Web cache
mechanism for the temporary storage (caching) of web documents
A web cache (or HTTP cache) is a system for optimizing the World Wide Web. It is implemented both client-side and server-side. The caching of multimedia and other files can result in less overall delay when browsing the Web. In 2000, computer scientists Jim Gray and Prashant Shenoy calculated that for web page caching, a web browser should "cache web pages if there is any chance they will be re-referenced within their lifetime."
Parts of the system
Forward and reverse
A forward cache is a cache outside the web server's network, e.g. in the client's web browser, in an Internet service provider, or within a corporate network. A network-aware forward cache only caches heavily accessed items. A proxy server sitting between the client and web server can evaluate HTTP headers and choose whether to store web content.
A reverse cache sits in front of one or more web servers, accelerating requests from the Internet and reducing peak server load. This is usually a content delivery network (CDN) that retains copies of web content at various points throughout a network.
HTTP options
The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) defines three basic mechanisms for controlling caches: freshness, validation, and invalidation.
“Web cache” enters the record as mechanism for the temporary storage (caching) of web documents. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what cache, mechanism and temporary can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Web cache” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, cache, mechanism and temporary provides the most credible route into that argument.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q991293. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2000.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Web cache”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Web cache primary sources, Web cache archive and cache research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Web cache”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Web cache” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.