DrupalCon Seattle 2019: The Promises and Pitfalls of Drupal's Cache System

This talk explores the advanced caching improvements introduced in Drupal 8, which enable significant caching for dynamic pages and authenticated users. The speaker provides an overview of Drupal’s caching system, including the differences between anonymous and dynamic page caches, cache bins, and the render cache, as well as essential concepts like cache tags, contexts, and max-age. Best practices for theming and customizing Drupal are discussed, emphasizing common pitfalls to avoid in order to maximize performance and security. The session also covers debugging tools, the use of #lazybuilder callbacks for dynamic content, and strategies for leveraging reverse proxies like Varnish and content delivery networks (CDNs), along with insights into Big Pipe and custom render strategies.