Do fancy MVC URLs affect how caching is done?

Question

When reading some answers to aquestion on clearing cache for JS files, somebody pointed to this part of the http spec. It basically says that URLS containing a ? should not be pulled from the cache, unless a specific expiry date is given. How do query string absent URLs which are so common with MVC websites (RoR, ASP.Net MVC, etc.) get cached, and is the behaviour different then with more traditional query string based urls?

Answer 1

I believe you manage caching in ASP.NET MVC using the OutputCache attribute (on your controller methods).

Answer 2

AFAIK there is no difference on the part of browsers as both Firefox and IE will (incorrectly) cache the response from a url with a querystring, in the same way they cache the response from a url without a querystring. In the case of Safari it respects the spec and doesn't cache urls with querystrings. HTTP proxies tend to be a tad errectic with what they consider cacheable.

It pays to have the headers set correctly and it's worth investigating ETags.