A cache is a hardware or software component that stores data so that future requests for that data can be served faster. The data stored in a cache might be the result of an earlier computation or a copy of data stored elsewhere. Caches are used because bulk or main storage cant keep up with the demands of clients, and they decrease data access times, reduce latency, and improve input/output (I/O) . Caches must be relatively small to be cost-effective and enable efficient use of data.
Caches have proven themselves in many areas of computing because typical computer applications access data with a high degree of locality of reference. Such access patterns exhibit temporal locality, where data is requested that has been recently requested already, and spatial locality, where data is requested that is stored physically close to data that has already been requested.
Caches can be hardware or software components, and examples of hardware caches include CPU caches, which are small chunks of memory on the computer's processor used to store basic computer instructions that were recently used or are frequently used. Many applications and software also have their own cache, which temporarily stores app-related data, files, or instructions for fast retrieval.
Cached data is information stored in a specific location used to speed up gathering and transferring data. In the case of a website, the cache would allow you to load certain resources without downloading them from the server every time you access the page, like fonts or icons. For servers, cached data can be dynamic data saved as simple HTML to speed up the page load time. A cache is critical as it helps developers improve performance, speed up data retrieval, and deliver content to users as quickly as possible.
