n" "$accountFile"
+writePlainTextLog "starting '${scriptName}'" "info" "ok" "script"
+writePlainTextLog "script path: ${scriptPath}/${scriptName}" "debug" "ok" "startup"
+writePlainTextLog "credentials file: ${accountFile}" "debug" "ok" "startup"
 
-    if [ "$ip4" -eq 1 ]; then
-        printf "mode: IP4\n"
-    elif [ "$ip6" -eq 1 ]; then
-        printf "mode: IP6\n"
+if [ "$ip4" -eq 1 ]; then
+  writePlainTextLog "mode: IPv4" "debug" "ok" "startup"
+elif [ "$ip6" -eq 1 ]; then
+  writePlainTextLog "mode: IPv6" "debug" "ok" "startup"
+fi
+
+# detect and report IP address
+if [ -z "$ipAddress" ]; then
+  # detect public ip address
+  if [ "$ip4" -eq 1 ]; then
+    if ! ipAddress="$(curl -s $ip4DetectionSvc)"; then
+      writePlainTextLog \
+        "Unable to auto-detect this machine's public IP address; try again later or supply the IP address to be used" "err" "fail" "detectip" 10
+      exit 10
     fi
-
-    # detect and report IP address
-    if [ -z "$ipAddress" ]; then
-        # detect public ip address
-        if [ "$ip4" -eq 1 ]; then
-            if ! ipAddress="$(curl -s $ip4DetectionSvc)"; then
-                printf "ddns ip address:%s ERROR%s\n" "$err" "$norm"
-                exitError 10
-            fi
-        fi
-        if [ "$ip6" -eq 1 ]; then
-            if ! ipAddress="$(curl -s $ip6DetectionSvc)"; then
-                printf "ddns ip address:%s ERROR%s\n" "$err" "$norm"
-                exitError 10
-            fi
-        fi
-        printf "ddns ip address (detected): %s\n" "$ipAddress"
-    else
-        printf "ddns ip address (supplied): %s\n" "$ipAddress"
+  fi
+  if [ "$ip6" -eq 1 ]; then
+    if ! ipAddress="$(curl -s $ip6DetectionSvc)"; then
+      writePlainTextLog \
+        "Unable to auto-detect this machine's public IP address; try again later or supply the IP address to be used" "err" "fail" "detectip" 10
+      exit 10
     fi
+  fi
+  writePlainTextLog "DDNS IP address (detected): $ipAddress" "info" "ok" "startup"
+else
+  writePlainTextLog "DDNS IP address (supplied): $ipAddress" "info" "ok" "startup"
+fi
 
-    # iterate DNS records to update
-    dnsRecordsToUpdate="$(printf '%s' "${dnsRecords}" | sed "s/${dnsSeparator}*$//")$dnsSeparator"
-    while [ -n "$dnsRecordsToUpdate" ] && [ "$dnsRecordsToUpdate" != "$dnsSeparator" ]; do
-        record="${dnsRecordsToUpdate%%${dnsSeparator}*}"
-        dnsRecordsToUpdate="${dnsRecordsToUpdate#*${dnsSeparator}}"
+# iterate DNS records to update
+dnsRecordsToUpdate="$(printf '%s' "${dnsRecords}" | sed "s/${dnsSeparator}*$//")$dnsSeparator"
+while [ -n "$dnsRecordsToUpdate" ] && [ "$dnsRecordsToUpdate" != "$dnsSeparator" ]; do
+  record="${dnsRecordsToUpdate%%${dnsSeparator}*}"
+  dnsRecordsToUpdate="${dnsRecordsToUpdate#*${dnsSeparator}}"
 
-        if [ -z "$record" ]; then continue; fi
-        printf "updating record: %s\n" "$record"
-    done
-
-    printf "(end of parameter list)\n"
-} >>"$logFile"
+  if [ -z "$record" ]; then
+    continue
+  fi
+  writePlainTextLog "DNS host record '${record}' queued for update" "info" "ok" "startup"
+done
 
