OEP-22: Caching in Django

Title Caching in Django
Last Modified 2018-08-16
Authors Robert Raposa <rraposa@edx.org>
Arbiter Alex Dusenbery <adusenbery@edx.org>
Status Accepted
Type Best Practice
Created 2018-05-04


Most of the safety and other benefits that come from the following recommendations can be taken advantage of by simply using the RequestCache and TieredCache from edx-django-utils.

There are also some ideas related to caching decorators and cache keys, but only with documented next steps, not a precise recommendation around a shared library.


We have a variety of tools for caching in Django in various repositories, but the solutions are not in a shared repository and don’t meet all needs. A variety of issues were uncovered while working on caching fixes and improvements within one of our services.

  1. There is a common caching bug while using Django caches where someone caches a value that is Falsey (e.g., None or []) and it is mistakenly treated as a cache miss.
  2. In Django we commonly use the Memcached back-end. There are various places in code where we read the same value many times within a the scope of a request, and each of these is a network call to Memcached.
  3. For testing and business purposes, it is sometimes useful to be able to invalidate a cached value on a per-request basis.
  4. While refactoring caching code and reviewing potential libraries, there seem to be potential best practices that would hide the boilerplate caching logic and better highlight the business logic.
  5. There is potential for better standardizing how we handle cache keys. For example, to generate keys that work with Memcached and avoid key collisions in a global space like Memcached.

Note: When and if caching is warranted in any particular circumstance is beyond the scope of this OEP.


As mentioned above, most of the following recommendations have been codified in the RequestCache and TieredCache from edx-django-utils.

Common Caching Defect and Fix

The following is a common defect when caching using Django caches:

cached_value = cache.get(key)
if not cached_value:
    # calculate value, set in cache, and return
    # if the calculated value is Falsey (e.g., None or []), it will
    # be treated as a cache miss above.
return cached_value

The simplest fix for this defect is:

_CACHE_MISS = object()

cached_value = cache.get(key, _CACHE_MISS)
if cached_value is _CACHE_MISS:
    # calculate value, set in cache, and return
    # no longer be treated as a cache miss above.
return cached_value

To solve this problem, use caching utility methods that avoid this defect. See Implementations for more details.

Tiered Cache with Request Caching

Use a library that allows tiered-caching calls that use a Request Cache backed by a slower Django cache (often Memcached). With a tiered cache, multiple calls for the same value within a request will not require additional network calls to Memcached.

See Implementations for more details.

Force Cache Refresh

When using any Django cache it is recommended that caching utilities offer a simple method by which to force a cache refresh for a given request. This is useful both for testing purposes, as well as for business purposes if a problem occurs in Production that requires a capability for refreshing a cached value.

Note: This recommendation comes for free with a Request Cache, which is already refreshed at the start of every request.

See Implementations for more details.

Cache Decorators

The following is not yet a strong recommendation. More work is required to assess and clarify.

When caching, create cache methods where the boilerplate caching code is hidden behind a decorator. This practice allows the more important business logic to stand out.

Note that in some cases, the boilerplate logic hidden behind the decorator includes opinionated code regarding how keys are defined and when and if the key will change. More assessment is required here to determine the recommended decorator(s) to use.

Sample Before:

def get_and_cache_my_business_value(x):
    cached_value = cache.get(key, _CACHE_MISS)
    if cached_value is _CACHE_MISS:
        new_value = calculate_my_business_value()
        key = get_my_business_key(x)
        cache.set(key, new_value)
        return new_value
    return cached_value

Sample After:

def get_and_cache_my_business_value(x):
    # calculate my_business_value
    return my_business_value

See Implementations for more details.

Generating Cache Keys

Use a utility function that will provide a safe key for your Django cache. If you are using Memcached, the utility must avoid key conflicts in a global space, as well as following other rules for Memcached like maximum key length. This functionality may or may not be packaged in a caching decorator as well.

See Implementations for more details.


This section details various implementations of the documented recommendations. It will be updated as shared libraries are selected, moved and evolved for better reuse in any repository.

edx-django-utils repository cache utilities:

Common Defect Fix The RequestCache and TieredCache both handle the Common Caching Defect and Fix. Although it is simple to refactor standard Django caching code to use these classes, the interface to these classes is non-standard and the simple refactor doesn’t move toward using cache decorators.
Tiered Cache There is both a RequestCache and TieredCache.
Force Cache Refresh The TieredCache provides functionality for forcing cache refreshes.
Cache Decorators N/A
Generating Keys N/A

other repository utilities:

Cache Decorators There are various cache decorators in edx-platform. These could be assessed when considering moving additional utilities to edx-django-utils.
Generating Keys There are common utilities for generating cache keys in edx-platform, ecommerce, and possibly other repositories. These should be be assessed when considering moving additional utilities to edx-django-utils.

Quickcache library

Note: The quickcache library has not been fully assessed. It is provided as a good potential candidate for a shared library.

Common Defect Fix The Common Caching Defect and Fix is handled by using a decorator. Any calls to the Django cache outside of the decorator would be susceptible to the bug.
Tiered Cache Provides a TieredCache, but no RequestCache. The library would need to be enhanced to include the RequestCache, or to extend to use one.
Force Cache Refresh There is functionality for skipping the cache. However, this functionality still needs to be assessed.
Cache Decorators The library is based on a slick @quickcache decorator. The decorator is opinionated about its cache keys, tied to the code it is wrapping. This needs to be assessed to see if it is a good fit, or can be extended for our needs, or has patterns we’d like to follow.
Generating Keys As written, the cache key generation is built into the decorator. This needs to be assessed.

Next steps:

  • Choose the best solution(s) for cache decorators and key generating

utilities and make them available in edx-django-utils.

  • Use linting utilities to enforce the best practices.


As long as we keep all options open for developers, these best practices and supporting libraries should only help developers write cleaner and less buggy caching code. Caching utilities are meant to make development easier, but they do not replace the need for developers to understand when and what caching solution is right for a given situation.

Other References

Additional references that may be useful.