alfresco-community-repo/source/java/org/alfresco/repo/cache/lookup/EntityLookupCache.java

/*
 * Copyright (C) 2005-2010 Alfresco Software Limited.
 *
 * This file is part of Alfresco
 *
 * Alfresco is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
 * it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by
 * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
 * (at your option) any later version.
 *
 * Alfresco is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
 * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
 * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
 * GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.
 *
 * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
 * along with Alfresco. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 */
package org.alfresco.repo.cache.lookup;

import java.io.Serializable;

import org.alfresco.repo.cache.SimpleCache;
import org.alfresco.repo.transaction.RetryingTransactionHelper;
import org.alfresco.util.Pair;
import org.springframework.extensions.surf.util.ParameterCheck;
import org.springframework.dao.ConcurrencyFailureException;

/**
 * A cache for two-way lookups of database entities.  These are characterized by having a unique
 * key (perhaps a database ID) and a separate unique key that identifies the object.  If no cache
 * is given, then all calls are passed through to the backing DAO.
 * <p>
 * The keys must have good <code>equals</code> and </code>hashCode</code> implementations and
 * must respect the case-sensitivity of the use-case.
 * <p>
 * All keys will be unique to the given cache region, allowing the cache to be shared
 * between instances of this class.
 * <p>
 * Generics:
 * <ul>
 *   <li>K:  The database unique identifier.</li>
 *   <li>V:  The value stored against K.</li>
 *   <li>VK: The a value-derived key that will be used as a cache key when caching K for lookups by V.
 *           This can be the value itself if it is itself a good key.</li>
 * </ul>
 * 
 * @author Derek Hulley
 * @since 3.2
 */
public class EntityLookupCache<K extends Serializable, V extends Object, VK extends Serializable>
{
    /**
     * Interface to support lookups of the entities using keys and values.
     */
    public static interface EntityLookupCallbackDAO<K1 extends Serializable, V1 extends Object, VK1 extends Serializable>
    {
        /**
         * Resolve the given value into a unique value key that can be used to find the entity's ID.
         * A return value should be small and efficient; don't return a value if this is not possible.
         * <p/>
         * Implementations will often return the value itself, provided that the value is both
         * serializable and has a good <code>equals</code> and <code>hashCode</code>.
         * <p/>
         * Were no adequate key can be generated for the value, then <tt>null</tt> can be returned.
         * In this case, the {@link #findByValue(Object) findByValue} method might not even do a search
         * and just return <tt>null</tt> itself  i.e. if it is difficult to look the value up in storage
         * then it is probably difficult to generate a cache key from it, too..  In this scenario, the
         * cache will be purely for key-based lookups 
         * 
         * @param value         the full value being keyed (never <tt>null</tt>)
         * @return              Returns the business key representing the entity, or <tt>null</tt>
         *                      if an economical key cannot be generated.
         */
        VK1 getValueKey(V1 value);
        
        /**
         * Find an entity for a given key.
         * 
         * @param key           the key (ID) used to identify the entity (never <tt>null</tt>)
         * @return              Return the entity or <tt>null</tt> if no entity is exists for the ID
         */
        Pair<K1, V1> findByKey(K1 key);
        
        /**
         * Find and entity using the given value key.  The <code>equals</code> and <code>hashCode</code>
         * methods of the value object should respect case-sensitivity in the same way that this
         * lookup treats case-sensitivity i.e. if the <code>equals</code> method is <b>case-sensitive</b>
         * then this method should look the entity up using a <b>case-sensitive</b> search.
         * <p/>
         * Since this is a cache backed by some sort of database, <tt>null</tt> values are allowed by the
         * cache.  The implementation of this method can throw an exception if <tt>null</tt> is not
         * appropriate for the use-case.
         * <p/>
         * If the search is impossible or expensive, this method should just return <tt>null</tt>.  This
         * would usually be the case if the {@link #getValueKey(Object) getValueKey} method also returned
         * <tt>null</tt> i.e. if it is difficult to look the value up in storage then it is probably
         * difficult to generate a cache key from it, too.
         * 
         * @param value         the value (business object) used to identify the entity (<tt>null</tt> allowed).
         * @return              Return the entity or <tt>null</tt> if no entity matches the given value
         */
        Pair<K1, V1> findByValue(V1 value);
        
