operation String log(level : Integer) {
	var levelLimit = 1;
	//TODO: check if this has performance implications -> minor ~3-5% depending on density of logging
	var logSetting = Native("java.lang.System").getProperty("epsilon.logLevel");
	if (logSetting.isDefined()) {
		levelLimit = logSetting.asInteger();
	}
	if (level <= levelLimit) {
		var system = Native("java.lang.System");
		var t = system.currentTimeMillis();
		(t+ " : " + level + " : " + self).println();
		var logToFile = Native("java.lang.System").getProperty("epsilon.logToFile");
		var logFileAvailable = Native("java.lang.System").getProperty("epsilon.logFileAvailable");
		if (logToFile.isDefined() and logToFile = 'true' 
			and logFileAvailable.isDefined() 
			and logFileAvailable = 'true') {
			var i = new LOG!LogItem();
			i.time = t.asInteger();
			i.level = level;
			i.message = self;
			//LOG!LogModel.allInstances().first().items.add(i);
		}
	}
}