Exposing

the

ORM Cache

Familiarity with
ORM caching issues
can help prevent
performance problems and bugs.

intricate, with multiple facets and components to handle everything from query generation and database write optimizations, to the management of object identity in the virtual machine. The average developer, simply trying to get an application working, may choose to ignore certain complexities of ORM subsystems and their configuration. Understanding fundamental features such as caching, which may be seen as a mere optimization, is

critically necessary to intentional and correct application design and should not be overlooked.

Caching is generally recognized as being vital to performance optimization. Studies in virtually every computational domain have shown that caching can enhance performance and increase throughput, ¹ and rarely will any such claims evoke even a hint of debate. Failure by developers to understand an ORM product’s caching