Lightweight Java Object cache API

I really like the MapMaker that comes with Google Guava (API)

The JavaDoc has a pretty neat example that demonstrates both its ease of use and its power:

ConcurrentMap<Key, Graph> graphs = new MapMaker()
   .concurrencyLevel(32)
   .softKeys()
   .weakValues()
   .expiration(30, TimeUnit.MINUTES)
   .makeComputingMap(
       new Function<Key, Graph>() {
         public Graph apply(Key key) {
           return createExpensiveGraph(key);
         }
       });

Furthermore, release 10.0 of Guava introduced the much more extensive com.google.common.cache package (there's a nice wiki entry on how to use them).

EHCache is very nice. You can create an in memory cache. Check out their code samples for an example of creating an in memory cache. You can specify a max size, and a time to live.

EHCache does offer some advanced features, but if your not interested in using them - don't. But it's nice to know they are there if your requirements ever change.

Here is an in memory cache. Created in code, with no configuration files.

CacheManager cacheManager = CacheManager.getInstance();
int oneDay = 24 * 60 * 60;
Cache memoryOnlyCache = new Cache("name", 200, false, false, oneDay, oneDay);
cacheManager.addCache(memoryOnlyCache);

Creates a cache that will hold 200 elements, and has a ttl of 24 hours.