the.com/cache memory
A small, fast liar that pretends to be your whole hard drive, just closer.
means A small block of fast on-chip memory that stores recently or frequently used data so the processor doesn't have to wait on slower main memory.
from From French 'cache,' meaning 'hiding place,' itself from 'cacher,' to hide — possibly related to Latin 'coactare,' to compress or constrain. The word entered English via hidden stashes of supplies (explorers caching food), and computer scientists borrowed it for memory that secretly hoards data close at hand. The spelling trips people into saying 'cash,' which, fittingly, is exactly how it functions: a reserve kept on hand for quick withdrawal.
- speed trick
- Guesses what you want before you ask.
- size tradeoff
- Smaller than RAM, faster than your patience.
- miss penalty
- Wrong guess means fetching from slow memory anyway.
- everywhere
- CPUs, browsers, DNS all hoard copies for speed.