concept

Time To Live (TTL)

Time To Live (TTL) is a mechanism used in computer networking and data storage to limit the lifespan or validity of data. It specifies a time period after which data should be discarded, expired, or considered invalid, preventing stale or outdated information from persisting indefinitely. TTL is commonly implemented as a counter or timestamp that decrements or expires over time.

Also known as: TTL, Time-to-Live, Expiration Time, Lifetime, Hop Limit

🧊Why learn Time To Live (TTL)?

Developers should learn and use TTL to manage data freshness, reduce resource usage, and improve system performance in scenarios like caching, DNS records, and message queues. It's essential for preventing cache poisoning, controlling data retention in distributed systems, and ensuring efficient network routing by automatically removing outdated entries.