 ### read Cloudflare credentials
-writeLog process "Reading Cloudflare credentials"
 case "$accountFile" in
 /*)
-    # absolute path, use as-is
-    # shellcheck source=./cloudflare.credentials
-    . "$accountFile"
-    ;;
+# absolute path, use as-is
+# shellcheck source=./cloudflare.credentials
+  . "$accountFile"
+  ;;
 *)
-    # relative path, rewrite
-    # shellcheck source=./cloudflare.credentials
-    . "./$accountFile"
-    ;;
+# relative path, rewrite
+# shellcheck source=./cloudflare.credentials
+  . "./$accountFile"
+  ;;
 esac
 if [ -z "$cfKey" ]; then
-    writeLog process-error
-    exitError 21
+  writePlainTextLog "Cloudflare authorized API key (cfKey) is either null or undefined; please check your Cloudflare credentials file" "err" "fail" "creds" 21
+  exit 21
 fi
 if [ -z "$cfZoneId" ]; then
-    writeLog process-error
-    exitError 22
+  writePlainTextLog "Cloudflare zone id (cfZoneId) is either null or undefined; please check your Cloudflare credentials file" "err" "fail" "creds" 22
+  exit 22
 fi
-writeLog process-done "DONE"
+writePlainTextLog "Cloudflare credentials file read successfully" "debug" "ok" "creds"
 
 ### connect to Cloudflare and do what needs to be done!
 dnsRecordsToUpdate="$dnsRecords$dnsSeparator"
 if [ "$ip4" -eq 1 ]; then
-    recordType="A"
+  recordType="A"
 elif [ "$ip6" -eq 1 ]; then
-    recordType="AAAA"
+  recordType="AAAA"
 fi
 
 # iterate hosts to update
 while [ -n "$dnsRecordsToUpdate" ] && [ "$dnsRecordsToUpdate" != "$dnsSeparator" ]; do
-    record="${dnsRecordsToUpdate%%${dnsSeparator}*}"
-    dnsRecordsToUpdate="${dnsRecordsToUpdate#*${dnsSeparator}}"
+  record="${dnsRecordsToUpdate%%${dnsSeparator}*}"
+  dnsRecordsToUpdate="${dnsRecordsToUpdate#*${dnsSeparator}}"
 
-    if [ -z "$record" ]; then continue; fi
-    writeLog process "Processing ${record}"
+  if [ -z "$record" ]; then
+    continue
+  fi
 
-    # exit if curl/network error
-    if ! cfLookup="$(curl -s -X GET "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/${cfZoneId}/dns_records?name=${record}&type=${recordType}" \
-        -H "Authorization: Bearer ${cfKey}" \
-        -H "Content-Type: application/json")"; then
-        writeLog process-error
-        exitError 3
-    fi
+  # exit if curl/network error
+  if ! cfLookup="$(
+    curl -s -X GET "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/${cfZoneId}/dns_records?name=${record}&type=${recordType}" \
+      -H "Authorization: Bearer ${cfKey}" \
+      -H "Content-Type: application/json"
+  )"; then
+    writePlainTextLog "Unable to connect to Cloudflare servers; please try again later." "err" "fail" "cflogin" 3
+    exit 3
+  fi
 
-    # exit if API error
-    # exit here since API errors on GET request probably indicates authentication error which would affect all remaining operations
-    # no reason to continue processing other hosts and pile-up errors which might look like a DoS attempt
-    cfSuccess="$(printf "%s" "$cfLookup" | jq -r '.success')"
-    if [ "$cfSuccess" = "false" ]; then
-        writeLog process-error
-        listCFErrors "$cfLookup"
-        exitError 25
-    fi
+  # an API error on this GET request likely indicates an authentication error that would affect all remaining operations
+  # no reason to continue processing other dns records and pile-up errors which might look like a DoS attempt
+  cfSuccess="$(printf "%s" "$cfLookup" | jq -r '.success')"
+  if [ "$cfSuccess" = "false" ]; then
+    listCFErrors "$cfLookup" "cflogin"
+    writePlainTextLog "Cloudflare API error; review any previously logged 'CF-ERR:' lines for details." "err" "fail" "cflogin" 25
+    exit 25
+  fi
 
