Reference Guide

Data Cache API
Zend Server Reference Manual
The Data Cache API is a caching option that is integrated into Zend Server. In terms of value the option
provides high performance in memory caching. As it is integrated into Zend Server you also gain a certain
amount of control such as the ability to turn on/off the component and manually clear the cache with a
click of a button. The Data Cache API is designed with an APC compatibility layer ensuring that
extendibility with most APC compatible applications.
How it works:
Zend Data Cache is a set of API functions enabling a developer to store and manage data items (PHP
strings, arrays and other data) and even output elements in either disk-based cache or shared memory
cache. Zend Data Cache allows for precision guided caching when Page Caching is not an option. The
provided API is easy-to-use on existing code, and in many cases a developer can skip existing code
sections by simply wrapping them with caching APIs.
Page Caching
Page Caching is ideal for cases when you want to avoid programmatic intervention to implement,
configure and manage caching capabilities. The integration into Zend Server allows complete control over
the caching activity and with relative ease you can add, remove and change caching rules as well as
empty the cache with a click of a button.
How it works:
Zend Page Cache allows caching of entire PHP web pages, or more correctly put, entire HTTP responses
sent out from PHP. Page Caching permits dramatically improving the performance of pages on web
applications (sometimes running as high as 10x, 20x and even 100x times faster), while maintaining
dynamic capabilities through an elaborate system of caching rules that could be based on request
parameters and user session data.
Zend Framework Cache API
The Zend Framework Cache API is a standardized open source caching solution. This grants you the
freedom to not only configure it based on your needs but also to contribute extensions and fixes and
benefit from contributions from other developers. The Zend framework API has pluggable backends so
that you can create a generic implementation and swap the backend with different solutions such as
memcache, APC and the Data Cache API. Using the Data Cache API provides an additional advantage
as it allows you to use an option that is integrated into Zend Server gain a certain amount of control such
as the ability to turn on/off the component and manually clear the cache with a click of a button.
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