        /**
         * Create an entity using the given values.  It is valid to assume that the entity does not exist
         * within the current transaction at least.
         * <p/>
         * Since persistence mechanisms often allow <tt>null</tt> values, these can be expected here.  The
         * implementation  must throw an exception if <tt>null</tt> is not allowed for the specific use-case.
         * 
         * @param value         the value (business object) used to identify the entity (<tt>null</tt> allowed).
         * @return              Return the newly-created entity ID-value pair
         */
        Pair<K1, V1> createValue(V1 value);
        
        /**
         * Update the entity identified by the given key.
         * <p/>
         * It is up to the client code to decide if a <tt>0</tt> return value indicates a concurrency violation
         * or not.
         * 
         * @param key           the existing key (ID) used to identify the entity (never <tt>null</tt>)
         * @param value         the new value
         * @return              Returns the row update count.
         * @throws UnsupportedOperationException if entity updates are not supported
         */
        int updateValue(K1 key, V1 value);
        
        /**
         * Delete an entity for the given key.
         * <p/>
         * It is up to the client code to decide if a <tt>0</tt> return value indicates a concurrency violation
         * or not.
         *  
         * @param key           the key (ID) used to identify the entity (never <tt>null</tt>)
         * @return              Returns the row deletion count.
         * @throws UnsupportedOperationException if entity deletion is not supported
         */
        int deleteByKey(K1 key);
        
        /**
         * Delete an entity for the given value.
         * <p/>
         * It is up to the client code to decide if a <tt>0</tt> return value indicates a concurrency violation
         * or not.
         * 
         * @param value         the value (business object) used to identify the enitity (<tt>null</tt> allowed)
         * @return              Returns the row deletion count.
         * @throws UnsupportedOperationException if entity deletion is not supported
         */
        int deleteByValue(V1 value);
    }
    
    /**
     * Adaptor for implementations that support immutable entities.  The update and delete operations
     * throw {@link UnsupportedOperationException}.
     * 
     * @author Derek Hulley
     * @since 3.2
     */
    public static abstract class EntityLookupCallbackDAOAdaptor<K2 extends Serializable, V2 extends Object, VK2 extends Serializable>
            implements EntityLookupCallbackDAO<K2, V2, VK2>
    {
        /**
         * This implementation never finds a value and is backed by {@link #getValueKey(Object)} returning nothing.
         * 
         * @return          Returns <tt>null</tt> always
         */
        public Pair<K2, V2> findByValue(V2 value)
        {
            return null;
        }

        /**
         * This implementation does not find by value and is backed by {@link #findByValue(Object)} returning nothing.
         * 
         * @return          Returns <tt>null</tt> always
         */
        public VK2 getValueKey(V2 value)
        {
            return null;
        }

        /**
         * Disallows the operation.
         * 
         * @throws UnsupportedOperationException        always
         */
        public int updateValue(K2 key, V2 value)
        {
            throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
        }

        /**
         * Disallows the operation.
         * 
         * @throws UnsupportedOperationException        always
         */
        public int deleteByKey(K2 key)
        {
            throw new UnsupportedOperationException("Entity deletion by key is not supported");
        }
        
        /**
         * Disallows the operation.
         * 
         * @throws UnsupportedOperationException        always
         */
        public int deleteByValue(V2 value)
        {
            throw new UnsupportedOperationException("Entity deletion by value is not supported");
        }
    }
    
