DataCacheX

A versatile and extensible caching library for Dart and Flutter applications

📋 Overview #

DataCacheX is a powerful caching solution designed to simplify data management in your Dart and Flutter applications. It provides a flexible and efficient way to store and retrieve data with support for multiple storage backends, advanced caching policies, and comprehensive analytics.

Why Choose DataCacheX? #

• Multiple Storage Options: Choose from memory, Hive, SQLite, or SharedPreferences adapters
• Flexible Caching Policies: Configure expiry, compression, encryption, and priority
• Memory Management: Automatic cleanup and multiple eviction strategies
• Performance Analytics: Track cache performance with built-in metrics
• Type Safety: Full support for generic types and complex data structures
• Extensibility: Easy to extend with custom adapters and serializers

🚀 Installation #

Add data_cache_x to your pubspec.yaml file:

dependencies:
  data_cache_x: ^latest_version

Then run:

flutter pub get

🔧 Quick Start #

Initialize the Package #

import 'package:data_cache_x/data_cache_x.dart';
import 'package:data_cache_x/service_locator.dart';

Future<void> main() async {
  // Initialize with default settings (Hive adapter)
  await setupDataCacheX();

  // Get the DataCacheX instance
  final dataCache = getIt<DataCacheX>();

  // Start using the cache
  await dataCache.put('greeting', 'Hello, World!');
  final value = await dataCache.get<String>('greeting');
  print(value); // Output: Hello, World!
}

Choose a Different Adapter #

// Use memory adapter (volatile, but fast)
await setupDataCacheX(adapterType: CacheAdapterType.memory);

// Use SQLite adapter (persistent, good for larger datasets)
await setupDataCacheX(adapterType: CacheAdapterType.sqlite);

// Use SharedPreferences adapter (persistent, simple key-value storage)
await setupDataCacheX(adapterType: CacheAdapterType.sharedPreferences);

📚 Core Features #

Basic Cache Operations #

// Store values with optional expiry
await dataCache.put('user_profile', userProfile,
    expiry: Duration(hours: 24));

// Retrieve values with type safety
final profile = await dataCache.get<UserProfile>('user_profile');

// Check if a key exists
final exists = await dataCache.containsKey('user_profile');

// Delete a value
await dataCache.delete('user_profile');

// Clear the entire cache
await dataCache.clear();

Batch Operations #

// Store multiple values at once
await dataCache.putAll({
  'user': currentUser,
  'settings': appSettings,
  'theme': currentTheme,
}, expiry: Duration(days: 7));

// Retrieve multiple values
final values = await dataCache.getAll<dynamic>([
  'user', 'settings', 'theme'
]);

// Delete multiple values
await dataCache.deleteAll(['user', 'settings', 'theme']);

Advanced Caching Policies #

// Create a custom policy
final myPolicy = CachePolicy(
  expiry: Duration(hours: 24),         // Fixed expiry time
  slidingExpiry: Duration(hours: 2),    // Extends on each access
  staleTime: Duration(minutes: 30),     // Time before refresh
  priority: CachePriority.high,         // Higher priority in eviction
  refreshStrategy: RefreshStrategy.backgroundRefresh,
  maxSize: 1024 * 10,                   // 10 KB max size
  encrypt: true,                        // Enable encryption
  compression: CompressionMode.auto,    // Auto-compress if beneficial
);

// Apply the policy
await dataCache.put('important_data', data, policy: myPolicy);

// Use predefined policies
await dataCache.put('sensitive_data', userData,
    policy: CachePolicy.encrypted(expiry: Duration(days: 7)));

await dataCache.put('temp_data', tempData,
    policy: CachePolicy.temporary);

await dataCache.put('large_data', largeData,
    policy: CachePolicy.compressed());

Auto-Refresh with Callbacks #

// Get data with auto-refresh when stale
final userData = await dataCache.get<UserData>('user_data',
  refreshCallback: () => fetchUserFromApi(),  // Called when data is stale/expired
  policy: CachePolicy(
    staleTime: Duration(minutes: 5),
    refreshStrategy: RefreshStrategy.backgroundRefresh,
  ),
);

// Multiple items with different refresh callbacks
final data = await dataCache.getAll<dynamic>(['users', 'posts', 'comments'],
  refreshCallbacks: {
    'users': () => fetchUsersFromApi(),
    'posts': () => fetchPostsFromApi(),
    'comments': () => fetchCommentsFromApi(),
  },
  policy: CachePolicy(staleTime: Duration(minutes: 10)),
);

