Template File Caching System

This module provides a robust file caching system for template files, ensuring that template files remain accessible even if the original source is removed or changed.

Features

• Caches template files in a central location
• Maintains metadata about cached files including original paths
• Provides statistics about cache usage
• Configurable cache settings (size limits, age limits, etc.)
• Automatic cache pruning to remove old or unused files
• Supports binary and text files
• Handles nested directory structures

Components

FileCacheManager

The FileCacheManager class provides the core functionality for caching files:

• Caching files with their original paths
• Retrieving cached files
• Managing cache metadata
• Providing cache statistics
• Pruning the cache based on age and size

CachePreferences

The CachePreferences class manages user preferences for the caching system:

• Enable/disable caching
• Maximum cache size
• Maximum cache age
• Cache location
• Automatic cache cleaning

Integration

The file caching system is integrated with:

1. Structure Editor - When adding files to the template structure, the original file paths are stored and files are cached
2. Structure Converter - When exporting the structure to JSON, file paths are included
3. Project Builder - When creating a project, actual files are copied from the cache instead of creating empty files

Testing

Use the test_file_caching.py script to test the file caching functionality:

python test_file_caching.py

The test script provides a GUI for testing various aspects of the file caching system:

• Creating test files
• Caching files
• Viewing cache statistics
• Creating a project from cached files
• Cleaning up test files

Usage Example

from app.utils.file_cache_manager import FileCacheManager
from app.utils.cache_preferences import CachePreferences

# Check if caching is enabled
prefs = CachePreferences()
if prefs.should_cache_files():
    # Get cache location
    cache_location = prefs.get_cache_location()
    
    # Create cache manager
    cache_manager = FileCacheManager(cache_location)
    
    # Cache a file
    result = cache_manager.cache_file(
        file_path="/path/to/file.txt",
        template_name="MyTemplate",
        relative_path="folder"
    )
    
    # Get cached file path
    cached_file = cache_manager.get_cached_file(
        template_name="MyTemplate",
        original_path="/path/to/file.txt"
    )
    
    # Use cached file path
    if cached_file:
        print(f"Cached file: {cached_file['cache_path']}")