org.apache.excalibur.source.SourceValidity org.apache.excalibur.source.impl.validity.AggregatedValidity org.apache.excalibur.source.impl.validity.TimeStampValidity org.apache.cocoon.caching.validity.EventValidity org.apache.cocoon.caching.validity.NamedEvent java.io.Serializable // artificial slowdown to make the effects of the cache visible final int DELAY_SECS = 2; final String DATABASE_TABLE = "user"; /** * Generate the unique key for the cache. * * This key must be unique inside the space of this XSP page, it is used * to find the page contents in the cache (if getValidity says that the * contents are still valid). * * This method will be invoked before the getValidity() method. * * @return The generated key or null if the component * is currently not cacheable. */ public Serializable getKey() { // this page will only render a single view // depending on the database table. Therefore // there is no need to distinguish different // outcomes in the cache. If we were paging // through the result set, those parameters // should be used for the key. return ""; } /** * Generate the validity object, tells the cache how long to * keep contents having this key around. In this case, it will * be until an Event is retrieved matching the NamedEvent created below. * * Before this method can be invoked the getKey() method * will be invoked. * * @return The generated validity object or null if the * component is currently not cacheable. */ public SourceValidity getValidity() { String key = DATABASE_TABLE; // a composite validity is required here since changes to // the source XSP file should invalid the cache as well as // changes to the database table. AggregatedValidity validity = new AggregatedValidity(); // invalidate on external events // multiple events can be added, the cache will be invalidated // when any of those events occur. validity.add(new EventValidity(new NamedEvent(key))); // invalidate on changes to XSP source validity.add(new TimeStampValidity(this.dateCreated)); return validity; } This xsp page is based on (copied from) the event aware cacheable xsp sample. I pause for DELAY_SECS seconds during generation, so that you can tell if I'm being served from the cache or not.
What you see here was generated on new java.util.Date(). I'm cached for a specific database table name: DATABASE_TABLE. Other parameters ie. request parameters do not matter. Unlike other cacheable pages in Cocoon, I can be un-cached by events external to Cocoon - for instance, when a database table or row is updated. I will also be invalidated when the XSP source is modified.
My cache entry will be invalidated (actually, removed) when an event named DATABASE_TABLE occurs. Go to the database samples and modify, insert, or delete a user and check if this page is updated. Test links:

• uncache with action
• uncache with action emitting JMS messages
  This is particularily useful if your DBMS of choice can easily do HTTP requests but hooking on JMS would be difficult. Still you would like to control several Cocoon caches through JMS.
• install HTTP database triggers with HSQLDB
  For the HTTP example triggers, this sample needs to be available at http://localhost:8888/samples/jms/database/eventcache because that location is hard-coded into the trigger. This is usually the case if you have started the provided cocoon.sh resp. cocoon.bat.
• install JMS database triggers with HSQLDB
  For the JMS example triggers, you need to have setup a JMS system, e.g. OpenJMS
• uninstall database triggers

personnel select * from user order by name, firstname, uname, uid Please refer to the event based cache example for more details on the event based cache invalidation. // slowdown page generation. try { Thread.sleep(DELAY_SECS * 1000L); } catch (InterruptedException ie) { // Not much that can be done... }