Comment #35 on issue 6688 by bekkra: Allow the user to set the disk cache location independently of the profile http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=6688
I am thinking of the general issue of separation between data types. Separation of data types based on source is a very new idea in the Windows world ( remember when app apps stored everything in their installation directory ? ) while the Unix-like systems at least separated "user owned" data from "system owned", since they had been built for multi-user operation from the ground. Our thinking could be to separate the application data depending on several properties. The cache is user-specific, since it is created in the context of the user. Even though the user owns the files, she is not interested in the cache, but the *performance* that it provides. This makes the cache into *application* data, which very well may be viewed as "installation" specific. Windows has the "Local storage" idea for this. In contrast, the user's settings is typically something that should not change just because the user's files move around, so those need be in the "Roaming" profile. Cookies can initially be regarded as a for of cache, but further thinking highlights a major difference. Many cookies contain information to help the user in navigation (even log in), in which case the cookies are more like "preferences" or "history", rather than "cache". This calls for a cookie storage policy of "Roaming". Imagine now that the user has limited storage for personal files. Imagine further that the user has his personal files synchronized with a server. Browser caches take space. What if our user has 40 MB total storage allowed in her profile ? Easy, you say: move the entire browser profile ! But the "Local" storage is not important to save, as opposed to the "Roaming" storage, which contains data that defines the user's work points. Copying the cache to, say, a local place on the hardware allows the user's settings - and with them, the Chromium preferences - to be copied along between different installations, while saving the time to copy unimportant files. Even if most of the above apply to corporate users ( don't we use the Enterprise tag for this ? ) even home use is easier when the low priority data in the cache is moved off-profile. The profile can be backed up with no loss to the user, resulting in smaller backup archives that help performance ( less stolen time for comparisons, compression, encryption and copy ). I can see that the user may lose the cache (by accident, managed updates, or by moving to a different machine), but still have her preferences and site specific data synchronized (or backed up). So yes, my view is still that the cookies and the cache represent two very different kinds of data that we may use - or allow - different storage policies for. // -- You received this message because you are listed in the owner or CC fields of this issue, or because you starred this issue. You may adjust your issue notification preferences at: http://code.google.com/hosting/settings --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Automated mail from issue updates at http://crbug.com/ Subscription options: http://groups.google.com/group/chromium-bugs -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
