Why Did Commons Cache Die?

There have been a number of attempts to create a uniform caching API in the last couple of years. None has succeeded.

A fairly known one is JCache which is based on JSR 107 for Java users. JSR 107 has been “in progress” for a few years now…

Another initiative which failed was to “common” the Java cache API. The Commons Cache project has been declared end-of-life after not being able to ramp up.

Failing to create a standard cache API would not have been odd to me and I wouldn’t have spent my free CPU cycles around it, unless thinking of the cache selection process in banks, for instance. It strikes me that maybe there is a need for such an API. Banks, looking to select a data-grid solution, usually go through a very similar process. More than that, they design, implement, and run their “very specific” test harness. At the end of the day, they all look alike and have the exact same methods and semantics.

Would a uniform cache API help these banks execute their exercise and ease their selection process?

Moreover, is such an API needed in our industry?

I have my views and thoughts, but I'm very interested to hear yours before posting those. Feel free to leave a comment or email me to guy dot sayar at gmail dot com.

-Guy