LightCache 1.0.5

LightCache

A memory cache that evicts based on LRU, time, and size.

LightCache is a lightweight, thread-safe in-memory cache for .NET that supports:

• Least Recently Used (LRU) eviction
• Absolute and sliding expiration
• Size-based eviction
• Background cleanup
• Bulk insert support for high-performance scenarios

Features

• Thread-safe using internal locking
• LRU eviction via linked list tracking
• Configurable size limits to prevent memory overuse
• Expiration support
  • Absolute expiration
  • Sliding expiration
• Bulk operations to reduce lock contention
• Background cleanup using a timer

Installation

To install, clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/janzenhouchenwilder/LightCache.git

Usage

var cache = new LightCache<string, string>(10000);

Or for dependency injection:

services.AddSingleton<ILightCache<string, string>, LightCache<int, int>>();

If you want to set the size of the cache:

builder.Services.AddSingleton<ILightCache<int, Person>>(options =>
{
    return new LightCache<int, Person>(50000, 20000);
});

Add or update an item

cache.Put("key", "value", new LightCacheEntryOptions 
{ 
    Size = 1, 
    AbsoluteExpirationRelativeToNow = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(10) 
});

Retrieve an item

if (cache.TryGet("key", out var value)) 
{ 
    Console.WriteLine(value); 
}

Remove an item

if (cache.TryGet("key", out var value)) 
{ 
    Console.WriteLine(value); 
}

Insert multiple items (Large inserts)

cache.PutMany(items);

Performance Notes

Use PutMany for bulk inserts to avoid lock contention. Designed for high-throughput with minimal allocations.

Benchmark Dotnet for LightCache Put(TKey key, TValue, LightCacheEntryOptions? options) method.

Run time: 00:00:33 (33.73 sec), executed benchmarks: 1

Benchmark Dotnet for MemoryCache Set(object key, TItem value, MemoryCacheEntryOptions? options) method.

Run time: 00:01:00 (60.23 sec), executed benchmarks: 1

Benchmark Dotnet for LightCache TryGet(TKey key, out TValue value) method.

Run time: 00:00:41 (41.65 sec), executed benchmarks: 1

Benchmark Dotnet for MemoryCache TryGetValue(object key, out TItem value) method.

Run time: 00:00:57 (57.74 sec), executed benchmarks: 1

These tests were conducted by querying a database with 18000 rows of data and adding/retrieving from the cache.

Limitations In-memory only, not distributed Global lock may cause contention under extreme parallel loads