Implementing Response Caching using Feathers.js and Cache-manager

In this article, we will explore how to implement response caching using Feathers.js and Cache-manager. Response caching is a technique used to improve the performance of web applications by storing frequently accessed data in a cache layer. This allows the application to retrieve data from the cache instead of re-computing it or retrieving it from a database, resulting in faster response times and reduced server load.

What is Feathers.js?

Feathers.js is a lightweight, open-source framework for building real-time web applications and RESTful APIs. It provides a simple and flexible way to build scalable and maintainable applications using Node.js.

What is Cache-manager?

Cache-manager is a popular caching library for Node.js that provides a simple and flexible way to implement caching in web applications. It supports a variety of cache stores, including memory, Redis, and MongoDB.

Implementing Response Caching using Feathers.js and Cache-manager

To implement response caching using Feathers.js and Cache-manager, we will need to install the following dependencies:

npm install feathers cache-manager

Next, we will create a new Feathers.js application and configure it to use Cache-manager:

const feathers = require('@feathersjs/feathers');
const cacheManager = require('cache-manager');

const app = feathers();

app.configure(configure);

function configure() {
  app.set('cache', cacheManager.caching({
    store: 'memory',
    max: 100,
    ttl: 60 // 1 minute
  }));
}

In this example, we are configuring Cache-manager to use the memory store and setting the maximum number of cache entries to 100. We are also setting the time-to-live (TTL) for each cache entry to 1 minute.

Creating a Cached Service

Next, we will create a new service that uses the cache:

const service = {
  async get(id) {
    const cacheKey = `users/${id}`;
    const cachedData = await app.get('cache').get(cacheKey);

    if (cachedData) {
      return cachedData;
    }

    const data = await app.service('users').get(id);
    await app.get('cache').set(cacheKey, data, 60); // 1 minute
    return data;
  }
};

app.use('/cached-users', service);

In this example, we are creating a new service that uses the cache to store and retrieve user data. When the service is called, it first checks the cache for the requested data. If the data is found in the cache, it returns the cached data. If the data is not found in the cache, it retrieves the data from the underlying service and stores it in the cache for future requests.

Testing the Cached Service

To test the cached service, we can use a tool like Postman to send requests to the service:

GET /cached-users/1

When we send the first request, the service will retrieve the data from the underlying service and store it in the cache. When we send subsequent requests, the service will retrieve the data from the cache instead of re-retrieving it from the underlying service.

Conclusion

In this article, we explored how to implement response caching using Feathers.js and Cache-manager. We created a new Feathers.js application and configured it to use Cache-manager. We then created a new service that uses the cache to store and retrieve user data. Finally, we tested the cached service using Postman.

FAQs

Q: What is response caching?

A: Response caching is a technique used to improve the performance of web applications by storing frequently accessed data in a cache layer.

Q: What is Feathers.js?

A: Feathers.js is a lightweight, open-source framework for building real-time web applications and RESTful APIs.

Q: What is Cache-manager?

A: Cache-manager is a popular caching library for Node.js that provides a simple and flexible way to implement caching in web applications.

Q: How do I configure Cache-manager?

A: You can configure Cache-manager by setting the store, max, and ttl options. For example:

app.set('cache', cacheManager.caching({
  store: 'memory',
  max: 100,
  ttl: 60 // 1 minute
}));

Q: How do I create a cached service?

A: You can create a cached service by using the cache to store and retrieve data. For example:

const service = {
  async get(id) {
    const cacheKey = `users/${id}`;
    const cachedData = await app.get('cache').get(cacheKey);

    if (cachedData) {
      return cachedData;
    }

    const data = await app.service('users').get(id);
    await app.get('cache').set(cacheKey, data, 60); // 1 minute
    return data;
  }
};