-    resultCount="$(printf "%s" "$cfLookup" | jq '.result_info.count')"
+  resultCount="$(printf "%s" "$cfLookup" | jq '.result_info.count')"
 
-    # skip to next host if cannot find existing host record (this script *updates* only, does not create!)
-    if [ "$resultCount" = "0" ]; then
-        # warn if record of host not found
-        writeLog process-warning "NOT FOUND"
-        writeLog warn "Cannot find existing record to update for DNS entry: ${record}"
-        invalidDomainCount=$((invalidDomainCount + 1))
-        continue
-    fi
+  # skip to the next host if an existing host record cannot be found (this script *updates* only, does not create!)
+  if [ "$resultCount" = "0" ]; then
+    writePlainTextLog "Cannot find an existing record matching '${record}' to update" "warn" "warn" "ddns"
+    invalidDomainCount=$((invalidDomainCount + 1))
+    continue
+  fi
 
-    objectId=$(printf "%s" "$cfLookup" | jq -r '.result | .[] | .id')
-    currentIpAddr=$(printf "%s" "$cfLookup" | jq -r '.result | .[] | .content')
-    writeLog process-done "FOUND: IP = ${currentIpAddr}"
+  objectId=$(printf "%s" "$cfLookup" | jq -r '.result | .[] | .id')
+  currentIpAddr=$(printf "%s" "$cfLookup" | jq -r '.result | .[] | .content')
+  writePlainTextLog "The current IP address for '${record}' is ${currentIpAddr}" "debug" "ok" "ddns"
 
-    # skip to next hostname if record already up-to-date
-    if [ "$currentIpAddr" = "$ipAddress" ]; then
-        writeLog stamped "IP address for ${record} is already up-to-date"
-        continue
-    fi
+  # skip to next hostname if record already up to date
+  if [ "$currentIpAddr" = "$ipAddress" ]; then
+    writePlainTextLog "The IP address for '${record}' is already up to date" "info" "ok" "ddns"
+    continue
+  fi
 
-    # update record
-    writeLog process "Updating IP address for ${record}"
-    updateJSON="$(jq -n --arg key0 content --arg value0 "${ipAddress}" '{($key0):$value0}')"
+  # update record
+  updateJSON="$(jq -n --arg key0 content --arg value0 "${ipAddress}" '{($key0):$value0}')"
 
-    # exit if curl/network error
-    if ! cfResult="$(curl -s -X PATCH "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/${cfZoneId}/dns_records/${objectId}" \
-        -H "Authorization: Bearer ${cfKey}" \
-        -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-        --data "${updateJSON}")"; then
-        writeLog process-error
-        exitError 3
-    fi
+  # exit if curl/network error
+  if ! cfResult="$(
+    curl -s -X PATCH "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/${cfZoneId}/dns_records/${objectId}" \
+      -H "Authorization: Bearer ${cfKey}" \
+      -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+      --data "${updateJSON}"
+  )"; then
+    writePlainTextLog "Unable to connect to Cloudflare servers; please try again later." "err" "fail" "ddns" 3
+    exit 3
+  fi
 
-    # note update success or failure
-    cfSuccess="$(printf "%s" "$cfResult" | jq '.success')"
-    if [ "$cfSuccess" = "true" ]; then
-        writeLog process-done "DONE"
-        writeLog success "IP address for ${record} updated."
-    else
-        writeLog process-error
-        listCFErrors "$cfResult"
-        writeLog err "Unable to update IP address for ${record}"
-        # do not exit with error, API error here is probably an update issue specific to this host
-        # increment counter and note it after all processing finished
-        failedHostCount=$((failedHostCount + 1))
-    fi
+  # note update success or failure
+  cfSuccess="$(printf "%s" "$cfResult" | jq '.success')"
+  if [ "$cfSuccess" = "true" ]; then
+    writePlainTextLog "The IP address for '${record}' successfully updated" "info" "ok" "ddns"
+  else
+    listCFErrors "$cfResult" "ddns"
+    writePlainTextLog "Unable to update the IP address for '${record}'" "err" "fail" "ddns"
+    # do not exit with error, API error here is probably an update issue specific to this host
+    # increment counter and note it after all processing finished
+    failedHostCount=$((failedHostCount + 1))
+  fi
 done
 