    /**
     * A valid <code>null</code> value i.e. a value that has been <u>persisted</u> as null.
     */
    private static final Serializable VALUE_NULL = "@@VALUE_NULL@@";
    /**
     * A value that was not found or persisted.
     */
    private static final Serializable VALUE_NOT_FOUND = "@@VALUE_NOT_FOUND@@";
    /**
     * The cache region that will be used (see {@link CacheRegionKey}) in all the cache keys
     */
    private static final String CACHE_REGION_DEFAULT = "DEFAULT";
    
    private final SimpleCache<Serializable, Object> cache;
    private final EntityLookupCallbackDAO<K, V, VK> entityLookup;
    private final String cacheRegion;

    /**
     * Construct the lookup cache <b>without any cache</b>.  All calls are passed directly to the
     * underlying DAO entity lookup.
     * 
     * @param entityLookup          the instance that is able to find and persist entities
     */
    public EntityLookupCache(EntityLookupCallbackDAO<K, V, VK> entityLookup)
    {
        this(null, CACHE_REGION_DEFAULT, entityLookup);
    }
    
    /**
     * Construct the lookup cache, using the {@link #CACHE_REGION_DEFAULT default cache region}.
     * 
     * @param cache                 the cache that will back the two-way lookups
     * @param entityLookup          the instance that is able to find and persist entities
     */
    @SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
    public EntityLookupCache(SimpleCache cache, EntityLookupCallbackDAO<K, V, VK> entityLookup)
    {
        this(cache, CACHE_REGION_DEFAULT, entityLookup);
    }
    
    /**
     * Construct the lookup cache, using the given cache region.
     * <p>
     * All keys will be unique to the given cache region, allowing the cache to be shared
     * between instances of this class.
     * 
     * @param cache                 the cache that will back the two-way lookups; <tt>null</tt> to have no backing
     *                              in a cache.
     * @param cacheRegion           the region within the cache to use.
     * @param entityLookup          the instance that is able to find and persist entities
     */
    @SuppressWarnings({ "rawtypes", "unchecked" })
    public EntityLookupCache(SimpleCache cache, String cacheRegion, EntityLookupCallbackDAO<K, V, VK> entityLookup)
    {
        ParameterCheck.mandatory("cacheRegion", cacheRegion);
        ParameterCheck.mandatory("entityLookup", entityLookup);
        this.cache = cache;
        this.cacheRegion = cacheRegion;
        this.entityLookup = entityLookup;
    }
    
    /**
     * Find the entity associated with the given key.
     * The {@link EntityLookupCallbackDAO#findByKey(Serializable) entity callback} will be used if necessary.
     * <p/>
     * It is up to the client code to decide if a <tt>null</tt> return value indicates a concurrency violation
     * or not; the former would normally result in a concurrency-related exception such as
     * {@link ConcurrencyFailureException}.
     * 
     * @param key                   The entity key, which may be valid or invalid (<tt>null</tt> not allowed)
     * @return                      Returns the key-value pair or <tt>null</tt> if the key doesn't reference an entity
     */
    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
    public Pair<K, V> getByKey(K key)
    {
        if (key == null)
        {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("An entity lookup key may not be null");
        }
        // Handle missing cache
        if (cache == null)
        {
            return entityLookup.findByKey(key);
        }
        
        CacheRegionKey keyCacheKey = new CacheRegionKey(cacheRegion, key);
        // Look in the cache
        V value = (V) cache.get(keyCacheKey);
        if (value != null)
        {
            if (value.equals(VALUE_NOT_FOUND))
            {
                // We checked before
                return null;
            }
            else if (value.equals(VALUE_NULL))
            {
                return new Pair<K, V>(key, null);
            }
            else
            {
                return new Pair<K, V>(key, value);
            }
        }
        // Resolve it
        Pair<K, V> entityPair = entityLookup.findByKey(key);
        if (entityPair == null)
        {
            // Cache "not found"
            cache.put(keyCacheKey, VALUE_NOT_FOUND);
        }
        else
        {
            value = entityPair.getSecond();
            // Get the value key
            VK valueKey = (value == null) ? (VK)VALUE_NULL : entityLookup.getValueKey(value);
            // Check if the value has a good key
            if (valueKey != null)
            {
                CacheRegionValueKey valueCacheKey = new CacheRegionValueKey(cacheRegion, valueKey);
                // The key is good, so we can cache the value
                cache.put(valueCacheKey, key);
            }
            cache.put(
                    keyCacheKey,
                    (value == null ? VALUE_NULL : value));
        }
        // Done
        return entityPair;
    }
    
