Add getCacheTTL() method to IReferenceProvider interface
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Description
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Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
- External API Integrations: Ticketing systems (Zammad, GitHub issues) with data that updates frequently
- Configuration Management: Systems like iTop with dynamic configuration changes
- Real-time Data: Any provider that needs sub-hourly cache invalidation
PR #56013 attempted to implement support for custom cache TTLs in the ReferenceManager, but discovered that the getCacheTTL() method referenced in issue #56012 does not actually exist in the IReferenceProvider interface.
Currently, ReferenceManager::resolveReference() always caches resolved references with a hardcoded 3600 second TTL, regardless of the provider's needs.
Current Behavior
Reference providers cannot specify custom cache durations. All cached references use the hardcoded CACHE_TTL = 3600 constant.
This is problematic for providers that manage frequently-changing data (e.g., external API integrations, ticketing systems, configuration management) that need shorter cache durations.
Describe the solution you'd like
Add a new optional method getCacheTTL() to the IReferenceProvider interface:
/**
* Return the custom cache TTL for this provider's references in seconds
* Return null to use the default CACHE_TTL (3600 seconds)
*
* @since 30.0.0
* @return int|null The cache TTL in seconds, or null for default
*/
public function getCacheTTL(): ?int;
Describe alternatives you've considered
None
Additional context
Implementation Details
- The method should return an integer (seconds) or null (to use default 3600s)
- Makes it possible for
ReferenceManagerto respect provider-specific TTLs - Maintains backward compatibility - providers that don't implement this method will default to 3600s
- Enables providers like external integrations to use shorter TTLs (e.g., 60-300 seconds) for real-time data
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start with the IReferenceProvider interface and ReferenceManager::resolveReference(), then review PR #56013 and issue #56012 for the surrounding cache-TTL context. The work is complete when providers can supply a TTL while references without one continue using the default 3600-second cache duration.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- php
- Domain
- backend
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 3/5
- Estimated time
- 1-2 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 48/100