Object Caching¶
Most objects accessible through the PlanetSide 2 API are static, meaning that the data returned will remain the same between polls.
Auraxium uses a caching system to reduce API load by keeping objects in memory past their initial lifetime. The next time this item is accessed, it is instead restored from cache without incurring any network traffic.
This is done via a local TLRU Cache specific to each cacheable object type. TLRU caches have two replacement mechanisms: The first acts like a stack, with items being moved to the top as they are reused, and the bottom ones being discarded as the cache reaches its size limit due to new items being added. This is also referred to as a “least recently used” (LRU) cache.
Additionally, cache items have a maximum lifetime to force updates for regularly used objects. This mostly ensures that semi-static objects are never too far out of date (such as outfit member counts, tags, or character names).
Note
Restoring items from cache is currently only supported when using Client.get_by_id.
For Named subclasses, the Client.get_by_name method is similarly cached by locale. This means that looking up the same name in two different locales will create two separate cache entries.
Customizing Caches¶
Each PlanetSide 2 data type is preconfigured with a suitable cache size and item lifetime. Factions, for example, are only updated once an hour. Characters are limited to a size of 256 and only last 30 seconds before they are re-polled.
You can override the default values at runtime using the Cached.alter_cache method:
- classmethod Cached.alter_cache(size, ttu=None)
Modify the class cache to use a new size and TTU.
This will update and clear the cache for the current class. This allows customisation of the class depending on your use-case.
- Parameters:
- Raises:
ValueError – Raised if the size is less than 1.