Database caching refers to the storing of data from a database so that future requests for that data can be served faster. This can be used in situations where performance tuning is needed, because it eliminates the need to do an expensive database query every time an item is requested. Storing data in cache also helps reduce memory usage on the database server. Redis is a popular and powerful choice for caching database data, as it provides a distributed system for fast storage and retrieval by using a key-value approach.
Redis is an open source, in-memory data structure store that can be used as a database, a message broker or a caching solution. Redis is lightning-fast, because all data is held in RAM. To store data in Redis, you must use a string or a hash, which is essentially a set of keys each with its own value. To store data in Redis, use the Redis command SET. For example, if we want to store the value “Hello World” in Redis, we can use this command:
SET hello “Hello World”
Redis also provides a list type which allows you to store a set of strings, sorted or unsorted. If we want to store a list of strings in Redis, we can use the RPUSH command, for example:
RPUSH list_name “value1” “value2”
If we want to retrieve the values from the list, we can use the LRANGE command to retrieve them:
LRANGE list_name 0 -1
For more complex data structures such as hashes and sets, Redis also provides specialized commands to store data.
By utilizing Redis to store our database data, we can take advantage of the incredibly fast read and write speeds that Redis offers. This can make our applications more responsive and snappy, while also reducing the load on the database server. Furthermore, Redis has the ability to replicate data across multiple servers and provides built-in data persistence, adding high avlability and scalability to applications.
For more advanced use cases, Redis provides commands to support transactions, locking, publish/subscribe messages, virtual memory and much more. Redis can also be used with popular frameworks such as Ruby, python, Node.js and many more. All these features make Redis a powerful choice for storing database data.