ArcObjects Library Reference (Carto)  

IMapCache Interface

Provides access to Map spatial cache.

Product Availability

Available with ArcGIS Engine, ArcGIS Desktop, and ArcGIS Server.

Members

Description
Read/write property AutoCacheActive Indicates whether the autocache is active.
Method BuildCache Build the spatial cache.
Read-only property Cacheable Indicates whether a map cache can be created.
Read-only property CacheExtent Current cache extent.
Method EmptyCache Empty the map cache.
Read/write property MaxScale The maximum scale for the cache to be built.
Method RefreshAutoCache Refresh the autocache.
Read/write property ScaleLimit Indicates whether there is a scale limit.

CoClasses that implement IMapCache

CoClasses and Classes Description
Map A container for the display and manipulation of map data.

Remarks

IMapCache provides access to the metods and properties used to manage a map's cache.  Map cache is an extension of the earlier Edit Cache concept and is useful in more situations because it works both inside and outside and edit session.

If you're working with data stored in a geodatabase, building the map cache can often speed up common ArcMap tasks. The map cache allows you to temporarily store the features in the current map display extent to your local machine's memory. Because retrieving the features from local memory is a fast operation, using the map cache will often result in performance improvements.

The map cache only stores features in geodatabases, so no data from rasters, coverages, or shapefiles is cached. The map cache is most useful when you will be working within a specific area of a map.

For example, if you are working with data in a multiuser geodatabase that serves features over a network, features in the current extent must be retrieved from the source database each time your display is updated. Building a map cache, however, can reduce the load on your network and the geodatabase since the map accesses this information from your computer's RAM. Since features are cached on the client, it reduces the number of queries the client needs to execute on the server.

Drawing large or complex datasets, labeling, editing, selecting features, retrieving the same features for multiple layers on a map, and drawing features using a definition query are some of the activities that can often benefit from a map cache. Labeling, for example, can be a slow and costly process for the geodatabase, requiring multiple roundtrips to the geodatabase as the label engine attempts to place the maximum number of labels on the map.