The Lazy Approach: Let Requests Fill Your Cache

Meet Sarah, a librarian who only stocks books that people actually ask for. She doesn't waste space storing books nobody wants. This is lazy population - and it's brilliant!

Here's how lazy cache population works:

1. User asks for blog post #123
2. Cache says: "I don't have it" (Cache Miss)
3. API fetches from <TopicPreview slug="database">database</TopicPreview>
4. API stores copy in cache
5. API returns data to user
6. Next person asking for blog #123 gets instant answer!

Real Example: You're building a blog platform. To show one blog post, you need to:

• Join 4 different database tables
• Fetch author info, tags, comments
• Create a JSON response

This is expensive! But with lazy caching:

• First request: Slow (database work)
• All following requests: Lightning fast (cache hit)

Key Insight: Lazy population is like learning - you only remember what you actually use!