Ways to stop your Browser from Caching

Developing a Facebook app has been my recent project. One thing that really bothers me is the random occurrences where changes I make to my CSS style sheet or when adding a new Javascript function do not reflect in the browser. This can be very frustrating as it hinders me from seeing the updates I have just made.

For instance, I modified my CSS style sheet to shift img1 from 100px to 50px. However, in Firefox/Chrome, the image remains in its original position without any movement.

I also introduced a new javascript function, a(), into one of my scripts. Yet, the browser's console keeps indicating that a() is not defined. Despite thoroughly reviewing the code multiple times, I cannot identify any errors.

If anyone could provide insight into what may be causing this issue and how to resolve it, I would greatly appreciate it.

Just for reference, I am using my Mac as the hosting server.

Thank you

javascriptbrowser

Answer №1

To prevent caching of certain files, consider adding a timestamp or other unique string to the filename. This can be included in the actual file name or as a GET parameter:

<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" 
      href="http://cdn.sstatic.net/stackoverflow/all.css?v=4fd8a9d8937d">

Depending on the server-side scripting language you are using, you can implement this technique. For example:

PHP (using filemtime - which returns the modification time of a file):

<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" 
      href="http://cdn.sstatic.net/stackoverflow/your_css_file.css?v=<?php echo filemtime('/your_css_file.css'); ?>">

Ruby (using File.mtime which returns the modification time of a file):

<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" 
      href="http://cdn.sstatic.net/stackoverflow/your_css_file.css?v=<% print File.new("testfile").mtime.to_time.to_i('/your_css_file.css'); %>">

By utilizing the file's modification time in this manner, users will only need to download the file again if it has been modified.

Answer №2

One way to ensure your JS/CSS files are always up-to-date is by adding a timestamp as a parameter. Here's an example of how you can achieve this:

<link rel="stylesheet" href="css/screen.css?<?php echo time(); ?>" media="all" 
type="text/css" />

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