Caching in Ajax

Caching in Ajax used to be an ill advised technique for many developers. As Ajax is a data intensive online application, it will stream data in the browser which caches data for easier access in the future. Though this advantage could be noticed in other programming languages, caching is seen as a problem in JavaScript since the data will be continuously streamed in the client side.

While there is a way for browsers to shed the cached data, the browser will not shed the cached data as fast as the information is loaded to the client side. The result is a slower browser that could halt anytime if the browser is continuously loaded with cache. In gist, caching in Ajax could lead to browser problems.

But that problem has been answered because of the development on execution of Ajax. Disallowing browsers to cache JavaScript functions is still a good practice for ease of access but it will never provide the interactivity that users mostly look for in an application.

To properly cache Ajax and JavaScript applications in browsers, developers should indicate cache expiration on data. Browsers have built-in functions to remove cached information but the additional command developers could add in their application stores the cached data temporarily. This practice ensures that the browser is still able to deal with the data streamed from the client side.

The Back Button Syndrome

The extra coding that will prompt the browser expire cached data faster may seem like an additional task that could be avoided. Developers can just skip data caching in their applications since an Ajax based application will work well especially without any cached data.

But developers soon noticed something odd about the behavior of applications without caching. The back button doesn’t seem to work as expected. Because the browser does not cache any information, each page is treated as a brand new page for browser.

Pressing the back button will never lead users to their expected page. Developers do not want to lose users since this button allow users to make some easy changes in the online application.

To avoid user inconvenience while browser through various Ajax based applications, some type of caching has to be implemented.

The Advantage in Widget and API

Proper caching in Ajax did not only open the doors for developers to properly implement the back button. Widgets and API who can properly implement caching in the application will now be able to interact with data faster.

Instead of actively retrieving information from the application, widgets and API can access the cached information for better interaction. This advantage will be enjoyed by the developers of widgets and API but also for users since the online application will not dedicate some of its resources in retrieving the needed data.

The development of Ajax applications and functions has also pushed forward the ease of coding in caching. There are now libraries that developers can use so that they can implement limited caching in Ajax with little to no coding required on their end.