What is caching used for and what role does it play in the system?

Caching is the process of temporarily storing frequently requested data in a fast access storage (cache) to speed up retrieval during repeated requests. The main role of caching is to improve system performance and reduce load on slow or resource-intensive data sources, such as databases or external services.

Example: if a web application frequently requests the same data from a database, it can store it in a cache (for example, in memory or Redis). On the next request, the data is retrieved from the cache, which is much faster than querying the database again.

Thus, caching helps to:

• Reduce system response time
• Decrease load on servers and databases
• Increase overall application efficiency