Advanced Caching Techniques for Headless Systems

What is Caching?

Caching is the process of storing copies of files or data in a temporary storage location (cache) to quickly access frequently requested data without needing to fetch it from the original source.

Types of Caching

• Memory Caching
• Disk Caching
• Distributed Caching
• HTTP Caching
• Application-Level Caching

3.1 Cache-aside

Cache-aside is a common pattern where the application code is responsible for loading data into the cache. If the data isn't in the cache, the application retrieves it from the data source and populates the cache.

function getData(key) {
    if (key in cache) {
        return cache[key]; // Return cached data
    } else {
        const data = fetchFromDataSource(key);
        cache[key] = data; // Cache the data
        return data;
    }
}

3.2 Write-Through Caching

In write-through caching, every time data is written to the data source, it is also written to the cache. This ensures that the cache is always up-to-date.

function saveData(key, value) {
    saveToDataSource(key, value); // Save to data source
    cache[key] = value; // Save to cache
}

3.3 Cache Invalidation

Cache invalidation is critical in ensuring stale data does not persist in the cache. Several strategies include:

• Time-based Invalidation
• Event-based Invalidation
• Manual Invalidation

4.1 Use Appropriate Cache TTL

Set an appropriate time-to-live (TTL) for cached items based on how frequently the underlying data changes.

4.2 Monitor Cache Performance

Regularly monitor cache hit ratios and performance metrics to optimize caching strategies.

4.3 Layered Caching

Implement multiple caching layers (e.g., client-side, server-side, CDN) to enhance performance.