Fast ASP.NET Websites

Chapter 12. Data caching

This chapter covers

• System.Runtime.Caching
• What should I cache?
• Notes on distributed caching

In the same way that you might keep milk in your fridge until it reaches its expiration date, as I said in chapter 4, browsers can cache information about a website for a set duration of time. When your milk is old, you buy new. After data expires, a browser will fetch the updated version. Much like caching data on a user’s browser with HTTP caching, as discussed in chapter 4, you can do the same thing with frequently used information on the server. By caching data on the server, you can easily store information retrieved from the database, or perhaps even an expensive method.

Data caching is the process of storing frequently ...