Index: netstandard/log4net.tests/log4net.tests.xproj
===================================================================
--- netstandard/log4net.tests/log4net.tests.xproj	(revision 1782185)
+++ netstandard/log4net.tests/log4net.tests.xproj	(working copy)
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@
     <Compile Include="../../tests/src/Appender/AppenderCollectionTest.cs" />
     <Compile Include="../../tests/src/Appender/BufferingAppenderTest.cs" />
     <Compile Include="../../tests/src/Appender/CountingAppender.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="../../tests/src/Appender/DebugAppenderTest.cs" />
     <Compile Include="../../tests/src/Appender/RollingFileAppenderTest.cs" />
     <Compile Include="../../tests/src/Appender/SmtpPickupDirAppenderTest.cs" />
     <Compile Include="../../tests/src/Appender/StringAppender.cs" />
Index: netstandard/log4net.tests/project.json
===================================================================
--- netstandard/log4net.tests/project.json	(revision 1782185)
+++ netstandard/log4net.tests/project.json	(working copy)
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
       "../../tests/src/Appender/AppenderCollectionTest.cs",
       "../../tests/src/Appender/BufferingAppenderTest.cs",
       "../../tests/src/Appender/CountingAppender.cs",
+      "../../tests/src/Appender/DebugAppenderTest.cs",
       "../../tests/src/Appender/MemoryAppenderTest.cs",
       "../../tests/src/Appender/RollingFileAppenderTest.cs",
       "../../tests/src/Appender/SmtpPickupDirAppenderTest.cs",
Index: netstandard/log4net/log4net.xproj
===================================================================
--- netstandard/log4net/log4net.xproj	(revision 1782185)
+++ netstandard/log4net/log4net.xproj	(working copy)
@@ -157,6 +157,7 @@
     <Compile Include="../../src/Layout/RawPropertyLayout.cs" />
     <Compile Include="../../src/Layout/RawTimeStampLayout.cs" />
     <Compile Include="../../src/Layout/RawUtcTimeStampLayout.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="../../src/Layout/ReturnsNullLayout.cs" />
     <Compile Include="../../src/Layout/SimpleLayout.cs" />
     <Compile Include="../../src/Layout/XmlLayout.cs" />
     <Compile Include="../../src/Layout/XmlLayoutBase.cs" />
Index: src/Appender/DebugAppender.cs
===================================================================
--- src/Appender/DebugAppender.cs	(revision 1782185)
+++ src/Appender/DebugAppender.cs	(working copy)
@@ -100,6 +100,23 @@
 			set { m_immediateFlush = value; }
 		}
 
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Formats the category parameter sent to the Debug method.
+        /// </summary>
+        /// <remarks>
+        /// <para>
+        /// Defaults to a <see cref="Layout.PatternLayout"/> with %logger as the pattern which will use the logger name of the current 
+        /// <see cref="LoggingEvent"/> as the category parameter.
+        /// </para>
+        /// <para>
+        /// </para> 
+        /// </remarks>
+        public LayoutSkeleton Category
+        {
+            get { return m_category; }
+            set { m_category = value; }
+        }
+ 
 		#endregion Public Instance Properties
 
 #if !NETSTANDARD1_3
@@ -138,7 +155,7 @@
 			//
 			// Write the string to the Debug system
 			//
-			System.Diagnostics.Debug.Write(RenderLoggingEvent(loggingEvent), loggingEvent.LoggerName);
+			System.Diagnostics.Debug.Write(RenderLoggingEvent(loggingEvent), m_category.Format(loggingEvent));
 #if !NETSTANDARD1_3
 			//
 			// Flush the Debug system if needed
@@ -185,6 +202,11 @@
 		/// </remarks>
 		private bool m_immediateFlush = true;
 
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Defaults to a <see cref="Layout.PatternLayout"/> with %logger as the pattern.
+        /// </summary>
+        private LayoutSkeleton m_category = new PatternLayout("%logger");
+
 		#endregion Private Instance Fields
 	}
 }
Index: src/Appender/TraceAppender.cs
===================================================================
--- src/Appender/TraceAppender.cs	(revision 1782185)
+++ src/Appender/TraceAppender.cs	(working copy)
@@ -112,17 +112,17 @@
 		}
 