    /**
     * Find the entity associated with the given value.
     * The {@link EntityLookupCallbackDAO#findByValue(Object) entity callback} will be used if no entry exists in the cache.
     * <p/>
     * It is up to the client code to decide if a <tt>null</tt> return value indicates a concurrency violation
     * or not; the former would normally result in a concurrency-related exception such as
     * {@link ConcurrencyFailureException}.
     * 
     * @param value                 The entity value, which may be valid or invalid (<tt>null</tt> is allowed)
     * @return                      Returns the key-value pair or <tt>null</tt> if the value doesn't reference an entity
     */
    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
    public Pair<K, V> getByValue(V value)
    {
        // Handle missing cache
        if (cache == null)
        {
            return entityLookup.findByValue(value);
        }
        
        // Get the value key.
        // The cast to (VK) is counter-intuitive, but works because they're all just Serializable
        // It's nasty, but hidden from the cache client code.
        VK valueKey = (value == null) ? (VK)VALUE_NULL : entityLookup.getValueKey(value);
        // Check if the value has a good key
        if (valueKey == null)
        {
            return entityLookup.findByValue(value);
        }
        
        // Look in the cache
        CacheRegionValueKey valueCacheKey = new CacheRegionValueKey(cacheRegion, valueKey);
        K key = (K) cache.get(valueCacheKey);
        // Check if we have looked this up already
        if (key != null)
        {
            // We checked before and ...
            if (key.equals(VALUE_NOT_FOUND))
            {
                // ... it didn't exist
                return null;
            }
            else
            {
                // ... it did exist
                return getByKey(key);
            }
        }
        // Resolve it
        Pair<K, V> entityPair = entityLookup.findByValue(value);
        if (entityPair == null)
        {
            // Cache "not found"
            cache.put(valueCacheKey, VALUE_NOT_FOUND);
        }
        else
        {
            key = entityPair.getFirst();
            // Cache the key
            cache.put(valueCacheKey, key);
            cache.put(
                    new CacheRegionKey(cacheRegion, key),
                    (entityPair.getSecond() == null ? VALUE_NULL : entityPair.getSecond()));
        }
        // Done
        return entityPair;
    }
    
    /**
     * Find the entity associated with the given value and create it if it doesn't exist.
     * The {@link EntityLookupCallbackDAO#findByValue(Object)} and {@link EntityLookupCallbackDAO#createValue(Object)}
     * will be used if necessary.
     * 
     * @param value                 The entity value (<tt>null</tt> is allowed)
     * @return                      Returns the key-value pair (new or existing and never <tt>null</tt>)
     */
    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
    public Pair<K, V> getOrCreateByValue(V value)
    {
        // Handle missing cache
        if (cache == null)
        {
            Pair<K, V> entityPair = entityLookup.findByValue(value);
            if (entityPair == null)
            {
                entityPair = entityLookup.createValue(value);
            }
            return entityPair;
        }
        
        // Get the value key
        // The cast to (VK) is counter-intuitive, but works because they're all just Serializable.
        // It's nasty, but hidden from the cache client code.
        VK valueKey = (value == null) ? (VK)VALUE_NULL : entityLookup.getValueKey(value);
        // Check if the value has a good key
        if (valueKey == null)
        {
            Pair<K, V> entityPair = entityLookup.findByValue(value);
            if (entityPair == null)
            {
                entityPair = entityLookup.createValue(value);
                // Cache the value
                cache.put(
                        new CacheRegionKey(cacheRegion, entityPair.getFirst()),
                        (entityPair.getSecond() == null ? VALUE_NULL : entityPair.getSecond()));
            }
            return entityPair;
        }
        
