How to use NSCache

Question

You use it the same way you would use NSMutableDictionary. The difference is that when NSCache detects excessive memory pressure (i.e. it's caching too many values) it will release some of those values to make room.

If you can recreate those values at runtime (by downloading from the Internet, by doing calculations, whatever) then NSCache may suit your needs. If the data cannot be recreated (e.g. it's user input, it is time-sensitive, etc.) then you should not store it in an NSCache because it will be destroyed there.

Example, not taking thread safety into account:

// Your cache should have a lifetime beyond the method or handful of methods
// that use it. For example, you could make it a field of your application
// delegate, or of your view controller, or something like that. Up to you.
NSCache *myCache = ...;
NSAssert(myCache != nil, @"cache object is missing");

// Try to get the existing object out of the cache, if it's there.
Widget *myWidget = [myCache objectForKey: @"Important Widget"];
if (!myWidget) {
    // It's not in the cache yet, or has been removed. We have to
    // create it. Presumably, creation is an expensive operation,
    // which is why we cache the results. If creation is cheap, we
    // probably don't need to bother caching it. That's a design
    // decision you'll have to make yourself.
    myWidget = [[[Widget alloc] initExpensively] autorelease];

    // Put it in the cache. It will stay there as long as the OS
    // has room for it. It may be removed at any time, however,
    // at which point we'll have to create it again on next use.
    [myCache setObject: myWidget forKey: @"Important Widget"];
}

// myWidget should exist now either way. Use it here.
if (myWidget) {
    [myWidget runOrWhatever];
}

@implementation ViewController
{    
    NSCache *imagesCache;    
}


- (void)viewDidLoad
{    
    imagesCache = [[NSCache alloc] init];
}


// How to save and retrieve NSData into NSCache
NSData *imageData = [imagesCache objectForKey:@"KEY"];
[imagesCache setObject:imageData forKey:@"KEY"];

Sample code for caching a string using NSCache in Swift:

var cache = NSCache()
cache.setObject("String for key 1", forKey: "Key1")
var result = cache.objectForKey("Key1") as String
println(result) // Prints "String for key 1"

To create a single app-wide instance of NSCache (a singleton), you can easily extend NSCache to add a sharedInstance property. Just put the following code in a file called something like NSCache+Singleton.swift:

import Foundation

extension NSCache {
    class var sharedInstance : NSCache {
        struct Static {
            static let instance : NSCache = NSCache()
        }
        return Static.instance
    }
}

You can then use the cache anywhere in the app:

NSCache.sharedInstance.setObject("String for key 2", forKey: "Key2")
var result2 = NSCache.sharedInstance.objectForKey("Key2") as String
println(result2) // Prints "String for key 2"

sample Project Add CacheController.h and .m file from the sample project to your project. In class where you want to cache data , put the below code.

[[CacheController storeInstance] setCache:@"object" forKey:@"objectforkey" ];

you can set any object using this

[[CacheController storeInstance] getCacheForKey:@"objectforkey" ];

to retrive

Important: The NSCache class incorporates various auto-removal policies. if you want cache the data for permanent or you want to remove cached data in a specific time see this answer.