ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Internet Cache Protocol

Okay kiddo, so you know when you go to a website like YouTube or Netflix and it takes a little bit of time to load? This is because your computer has to get all the information for the website, like pictures and words, from the internet.

But what if you're watching a video on YouTube that you've already watched before? Do you really need to wait for your computer to download all the information again? Nope!

This is where the internet cache protocol comes in. Your computer has something called a cache, which is like a little storage space that saves website information you've looked at before. So, when you go back to a website you've already visited, your computer first checks its cache to see if it already has the website information saved.

If it does, then your computer uses that saved information instead of downloading it all over again. This is called caching, and it makes websites load faster because your computer doesn't have to download as much information.

So, in short, the internet cache protocol helps your computer save information from websites you've already visited so that it doesn't have to download the same information over and over again. Pretty cool, huh?