         /// <summary>
-        /// The category parameter sent to the Trace method.
+        /// Formats the category parameter sent to the Trace method.
         /// </summary>
         /// <remarks>
         /// <para>
-        /// Defaults to %logger which will use the logger name of the current 
+        /// Defaults to a <see cref="Layout.PatternLayout"/> with %logger as the pattern which will use the logger name of the current 
         /// <see cref="LoggingEvent"/> as the category parameter.
         /// </para>
         /// <para>
         /// </para> 
         /// </remarks>
-	    public PatternLayout Category
+	    public LayoutSkeleton Category
 	    {
 	        get { return m_category; }
 	        set { m_category = value; }
@@ -201,9 +201,9 @@
 		private bool m_immediateFlush = true;
 
         /// <summary>
-        /// Defaults to %logger
+        /// Defaults to a <see cref="Layout.PatternLayout"/> with %logger as the pattern.
         /// </summary>
-        private PatternLayout m_category = new PatternLayout("%logger");
+        private LayoutSkeleton m_category = new PatternLayout("%logger");
 
 		#endregion Private Instance Fields
 
Index: src/Layout/LayoutSkeleton.cs
===================================================================
--- src/Layout/LayoutSkeleton.cs	(revision 1782185)
+++ src/Layout/LayoutSkeleton.cs	(working copy)
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@
         /// <remarks>
         /// Creates a new StringWriter instance to store the formatted logging event.
         /// </remarks>
-        public string Format(LoggingEvent loggingEvent)
+        public virtual string Format(LoggingEvent loggingEvent)
         {
             StringWriter writer = new StringWriter(System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);
             Format(writer, loggingEvent);
Index: src/Layout/ReturnsNullLayout.cs
===================================================================
--- src/Layout/ReturnsNullLayout.cs	(nonexistent)
+++ src/Layout/ReturnsNullLayout.cs	(working copy)
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+#region Apache License
+//
+// Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more 
+// contributor license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+// this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership. 
+// The ASF licenses this file to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0
+// (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with 
+// the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+//
+#endregion
+
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.IO;
+using System.Linq;
+using System.Text;
+using System.Threading.Tasks;
+using log4net.Core;
+
+namespace log4net.Layout
+{
+    /// <summary>
+    /// A layout that does nothing. Use this in case you want the appender to print nothing
+    /// regardless of the logging event.
+    /// 
+    /// This can be usefull when used with the <see cref="Appender.DebugAppender.Category"/> or the <see cref="Appender.TraceAppender.Category"/>
+    /// properties.
+    /// </summary>
+    public class ReturnsNullLayout : LayoutSkeleton
+    {
+        /// <summary>
+        /// This method is a NOOP for this Layout
+        /// </summary>
+        public override void ActivateOptions()
+        {
+            // NOOP
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// This method is a NOOP for this layout
+        /// </summary>
+        /// <param name="writer"></param>
+        /// <param name="loggingEvent">The LoggingEvent that will not be rendered</param>
+        public override void Format(TextWriter writer, LoggingEvent loggingEvent)
+        {
+            // NOOP
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Always returns null
+        /// </summary>
+        /// <param name="loggingEvent">The LoggingEvent that will not be rendered</param>
+        /// <returns></returns>
+        public override string Format(LoggingEvent loggingEvent)
+        {
+            return null;
+        }
+    }
+}
+
Index: src/log4net.vs2008.csproj
===================================================================
--- src/log4net.vs2008.csproj	(revision 1782185)
+++ src/log4net.vs2008.csproj	(working copy)
@@ -484,6 +484,9 @@
     <Compile Include="Layout\RawUtcTimeStampLayout.cs">
       <SubType>Code</SubType>
     </Compile>
+    <Compile Include="Layout\ReturnsNullLayout.cs">
+    	<SubType>Code</SubType>
+    </Compile>
     <Compile Include="Layout\SimpleLayout.cs">
       <SubType>Code</SubType>
     </Compile>
Index: src/log4net.vs2010.csproj
===================================================================
--- src/log4net.vs2010.csproj	(revision 1782185)
+++ src/log4net.vs2010.csproj	(working copy)
@@ -500,6 +500,7 @@
     <Compile Include="Layout\RawUtcTimeStampLayout.cs">
       <SubType>Code</SubType>
     </Compile>
+    <Compile Include="Layout\ReturnsNullLayout.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Layout\SimpleLayout.cs">
       <SubType>Code</SubType>
     </Compile>
Index: src/log4net.vs2012.csproj
===================================================================
--- src/log4net.vs2012.csproj	(revision 1782185)
+++ src/log4net.vs2012.csproj	(working copy)
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
 <!--
 
  Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
@@ -500,6 +500,7 @@
     <Compile Include="Layout\RawUtcTimeStampLayout.cs">
       <SubType>Code</SubType>
     </Compile>
+    <Compile Include="Layout\ReturnsNullLayout.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Layout\SimpleLayout.cs">
       <SubType>Code</SubType>
     </Compile>
@@ -805,4 +806,4 @@
     <PostBuildEvent>
     </PostBuildEvent>
   </PropertyGroup>
-</Project>
+</Project>
\ No newline at end of file
Index: tests/src/Appender/DebugAppenderTest.cs
===================================================================
--- tests/src/Appender/DebugAppenderTest.cs	(nonexistent)
+++ tests/src/Appender/DebugAppenderTest.cs	(working copy)
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+/*
+ *
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ *
+*/
+
+using System;
+using System.Diagnostics;
+using log4net.Appender;
+using log4net.Config;
+using log4net.Layout;
+using log4net.Repository;
+using NUnit.Framework;
+
+namespace log4net.Tests.Appender
+{
+    [TestFixture]
+    public class DebugAppenderTest
+    {
+        [Test]
+        public void DefaultCategoryTest()
+        {
+            CategoryTraceListener categoryTraceListener = new CategoryTraceListener();
+            Trace.Listeners.Clear();
+            Trace.Listeners.Add(categoryTraceListener);
+
+            ILoggerRepository rep = LogManager.CreateRepository(Guid.NewGuid().ToString());
+
+            DebugAppender debugAppender = new DebugAppender();
+            debugAppender.Layout = new SimpleLayout();
+            debugAppender.ActivateOptions();
+
+            BasicConfigurator.Configure(rep, debugAppender);
+
+            ILog log = LogManager.GetLogger(rep.Name, GetType());
+            log.Debug("Message");
+
+            Assert.AreEqual(
+                GetType().ToString(),
+                categoryTraceListener.Category);
+        }
+
+#if !NETSTANDARD1_3 // "LocationInfo can't get method names on NETSTANDARD1_3 due to unavailable stack frame APIs"
+        [Test]
+        public void MethodNameCategoryTest()
+        {
+            CategoryTraceListener categoryTraceListener = new CategoryTraceListener();
+            Trace.Listeners.Clear();
+            Trace.Listeners.Add(categoryTraceListener);
+
+            ILoggerRepository rep = LogManager.CreateRepository(Guid.NewGuid().ToString());
+
+            DebugAppender debugAppender = new DebugAppender();
+            PatternLayout methodLayout = new PatternLayout("%method");
+            methodLayout.ActivateOptions();
+            debugAppender.Category = methodLayout;
+            debugAppender.Layout = new SimpleLayout();
+            debugAppender.ActivateOptions();
+
+            BasicConfigurator.Configure(rep, debugAppender);
+
+            ILog log = LogManager.GetLogger(rep.Name, GetType());
+            log.Debug("Message");
+
+            Assert.AreEqual(
+                System.Reflection.MethodInfo.GetCurrentMethod().Name,
+                categoryTraceListener.Category);
+        }
+#endif
+    }
+}
Index: tests/src/Layout/ReturnsNullLayoutTest.cs
===================================================================
--- tests/src/Layout/ReturnsNullLayoutTest.cs	(nonexistent)
+++ tests/src/Layout/ReturnsNullLayoutTest.cs	(working copy)
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Linq;
+using System.Text;
+using System.Threading.Tasks;
+
+using NUnit.Framework;
+using log4net.Layout;
+using log4net.Tests.Appender;
+using log4net.Repository;
+using log4net.Config;
+
+namespace log4net.Tests.Layout
+{
+    [TestFixture]
+    public class ReturnsNullLayoutTest
+    {
+        [Test]
+        public void TestReturnsNullLayoutPrintsNothing()
