What are some effective caching strategies in EF Core?

What are some effective caching strategies in EF Core?

In EF Core, you can use various caching strategies like first-level caching, second-level caching, and query caching. First-level caching is built-in and occurs within the context of a single DbContext instance. Second-level caching can be implemented using third-party libraries like EFCore.SecondLevelCache.

Can you explain how first-level caching works?

Sure! First-level caching in EF Core is the default behavior where the DbContext keeps track of all the entities it retrieves during its lifetime. If you query for the same entity again, EF Core will return the cached instance instead of hitting the database.

What about second-level caching? How is it different?

Second-level caching is not built into EF Core by default. It allows you to cache entities across multiple DbContext instances, which can significantly improve performance for read-heavy applications. You can use libraries like EFCore.SecondLevelCache to implement this.

Are there any downsides to using caching?

Yes, caching can introduce complexity, such as stale data if the underlying data changes. It's important to implement cache invalidation strategies to ensure data consistency.