How Can I Prevent Browser Image Caching for Dynamically Updated Images?

Overcoming Image Caching for Dynamic Display

When accessing a live image link that serves a different image with each request, users may encounter refresh issues where the updated image is not immediately displayed. This occurs due to browser caching, which stores images locally to enhance performance. To resolve this, one can employ a "cachebreaker" technique to force the browser to disregard the cached image.

In the provided code snippet, where an image with the URL "http://localhost/image.jpg" is being refreshed periodically, the following modification resolves the caching issue:

newImage.src = "http://localhost/image.jpg?" + new Date().getTime();

By appending a cachebreaker to the end of the URL, the browser is tricked into recognizing the image as a new resource. The cachebreaker value is generated using the current timestamp, ensuring uniqueness for each request. This mechanism forces the browser to retrieve the image directly from the server, bypassing the cached version.

Consequently, the image on the page will be refreshed with the updated version obtained from the live link. This technique effectively overcomes browser caching, allowing for the dynamic display of images without the need for page reloads.

The above is the detailed content of How Can I Prevent Browser Image Caching for Dynamically Updated Images?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!