BlockCache

by Matthew Scharley
http://github.com/mscharley/ruby-blockcache

In computer science, a cache is a component that improves performance by transparently storing data such that future requests for that data can be served faster.

-- Cache at Wikipedia

Typical caches do this by allowing you to store data in them, along with a time limit to describe how long this data is valid for. You then need to check if the data is available, and if not, regenerate it and store it again, ready for next time.

BlockCache eliminates all this. You define your cache, describe the elements it contains, and then you never have to worry about making sure you have fresh data again. Of course, if you need to ensure that you are getting clean, uncached data, you can do that too.

require 'blockcache'

cache = BlockCache.new
cache.add('name', 10) do
  puts "Hello, what is your name?"
  STDIN.gets.strip
end

for i in [1,2]
  for j in [1,3]
    puts "Hello " + cache['name'] + "!"
  end
  cache.refresh
end

In the example above, you get asked for your name, then it says hello to you three times. Note, each time is using the exact same code. The program then tells the cache that it wants fresh data, and repeats the process.