Caching strategy to avoid making additional API calls

Jun 3, 2:55 PM

Offline

Nov 2017

Hello :)

I have just started on an app with a twist on anime discovery that i really enjoy working on. One thing for this app is that im aiming for a responsive user experience. Before I proceed with implementing a key part of its data handling, I want to check that my proposed caching strategy is alright and compliant with the API Terms of Service.

My proposed caching strategy is as follows:

1) Real-time Caching: When my app fetches anime details from the MAL API (e.g., for personalized recommendations or based on user activity), these details would be cached in my app's database.

2) Cache Usage: This cache would be used to serve subsequent requests for the same anime, provided the cached data is less than 24 hours old.

3) Data Refresh: If data is older than 24 hours or not present in the cache, my app makes a fresh API call to MAL to get the latest details. This fresh data then updates the cache entry along with a new timestamp.

4) Background Sync (Cron Job Plan): To support this system and keep frequently accessed/relevant anime data fresh, a daily Cron job would also run. This job would pre-cache or refresh details for certain anime (top 500), always respecting the same 24-hour freshness rule before making any calls to the MAL API for updates.

My goalwith this approach is purely to enhance performance, ensure a snappy UI for users, and reduce redundant API calls for recently fetched data – not to create an offline substitute for MAL's services (not allowed in TOS). I'm committed to ensuring data displayed to users is reasonably up-to-date.

Does this approach, including the real-time caching, the 24-hour refresh cycle before re-fetching from MAL, and the planned daily Cron job for maintenance, seem generally compliant with the API Agreement, especially concerning data freshness and the use of cached data?

Appreciate any guidance you can offer!

Jun 4, 7:41 AM

ZeroCrystal

四十二

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Mar 2016

488

It sounds like a great plan.

★ HTCPCP/1.0 ★ MetaMAL ★ Picture credits: Kieed & 1041uuu

Jun 5, 2:14 AM

Jakuten

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Nov 2017

Reply to ZeroCrystal

It sounds like a great plan.

@ZeroCrystal thank you! Really appreciate the quick reply :)

Jun 8, 11:19 AM

kirbymisa

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Jun 2025

Reply to Jakuten

@ZeroCrystal thank you! Really appreciate the quick reply :)

@Jakuten Did you contact MAL to get permission?

Jun 8, 11:30 AM

Jakuten

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Nov 2017

Reply to kirbymisa

@Jakuten Did you contact MAL to get permission?

@kirbymisa Not yet, I still haven't done much more work on my project and need to research a bit on how to make it work. Before using it I intend to double check directly, but I'll wait untill I'm closer to actually having something as I might have additional questions to ask as well :)

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Caching strategy to avoid making additional API calls

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