How can I manage caching with Memcached in a PHP/Laravel application?

Below are some examples of how you can store, retrieve, delete, and flush cache items using Memcached in Laravel. Ensure that you've installed the Memcached PECL extension and configured your memcached settings in your config/cache.php file.

Storing Data in Memcached

You can store data using the Cache facade. For example, to store a key named "foo" with the value "bar" for 10 minutes (600 seconds):

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use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Cache;

// Store using the default Memcached store (assuming it is set as the memcached driver)
Cache::store('memcached')->put('foo', 'bar', 600);

Retrieving Stored Data

Once the data is stored, you can retrieve it with the get method:

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$value = Cache::store('memcached')->get('foo');

// $value will be 'bar' if the key exists or null if it doesn't

Deleting a Specific Cache Item

To remove a specific cache item, use the forget method:

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Cache::store('memcached')->forget('foo');

Flushing the Entire Cache

If needed, you can clear all cache entries using the flush method:

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Cache::store('memcached')->flush();

These examples assume that your memcached store is properly defined in your application’s cache configuration. If memcached is the default driver, you can omit the store('memcached') method and use the Cache facade directly.

Make sure to adjust your configuration as necessary in your config/cache.php file and check that the appropriate Memcached server settings (host, port, etc.) are provided.