资料来源 : pyDict

高速缓冲存储器隐藏所,隐藏的粮食或物资,贮藏物隐藏,窖藏

资料来源 : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Cache \Cache\, n. [F., a hiding place, fr. cacher to conceal, to
   hide.]
   A hole in the ground, or hiding place, for concealing and
   preserving provisions which it is inconvenient to carry.
   --Kane.

资料来源 : WordNet®

cache
     n 1: a hidden storage space (for money or provisions or weapons)
     2: a secret store of valuables or money [syn: {hoard}, {stash}]
     3: (computer science) RAM memory that is set aside as a
        specialized buffer storage that is continually updated;
        used to optimize data transfers between system elements
        with different characteristics [syn: {memory cache}]

cache
     v : save up as for future use [syn: {hoard}, {stash}, {lay away},
          {hive up}, {squirrel away}]

资料来源 : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

cache
     
         /kash/ A small fast memory holding
        recently accessed data, designed to speed up subsequent access
        to the same data.  Most often applied to processor-memory
        access but also used for a local copy of data accessible over
        a network etc.
     
        When data is read from, or written to, {main memory} a copy is
        also saved in the cache, along with the associated main memory
        address.  The cache monitors addresses of subsequent reads to
        see if the required data is already in the cache.  If it is (a
        {cache hit}) then it is returned immediately and the main
        memory read is aborted (or not started).  If the data is not
        cached (a {cache miss}) then it is fetched from main memory
        and also saved in the cache.
     
        The cache is built from faster memory chips than main memory
        so a cache hit takes much less time to complete than a normal
        memory access.  The cache may be located on the same
        {integrated circuit} as the {CPU}, in order to further reduce
        the access time.  In this case it is often known as {primary
        cache} since there may be a larger, slower {secondary cache}
        outside the CPU chip.
     
        The most important characteristic of a cache is its {hit rate}
        - the fraction of all memory accesses which are satisfied from
        the cache.  This in turn depends on the cache design but
        mostly on its size relative to the main memory.  The size is
        limited by the cost of fast memory chips.
     
        The hit rate also depends on the access pattern of the
        particular program being run (the sequence of addresses being
        read and written).  Caches rely on two properties of the
        access patterns of most programs: temporal locality - if
        something is accessed once, it is likely to be accessed again
        soon, and spatial locality - if one memory location is
        accessed then nearby memory locations are also likely to be
        accessed.  In order to exploit spatial locality, caches often
        operate on several words at a time, a "{cache line}" or "cache
        block".  Main memory reads and writes are whole {cache lines}.
     
        When the processor wants to write to main memory, the data is
        first written to the cache on the assumption that the
        processor will probably read it again soon.  Various different
        policies are used.  In a {write-through} cache, data is
        written to main memory at the same time as it is cached.  In a
        {write-back} cache it is only written to main memory when it
        is forced out of the cache.
     
        If all accesses were writes then, with a write-through policy,
        every write to the cache would necessitate a main memory
        write, thus slowing the system down to main memory speed.
        However, statistically, most accesses are reads and most of
        these will be satisfied from the cache.  Write-through is
        simpler than write-back because an entry that is to be
        replaced can just be overwritten in the cache as it will
        already have been copied to main memory whereas write-back
        requires the cache to initiate a main memory write of the
        flushed entry followed (for a processor read) by a main memory
        read.  However, write-back is more efficient because an entry
        may be written many times in the cache without a main memory
        access.
     
        When the cache is full and it is desired to cache another line
        of data then a cache entry is selected to be written back to
        main memory or "flushed".  The new line is then put in its
        place.  Which entry is chosen to be flushed is determined by a
        "{replacement algorithm}".
     
        Some processors have separate instruction and data caches.
        Both can be active at the same time, allowing an instruction
        fetch to overlap with a data read or write.  This separation
        also avoids the possibility of bad {cache conflict} between
        say the instructions in a loop and some data in an array which
        is accessed by that loop.
     
        See also {direct mapped cache}, {fully associative cache},
        {sector mapping}, {set associative cache}.
     
        (1997-06-25)