Hi, yburge. After I read your question, I looked at the docs for Log::Log4perl and read the Schilly piece. I admit that I've been a stumbling and a bumbling around perl like you---but whatelse is new? Most of the time, I feel like a blackhole; but there are times when I feel like a shooting star. So, hang in there. You can do it! I'd suggest going back to the Schilly piece and reread it. It seems clearer than the perldocs. Redefine your purpose and priorities. Then go back over your code and rewrite it. Hint: Look at the whole package...I looked at Schilli's examples, then I looked at yours. Here's what I came up with:

#!/usr/bin/env perl


use Log::Log4perl qw(:easy);

Log::Log4perl->easy_init("log.conf");

logfile();
logfile("logfile");

sub logfile {
    my($what) =@_;

    my $logger = get_logger();
    if (defined $what) {

    $logger->info("This will get logged in");
    } else {
    $logger->debug("This will not");
    }

    }
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