March 24, 2024

Pods Alternative Cache Plugin

Pods Alternative Cache is a file-based or database-based caching solution for hosts that have limitations on object caching.

Pods Alternative Cache provides optimal performance with Pods sites on hosts with no object caching or low limits. It was developed for and tested on the WPEngine platform to improve performance of cached objects generated from Pods, but it works on numerous other hosting providers.

Pods Alternative Cache is a great addition to a site already utilizing Object Caching, it further separates and allows Pods to utilize more consistent persistent caching without affecting other plugins and WordPress caching objects. Especially when utilizing larger configurations, this plugin improves performance by ensuring other necessary objects are not removed by the server to make room for Pods cached objects.

This plugin requires the Pods Framework version 2.4 or later to run.

For more information on how to use this plugin, see https://pods.io/2014/04/16/introducing-pods-alternative-cache/.

Also check out the FAQ below for more details on customizing the configuration through your wp-config.php file.

Contributors

Check out our GitHub for a list of contributors, or search our GitHub issues to see everyone involved in adding features, fixing bugs, or reporting issues/testing.

github.com/pods-framework/pods-alternative-cache/graphs/contributors

Installation

Unpack the entire contents of this plugin zip file into your wp-content/plugins/ folder locally
Upload to your site
Navigate to wp-admin/plugins.php on your site (your WP Admin plugin page)
Activate this plugin

OR you can just install it with WordPress by going to Plugins >> Add New >> and type this plugin’s name

FAQ

Why an Alternative Cache?

Hosts like WPEngine and GoDaddy have limits set on their object caching engine that are based on what they find optimal for their environment. Sometimes, plugins, themes, and even WordPress core can utilize object cache to the point where it gets too full. When that happens, certain caching engines like APC can remove objects from their cache and that can cause what appears to be random numbers of queries on each page load.

What Pods Alternative Cache does is store all of the Pods objects that need caching, separate from the default object caching engine. Depending on the environment or site, this may still not be optimal. You’ll want to test things out and keep an eye on your site’s performance to see if it’s the right fit for you.

What options are available?

In your wp-config.php, or prior to the plugins_loaded action, you can define other constants to change how the plugin works.

Change the storage type (be sure to deactivate/activate between storage type switches):

define( 'PODS_ALT_CACHE_TYPE', 'db' ); // Default is 'file', you can choose 'memcached' too

Change the path to the File cache folder:

define( 'PODS_ALT_FILE_CACHE_DIR', 'path/to/folder' ); // Default is 'wp-content/podscache'

Set Memcached Server host or IP address

define( 'PODS_ALT_CACHE_MEMCACHED_SERVER', '127.0.0.1' ); // Default is 'localhost'

Set Memcached Server PORT number

define( 'PODS_ALT_CACHE_MEMCACHED_PORT', 11211 ); // Default is 11211

Disable Pods Alternative Cache:

define( 'PODS_ALT_CACHE', false ); // Default is true

Disable object cache fallback, when File writes fail:

define( 'PODS_ALT_CACHE_FALLBACK', false ); // Default is true

Changelog

2.2.0 – March 24th, 2024

New requirements that match Pods: WP 6.0+, PHP 7.2+, and Pods 3.0+ (@sc0ttkclark)

2.1.8 – March 24th, 2024

Fixed: Resolved a PHP notices with the storage set method. (@sc0ttkclark)
Fixed: Resolved an issue which was causing the cache group not be utilized properly when setting the fallback value. (@sc0ttkclark)
Fixed: Tested on WP 6.5 and PHP 7.2+. (@sc0ttkclark)

2.1.7 – March 13th, 2023

Fixed: Caught a bug hanging around for a few years that only happened in edge cases — checking if file/directory still exists before trying to delete/remove it. (@sc0ttkclark)

2.1.6 – March 6th, 2023

Fixed: Prevent issue that sometimes happens with persistent object cache fallback when clearing cache for a group. (@sc0ttkclark)

2.1.5 – September 30th, 2022

Fixed: Resolved the PHP warning when setting up the .htaccess file. (@sc0ttkclark)

2.1.4 – September 30th, 2022

Fixed: Work on resolving the PHP warning when setting up the .htaccess file. (@sc0ttkclark)

2.1.3 – March 1st, 2022

Fixed: Ensure that the podscache file directory is excluded from search engine indexing and deny direct browser access on Apache environments.
Fixed: Help resolve potential PHP warnings on certain setups when looking to see if a folder exists and getting files from it.

2.1.2 – September 4th, 2021

Fixed: Now compatible with PHP 8.0+

2.1.1 – August 14th, 2021

Tested against WordPress 5.8 for compatibility

2.1.0 – July 14th, 2020

Added: Now requiring PHP 5.6+
Added: Freemius support when running Pods 2.7.17+
Fixed: SiteGround and other sites that use the domain name in the path no longer cause directory/file writes to fail.

2.0.7 – March 2nd, 2020

Fix DB-based storage value sets (props @Danone89)
Tested against WordPress 5.4 for compatibility

2.0.6 – March 2nd, 2019

Fixed caching issues with fallback cache
Added more tests to improve stability

2.0.5 – November 15th, 2018

Fix PHP notices when handling fallback values

2.0.4 – October 26th, 2018

Added a new object cache fallback for File storage (default alt cache) so if any writes fail it will save them to the normal object cache; You can disable this by setting define( 'PODS_ALT_CACHE_FALLBACK', false );

2.0.3 – October 23rd, 2018

Fixed cases where transients/object cache could be used by Pods before Pods Alt Cache fully loads
Updated WP compatibility version
PHPCS fixes

2.0.2 – June 2nd, 2017

Revamped branding assets
Fixed php notice
Fixed usage of Memcached port to be an integer

2.0.1 – July 13th, 2016

Fixed cache file/folder deleting bug that wouldn’t let Pods clear / preload caches properly
Typo fix (props @szepeviktor)

2.0 – June 23rd, 2016

Added support for a Memcache caching (props @shaer)
Added support for WP_Filesystem usage instead of using PHP directly
Added additional WPEngine compatibility
Refactored into a better OO pattern so the code is easier to use and extend
Added ability to create custom storage types through the pods_alternative_cache_storage_types filter, return $storage_types; where you’ve set $storage_types[ 'your_type' ] = 'Your_Class';
File storage now uses md5-based folder structure to avoid issues on sites with a large amount of cached objects to avoid having folders with too many files in them which could cause issues with certain hosts
Found a bug? Have a great feature idea? Get on GitHub and tell us about it and we’ll get right on it: github.com/pods-framework/pods-alternative-cache/issues/new

1.0 – April 16th, 2014

First official release!