Cache key generator. Used for creating a key based on the given module, function name and its arguments (the module and function name are used as context).

See the default implementation Nebulex.Caching.SimpleKeyGenerator.

Caveats when using the key generator

Since the callback generate/3 is invoked passing the calling module where the annotated function is defined, the name of the annotated function, and the arguments given to that annotated function, there are some caveats to keep in mind:

• Only arguments explicitly assigned to a variable will be included when calling the callback generate/3.
• Ignored or underscored arguments will be ignored.
• Pattern-matching expressions without a variable assignment will be ignored. If there is a pattern-matching, it has to be explicitly assigned to a variable so it can be included when calling the callback generate/3.

For example, suppose you have a module with an annotated function:

defmodule MyApp.SomeModule do
  use Nebulex.Caching

  alias MyApp.{Cache, CustomKeyGenerator}

  @decorate cacheable(cache: Cache, key_generator: CustomKeyGenerator)
  def get_something(x, _ignored, _, {_, _}, [_, _], %{a: a}, %{} = y) do
    # Function's logic
  end
end

The generator will be invoked like so:

MyKeyGenerator.generate(MyApp.SomeModule, :get_something, [x, y])

Based on the caveats described above, only the arguments x and y are included when calling the callback generate/3.