 # exit
 if [ "$invalidDomainCount" -ne 0 ]; then
-    writeLog warning "${invalidDomainCount} invalid host(s) supplied for updating."
+  writePlainTextLog "${invalidDomainCount} invalid host(s) were supplied for updating" "warn" "warn" "ddns"
 fi
 if [ "$failedHostCount" -ne 0 ]; then
-    exitError 26
+  writePlainTextLog \
+    "${failedHostCount} host update(s) failed; review 'CF-ERR:' lines in this log to help determine what may have gone wrong" "err" "fail" "ddns" 26
+  exit 26
 else
-    exitOK
+  writePlainTextLog "${scriptName} completed successfully" "info" "ok" "script"
 fi
 
 ### exit return codes
-# 0:    normal exit, no errors
-# 1:    invalid or unknown parameter
-# 2:    cannot find or access required external program(s)
-# 3:    curl error (probably connection)
-# 10:   cannot auto-detect IP address
-# 21:   accountFile has a null or missing cfKey variable
-# 22:   accountFile has a null or missing cfZoneId variable
-# 25:   Cloudflare API error
-# 26:   one or more updates failed
-# 99:   unspecified error occurred
+# 0: normal exit, no errors
+# 1: invalid or unknown parameter
+# 2: cannot find or access required external program(s)
+# 3: curl error (probably connection)
+# 10: cannot auto-detect IP address
+# 21: accountFile has a null or missing cfKey variable
+# 22: accountFile has a null or missing cfZoneId variable
+# 25: Cloudflare API error
+# 26: one or more updates failed
+# 99: unspecified error occurred