        // Look in the cache
        CacheRegionValueKey valueCacheKey = new CacheRegionValueKey(cacheRegion, valueKey);
        K key = (K) cache.get(valueCacheKey);
        // Check if the value is already mapped to a key
        if (key != null && !key.equals(VALUE_NOT_FOUND))
        {
            return new Pair<K, V>(key, value);
        }
        // Resolve it
        Pair<K, V> entityPair = entityLookup.findByValue(value);
        if (entityPair == null)
        {
            // Create it
            entityPair = entityLookup.createValue(value);
        }
        key = entityPair.getFirst();
        // Cache the key and value
        cache.put(valueCacheKey, key);
        cache.put(
                new CacheRegionKey(cacheRegion, key),
                (value == null ? VALUE_NULL : value));
        // Done
        return entityPair;
    }
    
    /**
     * Update the entity associated with the given key.
     * The {@link EntityLookupCallbackDAO#updateValue(Serializable, Object)} callback
     * will be used if necessary.
     * <p/>
     * It is up to the client code to decide if a <tt>0</tt> return value indicates a concurrency violation
     * or not; usually the former will generate {@link ConcurrencyFailureException} or something recognised
     * by the {@link RetryingTransactionHelper#RETRY_EXCEPTIONS RetryingTransactionHelper}.
     * 
     * @param key                   The entity key, which may be valid or invalid (<tt>null</tt> not allowed)
     * @param value                 The new entity value (may be <tt>null</tt>)
     * @return                      Returns the row update count.
     */
    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
    public int updateValue(K key, V value)
    {
        // Handle missing cache
        if (cache == null)
        {
            return entityLookup.updateValue(key, value);
        }
        
        // Remove entries for the key (bidirectional removal removes the old value as well)
        // but leave the key as it will get updated
        removeByKey(key, false);
        
        // Do the update
        int updateCount = entityLookup.updateValue(key, value);
        if (updateCount == 0)
        {
            // Nothing was done
            return updateCount;
        }
        
        // Get the value key.
        VK valueKey = (value == null) ? (VK)VALUE_NULL : entityLookup.getValueKey(value);
        // Check if the value has a good key
        if (valueKey != null)
        {
            // There is a good value key, cache by value
            CacheRegionValueKey valueCacheKey = new CacheRegionValueKey(cacheRegion, valueKey);
            cache.put(valueCacheKey, key);
        }
        // Cache by key
        cache.put(
                new CacheRegionKey(cacheRegion, key),
                (value == null ? VALUE_NULL : value));
        // Done
        return updateCount;
    }
    
    /**
     * Cache-only operation: Get the key for a given value key (note: not 'value' but 'value key').
     * 
     * @param value                 The entity value key, which must be valid (<tt>null</tt> not allowed)
     * @return                      The entity key (may be <tt>null</tt>)
     */
    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
    public K getKey(VK valueKey)
    {
        // There is a good value key, cache by value
        CacheRegionValueKey valueCacheKey = new CacheRegionValueKey(cacheRegion, valueKey);
        K key = (K) cache.get(valueCacheKey);
        // Check if we have looked this up already
        if (key != null && key.equals(VALUE_NOT_FOUND))
        {
            key = null;
        }
        return key;
    }
    
    /**
     * Cache-only operation: Get the value for a given key
     * 
     * @param key                   The entity key, which may be valid or invalid (<tt>null</tt> not allowed)
     * @return                      The entity value (may be <tt>null</tt>)
     */
    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
    public V getValue(K key)
    {
        CacheRegionKey keyCacheKey = new CacheRegionKey(cacheRegion, key);
        // Look in the cache
        V value = (V) cache.get(keyCacheKey);
        if (value == null)
        {
            return null;
        }
        else if (value.equals(VALUE_NOT_FOUND))
        {
            // We checked before
            return null;
        }
        else if (value.equals(VALUE_NULL))
        {
            return null;
        }
        else
        {
            return value;
        }
    }
    
