Improving HTTP performance with transient caching

In this section, we will take a look at the fundamentals of client-side caching and learn about ways to improve the communication line between the client application and web APIs on the server infrastructure. We will expand on the topic of transient caching using client cache aside and ETags, as well as request-specific caching using key/value stores.

In Chapter 11, Fluid Applications with Asynchronous Patterns, the client application held a direct asynchronous service communication line with the service infrastructure. This way, the mobile application would load fresh data that was required to display a certain view on every view-model creation. While this provides an up-to-date context for the application, it might not be the most desirable experience for the user since, when we're dealing with mobile applications, we would need to account for bandwidth and network speed issues.

When developing a mobile application, it...