Aedile is a powerful yet simple Kotlin wrapper for the popular caching library, Caffeine. What sets Aedile apart is its use of coroutines instead of Java futures, allowing for a more modern and user-friendly approach to managing cached data in your applications. In this blog post, we will explore how to use Aedile and address some common troubleshooting scenarios you might encounter along the way.

What Makes Aedile Stand Out

• Suspendable Functions: Unlike Java’s CompletableFutures, every operation in Aedile is suspendable, meaning you can execute them in coroutines without blocking the thread.
• Backed by Caffeine: Aedile is a wrapper, not an entirely new cache implementation. It leverages Caffeine’s proven efficiency, which has been trusted on the JVM for years.
• Kotlin Durations: Specify expiration and refresh times using Kotlin’s time.Duration rather than Java’s duration.
• Kotlin Functions: Aedile supports Kotlin functions wherever a function is required, making your code cleaner and more idiomatic.

Integrating Aedile into Your Project

Step 1: Add Aedile to Your Build

To start using Aedile, add the dependency to your Gradle build file:

implementation 'com.sksamuel.aedile:aedile-core:version'

Step 2: Create a Cache

Next, create a cache using the cacheBuilder() function. Here’s how you do it:

val cache = cacheBuilder().build()

Step 3: Request Values

You can request values from the cache or supply a suspendable function to compute missing values:

val value1 = cache.getIfPresent(foo)  // Returns a value or null
val value2 = cache.get(foo)  // Will compute the value and support suspendable functions!

Configuration Options

Aedile allows various configurations just like Caffeine. You can set options such as maximum size and initial capacity easily:

val cache = cacheBuilder {
    maximumSize = 100
    initialCapacity = 10
}.build()

Handling Evictions

Aedile provides several eviction strategies:

• expireAfterAccess(duration): Expires entries after a specified duration of inactivity.
• expireAfterWrite(duration): Expires entries after a specified duration since they were created or updated.
• invalidate: Programmatically remove entries based on specific keys or clear all entries.

You can also specify a suspendable function that listens for evictions:

val cache = cacheBuilder {
    evictionListener = { key, value, cause ->
        when (cause) {
            RemovalCause.SIZE -> println("Removed due to size constraints")
            else -> delay(100) // Just to show suspendable functions!
        }
    }
}.build()

Custom Dispatchers and Metrics

Aedile uses the dispatcher from the calling function, but you can specify a custom dispatcher if necessary:

val cacheDispatcher = Executors.newSingleThreadExecutor().asCoroutineDispatcher()
val cache = cacheBuilder {
    this.dispatcher = cacheDispatcher
}.build()

Furthermore, if you want to monitor your cache’s performance, Aedile integrates with Micrometer, making it easy to gather metrics.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

If you encounter any issues while using Aedile, consider the following troubleshooting tips:

• Cache Not Returning Values: Ensure that your keys are correctly formatted and that the cache is built without errors.
• Coroutine Not Executing as Expected: Check if you’re in a coroutine context when calling suspendable functions; if not, make sure to call them within a coroutine scope.
• Evictions Not Triggering: Confirm that your configured eviction policies are appropriate for the data lifecycle you are managing.
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Final Thoughts

In this guide, we have navigated the picturesque landscape of Aedile, drawing analogies to help you grasp the functionality of this Kotlin wrapper for Caffeine. Think of Aedile as a skilled concierge in a luxurious hotel—always accessible, anticipating your needs, and ready to execute your requests efficiently without keeping you waiting. Dive into the future with Aedile and transform how you manage your data caching!