Caching for Senior Software Engineers
Overview
Caching is a technique used to store data temporarily in a rapidly accessible storage layer, improving the performance and scalability of applications.
Key Concepts
- Cache Invalidation: Crucial for maintaining data accuracy, involves updating or removing data in the cache when it changes in the source.
- Consistency: Ensuring data in the cache reflects the latest data in the database.
- Distributed Caching: Useful in high-scale systems, distributes the cache across multiple servers.
Strategies
- Memory vs. Disk Caching: Memory caching is faster but limited by RAM, while disk caching offers more storage at the cost of speed.
- Cache-Aside: Application code handles the cache, loading data into it as needed.
- Read-Through/Write-Through: Cache automatically loads data on a cache miss and writes data to the source.
Technologies
- Common caching solutions include Redis and Memcached, offering features like in-memory data storage and distributed caching.
-You can always strive to use some in memory solutions like building it internally with the applications however they have many disadvantages - in the production ready scenario, please use the distributed approach to fully utilize the power of caching
-Cache can also be in the Databases (like Aurora), CDN (like CloudFront) as well as the Object Relational Mapping tools like Hibernate. Each of those utilize the power of caching that speeds up the development of the solutions. Apart of those caches, you can also find some of the out of the box caches like CPU (L1, L2, L3) and Disk (i.e. SSD)
Best Practices
- Choose the right caching strategy based on application needs.
- Monitor cache performance and hit/miss ratios.
- Plan for cache failure and data synchronization challenges.
- Utilizing Machine Learning algorithms and Edge Caching to fully obtain the newest technologies and power for caching advantages
Summary
Caching, when correctly implemented, can significantly enhance the performance and user experience of software applications. This is a necessary concept that has to be known by all the Senior Software Engineers!
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