What is the difference between LRU caching and other caching strategies?

What is the difference between LRU caching and other caching strategies?

LRU (Least Recently Used) caching evicts the least recently accessed items first, while other strategies like FIFO (First In, First Out) or LFU (Least Frequently Used) have different eviction criteria.

Can you explain how LRU caching works in more detail?

Sure! LRU caching maintains a list of items in order of their usage. When a new item is added, it goes to the front, and when the cache reaches its limit, the item at the back (least recently used) is removed.

What are the advantages of using LRU over other strategies?

LRU is effective for workloads with temporal locality, where recently accessed items are likely to be accessed again soon. It often provides better performance in such scenarios.

Are there any downsides to using LRU caching?

Yes, LRU can be more complex to implement and may require additional memory for tracking usage order. It can also suffer from cache thrashing if the access pattern is highly variable.