    /**
     * Cache-only operation: Update the cache's value
     * 
     * @param key                   The entity key, which may be valid or invalid (<tt>null</tt> not allowed)
     * @param value                 The new entity value (may be <tt>null</tt>)
     */
    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
    public void setValue(K key, V value)
    {
        // Handle missing cache
        if (cache == null)
        {
            return;
        }
        
        // Remove entries for the key (bidirectional removal removes the old value as well)
        // but leave the key as it will get updated
        removeByKey(key, false);
        
        // Get the value key.
        VK valueKey = (value == null) ? (VK)VALUE_NULL : entityLookup.getValueKey(value);
        // Check if the value has a good key
        if (valueKey != null)
        {
            // There is a good value key, cache by value
            CacheRegionValueKey valueCacheKey = new CacheRegionValueKey(cacheRegion, valueKey);
            cache.put(valueCacheKey, key);
        }
        // Cache by key
        cache.put(
                new CacheRegionKey(cacheRegion, key),
                (value == null ? VALUE_NULL : value));
        // Done
    }
    
    /**
     * Delete the entity associated with the given key.
     * The {@link EntityLookupCallbackDAO#deleteByKey(Serializable)} callback will be used if necessary.
     * <p/>
     * It is up to the client code to decide if a <tt>0</tt> return value indicates a concurrency violation
     * or not; usually the former will generate {@link ConcurrencyFailureException} or something recognised
     * by the {@link RetryingTransactionHelper#RETRY_EXCEPTIONS RetryingTransactionHelper}.
     * 
     * @param key                   the entity key, which may be valid or invalid (<tt>null</tt> not allowed)
     * @return                      Returns the row deletion count
     */
    public int deleteByKey(K key)
    {
        // Handle missing cache
        if (cache == null)
        {
            return entityLookup.deleteByKey(key);
        }
        
        // Remove entries for the key (bidirectional removal removes the old value as well)
        removeByKey(key);
        
        // Do the delete
        return entityLookup.deleteByKey(key);
    }
    
    /**
     * Delete the entity having the given value..
     * The {@link EntityLookupCallbackDAO#deleteByValue(Object)} callback will be used if necessary.
     * <p/>
     * It is up to the client code to decide if a <tt>0</tt> return value indicates a concurrency violation
     * or not; usually the former will generate {@link ConcurrencyFailureException} or something recognised
     * by the {@link RetryingTransactionHelper#RETRY_EXCEPTIONS RetryingTransactionHelper}.
     * 
     * @param key                   the entity value, which may be valid or invalid (<tt>null</tt> allowed)
     * @return                      Returns the row deletion count
     */
    public int deleteByValue(V value)
    {
        // Handle missing cache
        if (cache == null)
        {
            return entityLookup.deleteByValue(value);
        }
        
        // Remove entries for the value
        removeByValue(value);
        
        // Do the delete
        return entityLookup.deleteByValue(value);
    }
    
    /**
     * Cache-only operation: Remove all cache values associated with the given key.
     */
    public void removeByKey(K key)
    {
        // Handle missing cache
        if (cache == null)
        {
            return;
        }
        
        removeByKey(key, true);
    }
    
    /**
     * Cache-only operation: Remove all cache values associated with the given key.
     * 
     * @param removeKey             <tt>true</tt> to remove the given key's entry
     */
    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
    private void removeByKey(K key, boolean removeKey)
    {
        CacheRegionKey keyCacheKey = new CacheRegionKey(cacheRegion, key);
        V value = (V) cache.get(keyCacheKey);
        if (value != null && !value.equals(VALUE_NOT_FOUND))
        {
            // Get the value key and remove it
            VK valueKey = entityLookup.getValueKey(value);
            if (valueKey != null)
            {
                CacheRegionValueKey valueCacheKey = new CacheRegionValueKey(cacheRegion, valueKey);
                cache.remove(valueCacheKey);
            }
        }
        if (removeKey)
        {
            cache.remove(keyCacheKey);
        }
    }
    
