Introduction to Caching

Overview

Caching is a common approach to improving computer system and application performance by minimizing the time it takes to retrieve data. A cache is a tiny piece of high-speed memory that saves frequently requested data so that it can be retrieved fast when needed.

Caching can be implemented in many different ways, including using hardware caches built into CPUs or storage devices, software caches in operating systems and applications, or network caches that store frequently accessed web content.

Caching is a crucial factor for the success of any application. It’s the cornerstone of high performance and low latency. With caching in place, an application is able to intercept requests before they reach the database, and respond in a timely manner. This results in faster and more efficient operations. In comparison, an application without caching won’t perform as well because it will have to access the database for each request, leading to slower response times.