content-hash-cache-pattern

Cache file processing results by computing SHA-256 content hashes to use as cache keys. This approach ensures path-independence and automatically invalidates the cache when file content changes, speeding up repeated processing runs.

Content-hash based caching stores processing results using a file's SHA-256 hash as the key. Use it for pipelines processing PDFs, images, or text where identical inputs reappear across runs, ensuring automatic invalidation on content changes.

Provide a pure extraction function, create a separate cache service layer, and configure a file-based cache directory. Call the extraction with caching enabled, like extract_with_cache(file_path), to automatically compute hashes and store or retrieve results.

Yes, content hash caching works with PDFs, images, and text files. It uses SHA-256 hashes of the file contents as keys, making it applicable to any pipeline where the same file inputs reappear across multiple runs.

Path-based caches return stale data when directories change. Content-hash caching solves this by using SHA-256 content hashes as cache keys, ensuring path-independence and automatically retrieving valid cached results regardless of file location.

Yes, a separate cache service layer is required to handle hash computation and read or write operations to the file-based cache directory. This separation keeps your core extraction functions pure and maintainable.