    /**
     * Cache-only operation: Remove all cache values associated with the given value
     * 
     * @param value                 The entity value (<tt>null</tt> is allowed)
     */
    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
    public void removeByValue(V value)
    {
        // Handle missing cache
        if (cache == null)
        {
            return;
        }
        
        // Get the value key
        VK valueKey = (value == null) ? (VK)VALUE_NULL : entityLookup.getValueKey(value);
        if (valueKey == null)
        {
            // No key generated for the value.  There is nothing that can be done.
            return;
        }
        // Look in the cache
        CacheRegionValueKey valueCacheKey = new CacheRegionValueKey(cacheRegion, valueKey);
        K key = (K) cache.get(valueCacheKey);
        // Check if the value is already mapped to a key
        if (key != null && !key.equals(VALUE_NOT_FOUND))
        {
            CacheRegionKey keyCacheKey = new CacheRegionKey(cacheRegion, key);
            cache.remove(keyCacheKey);
        }
        cache.remove(valueCacheKey);
    }
    
    /**
     * Cache-only operation: Remove all cache entries
     * <p/>
     * <b>NOTE:</b> This operation removes ALL entries for ALL cache regions.
     */
    public void clear()
    {
        // Handle missing cache
        if (cache == null)
        {
            return;
        }
        cache.clear();
    }
    
    /**
     * Key-wrapper used to separate cache regions, allowing a single cache to be used for different
     * purposes.<b/>
     * This class is distinct from the ID key so that ID-based lookups don't class with value-based lookups. 
     */
    private static class CacheRegionKey implements Serializable
    {
        private static final long serialVersionUID = -213050301938804468L;

        private final String cacheRegion;
        private final Serializable cacheKey;
        private final int hashCode;
        private CacheRegionKey(String cacheRegion, Serializable cacheKey)
        {
            this.cacheRegion = cacheRegion;
            this.cacheKey = cacheKey;
            this.hashCode = cacheRegion.hashCode() + cacheKey.hashCode();
        }
        @Override
        public String toString()
        {
            return cacheRegion + "." + cacheKey.toString();
        }
        @Override
        public boolean equals(Object obj)
        {
            if (this == obj)
            {
                return true;
            }
            else if (!(obj instanceof CacheRegionKey))
            {
                return false;
            }
            CacheRegionKey that = (CacheRegionKey) obj;
            return this.cacheRegion.equals(that.cacheRegion) && this.cacheKey.equals(that.cacheKey);
        }
        @Override
        public int hashCode()
        {
            return hashCode;
        }
    }
    
    /**
     * Value-key-wrapper used to separate cache regions, allowing a single cache to be used for different
     * purposes.<b/>
     * This class is distinct from the region key so that ID-based lookups don't class with value-based lookups. 
     */
    private static class CacheRegionValueKey implements Serializable
    {
        private static final long serialVersionUID = 5838308035326617927L;
        
        private final String cacheRegion;
        private final Serializable cacheValueKey;
        private final int hashCode;
        private CacheRegionValueKey(String cacheRegion, Serializable cacheValueKey)
        {
            this.cacheRegion = cacheRegion;
            this.cacheValueKey = cacheValueKey;
            this.hashCode = cacheRegion.hashCode() + cacheValueKey.hashCode();
        }
        @Override
        public String toString()
        {
            return cacheRegion + "." + cacheValueKey.toString();
        }
        @Override
        public boolean equals(Object obj)
        {
            if (this == obj)
            {
                return true;
            }
            else if (!(obj instanceof CacheRegionValueKey))
            {
                return false;
            }
            CacheRegionValueKey that = (CacheRegionValueKey) obj;
            return this.cacheRegion.equals(that.cacheRegion) && this.cacheValueKey.equals(that.cacheValueKey);
        }
        @Override
        public int hashCode()
        {
            return hashCode;
        }
    }
}