An access log is a text file which contains a full report on all the files accessed by your website visitors. All the files which were requested in one way or another shall be included, so when you have a PHP script app and a site visitor opens just the home page, for example, you might find numerous files in the log. This is because there are things on the home page that are embedded - parts of other webpages, pictures, and so on. All of these files shall be listed within the access log, so you're able to get a complete picture of the way your site functions. The info is in plain text format, so the logs are often called "raw data" too. An access log contains the name of each requested file, the path to it, the date it was accessed, plus the user’s IP address, browser and OS. More information, including the referrer Internet site, is usually supplied as well. A log file may be processed by various desktop apps for statistical purposes as an addition to the web stats created by your hosting server.