🔍 Advanced Features #

Memory Management with Eviction Strategies #

// Create a cache with LRU (Least Recently Used) eviction
final lruCache = DataCacheX(
  cacheAdapter,
  maxSize: 10 * 1024 * 1024,  // 10 MB max size
  maxItems: 1000,             // 1000 items max
  evictionStrategy: EvictionStrategy.lru,
);

// Other available strategies
// LFU (Least Frequently Used)
final lfuCache = DataCacheX(
  cacheAdapter,
  evictionStrategy: EvictionStrategy.lfu,
);

// FIFO (First In, First Out)
final fifoCache = DataCacheX(
  cacheAdapter,
  evictionStrategy: EvictionStrategy.fifo,
);

// TTL (Time To Live - prioritizes items closest to expiration)
final ttlCache = DataCacheX(
  cacheAdapter,
  evictionStrategy: EvictionStrategy.ttl,
);

Data Compression #

// Create a cache with compression support
final compressedCache = DataCacheX(
  cacheAdapter,
  compressionLevel: 6,  // 1 (fastest) to 9 (most compression)
);

// Auto compression (only compresses if beneficial)
await dataCache.put('large_text', largeString,
    policy: CachePolicy(compression: CompressionMode.auto));

// Always compress
await dataCache.put('always_compressed', value,
    policy: CachePolicy(compression: CompressionMode.always));

// Never compress
await dataCache.put('never_compressed', value,
    policy: CachePolicy(compression: CompressionMode.never));

Cache Analytics #

// Get basic metrics
print('Hit rate: ${dataCache.hitRate}%');
print('Total size: ${dataCache.totalSize} bytes');
print('Average item size: ${dataCache.averageItemSize} bytes');

// Get most frequently accessed keys
final topKeys = dataCache.mostFrequentlyAccessedKeys;
for (final entry in topKeys) {
  print('${entry.key}: ${entry.value} accesses');
}

// Get largest items
final largestItems = dataCache.largestItems;
for (final entry in largestItems) {
  print('${entry.key}: ${entry.value} bytes');
}

// Get complete analytics summary
final summary = dataCache.getAnalyticsSummary();
print(summary);

// Reset metrics
dataCache.resetMetrics();

Background Cleanup #

import 'package:data_cache_x/utils/background_cleanup.dart';

// Initialize background cleanup (automatically done by setupDataCacheX)
// But you can manually control it if needed:
BackgroundCleanup.initializeBackgroundCleanup(
  adapter: cacheAdapter,
  frequency: Duration(hours: 1),
);

// Stop background cleanup
BackgroundCleanup.stopBackgroundCleanup();

// Manually trigger cleanup
BackgroundCleanup.performCleanup(cacheAdapter);

Custom Adapters and Serializers #

import 'package:data_cache_x/serializers/data_serializer.dart';
import 'dart:convert';

// Define a custom data type
class UserProfile {
  final String name;
  final int age;

  UserProfile({required this.name, required this.age});
}

// Create a serializer for the custom type
class UserProfileSerializer implements DataSerializer<UserProfile> {
  @override
  UserProfile fromJson(String json) {
    final map = jsonDecode(json);
    return UserProfile(name: map['name'], age: map['age']);
  }

  @override
  String toJson(UserProfile value) {
    return jsonEncode({'name': value.name, 'age': value.age});
  }
}

// Register the custom serializer
await setupDataCacheX(
  customSerializers: {
    UserProfile: UserProfileSerializer(),
  },
);

🧪 Example App #

The package includes a comprehensive example app (CacheHub) that demonstrates all features:

• News Feed: API caching with different policies
• Image Gallery: Binary data caching for images
• Analytics: Cache performance visualization
• Explorer: Browse and manipulate cached data
• Adapter Playground: Benchmark different adapters
• Settings: Configure cache behavior

To run the example app:

cd example
flutter pub get
flutter run

📘 API Reference #

DataCacheX Class #

Cache Adapters #

• CacheAdapterType.hive: Hive NoSQL database (persistent)
• CacheAdapterType.memory: In-memory storage (volatile)
• CacheAdapterType.sqlite: SQLite database (persistent)
• CacheAdapterType.sharedPreferences: SharedPreferences (persistent)

Eviction Strategies #

• EvictionStrategy.lru: Least Recently Used
• EvictionStrategy.lfu: Least Frequently Used
• EvictionStrategy.fifo: First In, First Out
• EvictionStrategy.ttl: Time To Live (expiry-based)

Cache Priorities #

• CachePriority.low: Evicted first
• CachePriority.normal: Default priority
• CachePriority.high: Higher retention priority
• CachePriority.critical: Evicted last

Compression Modes #

• CompressionMode.auto: Compress only if beneficial
• CompressionMode.always: Always compress
• CompressionMode.never: Never compress

📄 License #

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.