Evaluating The Performance of Java Application Caches In Web and Database-Driven Applications

Modern web applications face growing challenges in latency, resource usage, and scalability, particularly under high user concurrency. This study evaluates caching strategies for Java-based REST API applications that access data repositories, focusing on both in-memory and distributed in-memory solutions. The approaches are compared using raw performance measurements and a novel evaluation metric to assess their impact on system performance, scalability, and resource efficiency. Results show that no single caching solution is universally superior; instead, each presents distinct trade-offs depending on workload and deployment context. These findings provide practical guidance for developers seeking to optimize response times, reduce system load, and improve overall user experience.