+        {
+            StringAppender stringAppender = new StringAppender();
+            ReturnsNullLayout nullLayout = new ReturnsNullLayout();
+            nullLayout.ActivateOptions();
+
+            stringAppender.Layout = nullLayout;
+            ILoggerRepository rep = LogManager.CreateRepository(Guid.NewGuid().ToString());
+            BasicConfigurator.Configure(rep, stringAppender);
+            ILog log1 = LogManager.GetLogger(rep.Name, "TestReturnsNullLayout");
+
+            log1.Info("test");
+            Assert.AreEqual(string.Empty, stringAppender.GetString(), "ReturnsNullLayout printed something (it should not)");
+            stringAppender.Reset();
+        }
+    }
+}
Index: tests/src/log4net.Tests.vs2008.csproj
===================================================================
--- tests/src/log4net.Tests.vs2008.csproj	(revision 1782185)
+++ tests/src/log4net.Tests.vs2008.csproj	(working copy)
@@ -130,6 +130,9 @@
     <Compile Include="Appender\CountingAppender.cs">
       <SubType>Code</SubType>
     </Compile>
+    <Compile Include="Appender\DebugAppenderTest.cs">
+    	<SubType>Code</SubType>
+    </Compile>
     <Compile Include="Appender\EventLogAppenderTest.cs">
       <SubType>Code</SubType>
     </Compile>
@@ -177,6 +180,9 @@
     <Compile Include="Layout\PatternLayoutTest.cs">
       <SubType>Code</SubType>
     </Compile>
+    <Compile Include="Layout\ReturnsNullLayoutTest.cs">
+      <SubType>Code</SubType>
+    </Compile>
     <Compile Include="Layout\XmlLayoutTest.cs">
       <SubType>Code</SubType>
     </Compile>
Index: tests/src/log4net.Tests.vs2010.csproj
===================================================================
--- tests/src/log4net.Tests.vs2010.csproj	(revision 1782185)
+++ tests/src/log4net.Tests.vs2010.csproj	(working copy)
@@ -147,12 +147,21 @@
     <Compile Include="Appender\CountingAppender.cs">
       <SubType>Code</SubType>
     </Compile>
+    <Compile Include="Appender\DebugAppenderTest.cs">
+    	<SubType>Code</SubType>
+    </Compile>
     <Compile Include="Appender\EventLogAppenderTest.cs">
       <SubType>Code</SubType>
     </Compile>
+    <Compile Include="Appender\EventRaisingAppender.cs">
+    	<SubType>Code</SubType>
+    </Compile>
     <Compile Include="Appender\MemoryAppenderTest.cs">
       <SubType>Code</SubType>
     </Compile>
+    <Compile Include="Appender\RecursiveLoggingTest.cs">
+    	<SubType>Code</SubType>
+    </Compile>
     <Compile Include="Appender\RemotingAppenderTest.cs">
       <SubType>Code</SubType>
     </Compile>
@@ -195,6 +204,9 @@
     <Compile Include="Layout\PatternLayoutTest.cs">
       <SubType>Code</SubType>
     </Compile>
+    <Compile Include="Layout\ReturnsNullLayoutTest.cs">
+      <SubType>Code</SubType>
+    </Compile>
     <Compile Include="Layout\XmlLayoutTest.cs">
       <SubType>Code</SubType>
     </Compile>
Index: tests/src/log4net.Tests.vs2012.csproj
===================================================================
--- tests/src/log4net.Tests.vs2012.csproj	(revision 1782185)
+++ tests/src/log4net.Tests.vs2012.csproj	(working copy)
@@ -147,6 +147,7 @@
     <Compile Include="Appender\CountingAppender.cs">
       <SubType>Code</SubType>
     </Compile>
+    <Compile Include="Appender\DebugAppenderTest.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Appender\EventLogAppenderTest.cs">
       <SubType>Code</SubType>
     </Compile>
@@ -197,6 +198,7 @@
     <Compile Include="Layout\PatternLayoutTest.cs">
       <SubType>Code</SubType>
     </Compile>
+    <Compile Include="Layout\ReturnsNullLayoutTest.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Layout\XmlLayoutTest.cs">
       <SubType>Code</SubType>
     </Compile>