What are the differences between caching and session management in MVC?

What are the differences between caching and session management in MVC?

Caching is used to store frequently accessed data to improve performance, while session management handles user-specific data during a session.

Can you give examples of when to use caching?

Sure! Use caching for static resources like images or data that doesn't change often, such as product listings.

And what about session management? When should I use that?

Session management is ideal for storing user-specific information, like login status or shopping cart contents, that needs to persist across requests.

Are there any downsides to using caching?

Yes, caching can lead to stale data if not managed properly, and it requires additional memory resources.

How do I implement both in an MVC application?

You can use built-in frameworks for caching and session management, like ASP.NET's MemoryCache for caching and SessionState for sessions.