MemoryCacheAside

A thread-safe implementation of the Cache-Aside pattern using IMemoryCache with support for partitioned cache management.

Overview

MemoryCacheAside provides a wrapper around IMemoryCache that implements the Cache-Aside pattern with the added benefit of cache partitioning. This allows for organized cache management where related cache entries can be grouped together and cleared as a unit.

Features

• Partitioned Caching: Organize cache entries into logical partitions for better management
• Thread-Safe Operations: Built with concurrent data structures for safe multi-threaded access
• Bulk Operations: Clear entire partitions or the entire cache at once
• Async Support: Provides both synchronous and asynchronous cache operations
• IDisposable: Properly cleans up resources when disposed

Cache Partitioning

The class maintains a mapping of cache partitions to handle scenarios where you need to clear related cache entries together. This addresses limitations in IMemoryCache where you can't easily enumerate or group cache keys.

Example Partition Structure:

* Key               | Value
* ------------------+--------------------------------------
* PostCountCategory | { "<guid>", "<guid>", ... }
* Post              | { "<guid>", "<guid>", "<guid"> ... }
* General           | { "avatar", ... }

Usage Examples

Basic Usage

// Dependency injection setup services.AddMemoryCache(); services.AddScoped<ICacheAside, MemoryCacheAside>();

public BlogService(ICacheAside cache)
{
    _cache = cache;
}

public async Task<Post> GetPostAsync(Guid postId)
{
    return await _cache.GetOrCreateAsync("Post", postId.ToString(), async entry =>
    {
        entry.SlidingExpiration = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(30);
        return await _repository.GetPostAsync(postId);
    });
}

public void InvalidatePostCache(Guid postId)
{
    _cache.Remove("Post", postId.ToString());
}

public void InvalidateAllPosts()
{
    _cache.Remove("Post");
}

Partitioned Cache Management

// Cache different types of data in separate partitions 
var userProfile = _cache.GetOrCreate("UserProfile", userId, entry => 
{ 
    entry.AbsoluteExpirationRelativeToNow TimeSpan.FromHours(1); 
    return GetUserProfileFromDatabase(userId); 
});

var userSettings = _cache.GetOrCreate("UserSettings", userId, entry => 
{ 
    entry.SlidingExpiration = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(15); 
    return GetUserSettingsFromDatabase(userId); 
});

// Clear all user profile data but keep settings 
_cache.Remove("UserProfile");

// Clear everything 
_cache.Clear();