logger.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,161 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+getTimeStamp() {
+  (date -u +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ")
+}
+
+getHostname() {
+  (hostname -s)
+}
+
+lowercase() {
+  echo "$1" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]'
+}
+
+uppercase() {
+  echo "$1" | tr '[:lower:]' '[:upper:]'
+}
+
+standardizeLogLevels() {
+  LEVEL_TO_STANDARDIZE="$(lowercase "$1")"
+  case "$LEVEL_TO_STANDARDIZE" in
+  "critical" | "crit" | "fatal")
+    echo "CRIT"
+    ;;
+  "error" | "err")
+    echo "ERR"
+    ;;
+  "warning" | "warn")
+    echo "WARN"
+    ;;
+  "information" | "info")
+    echo "INFO"
+    ;;
+  "debug" | "verbose")
+    echo "DEBUG"
+    ;;
+  *)
+    echo "INFO"
+    ;;
+  esac
+}
+
+translateLogLevelsToJournalD() {
+  LEVEL_TO_TRANSLATE="$(standardizeLogLevels "$1")"
+  case "$LEVEL_TO_TRANSLATE" in
+  "CRIT")
+    echo 2
+    ;;
+  "ERR")
+    echo 3
+    ;;
+  "WARN")
+    echo 4
+    ;;
+  "INFO")
+    echo 6
+    ;;
+  "DEBUG")
+    echo 7
+    ;;
+  *)
+    echo 6
+  esac
+}
+
+# modified syslog fmt: <ISO-8601 timestamp> <hostname> <tag>[pid]: [LEVEL:$2] [STATUS:$3] <MESSAGE:$1> (<OPERATION:$4>:<CODE:$5>)
+writePlainTextLog() {
+  # not enough information to generate a meaningful log message
+  if [ -z "$1" ] || [ $# -lt 3 ]; then
+    return
+  fi
+
+  printf "%s %s %s[%s]: [%s] [%s] %s (%s:%s)\n" \
+    "$(getTimeStamp)" "$(getHostname)" "$LOG_PROGRAM_NAME" "$$" \
+    "$(standardizeLogLevels "$2")" "$(uppercase "$3")" "$1" "${4:-UNSPECIFIED}" "${5:-999}"
+}
+
+# $1: message, $2: level, $3: status, [$4: operation], [$5: code]
+writeJsonLog() {
+  # not enough information to generate a meaningful log message
+  if [ -z "$1" ] || [ $# -lt 3 ]; then
+    return
+  fi
+
+  PROPS="$(
+    jq --null-input \
+      --arg timestamp "$(getTimeStamp)" \
+      --arg hostname "$(getHostname)" \
+      --arg pName "$LOG_PROGRAM_NAME" \
+      --arg pid "$$" \
+      --arg level "$(standardizeLogLevels "$2")" \
+      --arg status "$(uppercase "$3")" \
+      --arg message "$1" \
+      --arg operation "${4:-UNSPECIFIED}" \
+      --arg code "${5:-999}" \
+      '{"timestamp":$timestamp, "hostname":$hostname, "programName":$pName, "pid":$pid, "level":$level, "status":$status, "message":$message, "operation":$operation, "code":$code}' \
+  )"
+
+  echo "$PROPS" | jq "."
+  return
+}
+
+# $1: message, $2: level, $3: status, $4: operation, $5: code
+writeJournalDLog() {
+  # not enough information to generate a meaningful log message
+  if [ -z "$1" ] || [ $# -lt 3 ]; then
+    return
+  fi
+
+  J_TIMESTAMP="$(getTimeStamp)"
+  J_PID="$$"
+  J_PRIO="$(translateLogLevelsToJournalD "$2")"
+  J_STAT="$(uppercase "$3")"
+
+  logger --journald <<end
+SYSLOG_TIMESTAMP=${J_TIMESTAMP}
+SYSLOG_FACILITY=3
+SYSLOG_IDENTIFIER=${LOG_PROGRAM_NAME}
+SYSLOG_PID=${J_PID}
+PRIORITY=${J_PRIO}
+STATUS=${J_STAT}
+MESSAGE=$1
+OPERATION=${4:-UNSPECIFIED}
+ERRNO=${5:-999}
+end
+
+  return
+}
+
+LOG_PROGRAM_NAME="cfddns"
+
+if [ "$1" = "text" ]; then
+  writePlainTextLog # this will do nothing
+  writePlainTextLog "Testing plain-text logging output" # this will also do nothing
+  writePlainTextLog "Informational plain-text log message" "information" "ok" # info message
+  writePlainTextLog "Plain-text message forced to info level" "whoops" "ok" # level translated to default
+  writePlainTextLog "Warning! This is plain-text." "warning" "flagged" # warning level with 'flagged' status
+  writePlainTextLog "Error sample! This is plain-text." "err" "error" # error level message
+  writePlainTextLog "Unable to continue, critical failure. (This is plain-text)" "fatal" "exit" "startup" "2" # critical level error with operation and error code
+elif [ "$1" = "json" ]; then
+  writeJsonLog # this will do nothing
+  writeJsonLog "This is a test message" # this will also do nothing
+  writeJsonLog "Informational JSON log message" "information" "ok" # info message
+  writeJsonLog "JSON message forced to info level" "whoops" "ok" # level translated to default
+  writeJsonLog "Warning! This is JSON." "warning" "flagged" # warning level with 'flagged' status
+  writeJsonLog "Error sample! This is JSON." "err" "error" # error level message
+  writeJsonLog "Unable to continue, critical failure. (This is JSON)" "fatal" "exit" "startup" "2" # critical level error with operation and error code
+elif [ "$1" = "journal" ]; then
+  writeJournalDLog # this will do nothing
+  writeJournalDLog "This is a test message" # this will also do nothing
+  writeJournalDLog "Informational JOURNALD log message" "information" "ok" # info message
+  writeJournalDLog "JOURNALD message forced to info level" "whoops" "ok" # level translated to default
+  writeJournalDLog "Warning! This is a JOURNALD message." "warning" "flagged" # warning level with 'flagged' status
+  writeJournalDLog "Error sample! This is a JOURNALD." "err" "error" # error level message
+  writeJournalDLog "Unable to continue, critical failure. (This is JOURNALD message)" "fatal" "exit" "startup" "2" # critical level error with operation and error code
+else
+  printf "\nPlease specify either 'text', 'json', or 'journal' after the script name. Exiting.\n\n"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+exit 0