Packages
com.ibm.ras The Java RAS Toolkit provides features to enhance the Reliability, Availability and Serviceability (RAS) of your Java applet or application.  Currently, the RAS Toolkit includes message logging and tracing functions and a RAS Manager, which configures the various RAS objects.  This overview provides guidance and instruction to help you get the most out of the RAS Toolkit.  Please take a few minutes to read through this material.  It will put you on the fast track to production quality code.
com.ibm.ras.mgr The RAS Toolkit contained in the com.ibm.ras package is designed to stand on its own.  That is, an application developer can create the desired loggers and handlers, configure their masks, choose an output format, etc.  This may be suitable for "smaller" applications in which the trace state and output device can be hard-coded, or passed to the application when it starts.  In more complex environments, an application can be written to use a RAS Manager (part of the com.ibm.ras.mgr package) to acquire its logging configuration.  This generally lightens the load on the application programmer.
com.ibm.ras.samples Sample source code, which illustrates how one might use the RAS Toolkit, is available.  RASSample.java is heavily commented and illustrates message and trace logging and the use of a RAS Manager.  RASSampleMsgs.properties is a sample properties file which contains the message texts used in the sample.  The format of the data store used by com.ibm.ras.mgr.RASPropertyDataStore is illustrated by RASSampleDatastore.properties and the additional properties files in this package.
com.ibm.ras.server The RAS Log Server works in tandem with the com.ibm.ras.RASSocketHandler class.  It is run as a Java application on a server.  It binds to a socket, listening and accepting connections from RAS socket handlers.  Once a connection is established between the log server and a client, log data is sent from the client to the log server, where it is displayed on the console and, optionally, written to a file.