NAME

OpenPlugin::Cache - Base class for putting data in and getting information out of a cache

SYNOPSIS

 use OpenPlugin();
 $OP = OpenPlugin->new();
 my $id = $OP->cache->save( $large_data_set );

 ...

 my $data = $OP->cache->fetch( $id );

DESCRIPTION

This plugin is designed to save data to a cache, and later retrieve that information from that cache. It is very similar to sessions, but data which is cached is meant for all users. Session data is only meant for the user associated with that particular session.

Data you'd typically want to cache includes information returned which requires a lot of time or processing to retrieve. One example is large database queries.

METHODS

fetch( $id )

Retrieves whatever is in the cache tagged by $id.

save( $data, { id = $id, expires => $date })>

Saves data into the cache.

Returns: the cache ID used on success, undef on failure.

Basic parameters -- drivers may define others:

• data: Data to cache. Although it needs to be a scalar, it can be any sort of scalar format, including a string, hash reference, or array reference.

• id (optional): Identifier (key) for the cached data. If not specified, an id will be randomly chosen for you.

• expires (optional): Expiration time, in the format:

   "now"  - expire immediately
   "+180s - in 180 seconds
   "+2m"  - in 2 minutes
   "+12h" - in 12 hours
   "+1d"  - in 1 day
   "+3M"  - in 3 months
   "+2y"  - in 2 years
   "-3m"  - 3 minutes ago(!)

  If not specified, the item will have the same cache time as is listed as a default in the config file.

delete( $id )

Delete an existing item from the cache.

Returns true if successful.

BUGS

None known.

TO DO

See the TO DO list in the OpenPlugin::Session plugin.

SEE ALSO

Cache::Cache

COPYRIGHT

Copyright (c) 2001-2003 Eric Andreychek. All rights reserved.

This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.

AUTHORS

Eric Andreychek <eric@openthought.net>