Cache and Cookies

Cache and cookies are two different forms of temporary storage kept on client's machine to improve the performance of web pages.

Difference Between Cache and Cookies

What are Cookies?

Cookie is a very small piece of information that is stored on the client’s machine by the web site and is sent back to the server each time a page is requested. Cookies was first introduced by Netscape and in those earlier stages cookies did not receive good acceptance, since rumors said it might hack your personal data. Later people realized that cookies are actually harmless, and now they are highly accepted. Cookies are usually used to store information needed for shorter periods. At the end of this, a cookie becomes expired.

What is Cache?

Cache is a temporary storage of web page resources stored on client’s machine for quicker loading of the web pages. When you open some websites with large pictures and video’s, it might take a considerable amount of time for the website to load. The web browser stores the site contents like the images, videos, audio etc on your computer so the next time you load the same website you will find it loading faster.

What is the difference between Cache and Cookies?

1. Although cookies and cache are two ways to store data on client's machine, they serve different purposes.
2. Cookie is used to store information to track different characteristics related to user, while cache is used to make the loading of web pages faster.
3. Cookies stores information such as user preferences, while cache will keep resource files such as audio, video or flash files.
4. Typically, cookies expire after some time, but cache is kept in the client's machine until they are removed manually by the user.