ASP.NET CACHING RELATED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS Part 1
1. **What is caching in ASP.NET?**
Caching in ASP.NET refers to the process of storing frequently accessed data temporarily in memory to improve application performance by reducing the need to retrieve the data from the original source repeatedly.
2. **What are the benefits of caching in ASP.NET?**
Caching helps improve application performance, reduces database and server load, enhances scalability, and provides a better user experience by serving content more quickly.
3. **Explain the types of caching available in ASP.NET.**
ASP.NET supports several types of caching, including output caching, data caching, and application caching. Output caching stores the output of an entire page or user control, data caching stores application data, and application caching stores application-wide data.
4. **How do you implement output caching in ASP.NET?**
Output caching can be implemented by applying the `OutputCache` attribute to an ASP.NET page or user control, specifying caching settings such as duration, location, and vary-by parameters.
5. **What is data caching, and how is it different from output caching?**
Data caching involves storing application data in memory for faster access, while output caching stores the rendered output of a page or user control. Data caching is more granular and allows caching of specific data objects or results.
6. **How do you configure data caching in ASP.NET?**
Data caching can be configured using the `Cache` object available in the `System.Web.Caching` namespace. Developers can add, retrieve, update, and remove cached data using methods such as `Insert`, `Get`, `Add`, and `Remove`.
7. **Explain the concept of expiration and invalidation in caching.**
Expiration refers to the duration for which cached data remains valid before it expires and needs to be refreshed. Invalidation refers to the process of removing stale or outdated cached data from the cache.
8. **What are cache dependencies in ASP.NET?**
Cache dependencies allow cached items to be invalidated based on changes to other related data or resources. Dependencies can be based on file changes, database changes, or custom events.
9. **How do you handle cache dependencies in ASP.NET applications?**
Cache dependencies can be configured using classes like `CacheDependency` or `SqlCacheDependency` to establish relationships between cached items and dependent resources. ASP.NET automatically monitors changes to dependencies and invalidates cached items accordingly.
10. **What are the best practices for caching in ASP.NET applications?**
Some best practices include identifying and caching only data that is frequently accessed and unlikely to change frequently, configuring appropriate expiration policies, using cache dependencies when necessary, and monitoring cache performance and usage. Additionally, it's essential to consider memory usage and cache eviction policies to avoid memory issues.