Using JCache to clear a specific plugin's cached data

Question

Is it possible to use JCache to clear the cached data for a specific plugin or all plugins? I am using a plugin to display an image and text on a page and I have to clear the cache manually for any changes to take effect.

Couldn't find any examples of this in my Google searches or the official documentation.

Answer 1

Without knowing which plugin(s) you're concerned with, here's some code that would get, set and clear a cache for a given item.

$output = '';
$cache = JFactory::getCache('com_something', '');
$cache->setCaching(true);
$cache->setLifeTime(86400);

// See All cached items
echo "<pre>".print_r($cache->getAll(), true)."</pre>";

// Create a Cache ID that works for you :
$cacheid = md5('something'.JFactory::getUser()->id);  // Just an example

// Remove cached output
//$cache->remove($cacheid);

// Get cached output
$output = $cache->get($cacheid);
if (empty($output)) {
    $output = "something I want to cache";
    $cache->store($output, $cacheid);
}

Using the docs at JCache, and echoing the current catched items with $cache->getAll() will look something like this to identify which item(s) you're interested in:

Array
(
    [com_something] => JCacheStorageHelper Object
        (
            [group] => com_something
            [size] => 0.09
            [count] => 2
        )

    [Gantry] => JCacheStorageHelper Object
        (
            [group] => Gantry
            [size] => 332.58
            [count] => 5
        )

    [GantryLess] => JCacheStorageHelper Object
        (
            [group] => GantryLess
            [size] => 354.04
            [count] => 9
        )

    [myplugin] => JCacheStorageHelper Object
        (
            [group] => myplugin
            [size] => 0.09
            [count] => 2
        )

)