What does a web browser’s cache store?
Answer: C
Correct answer: Copies of previously downloaded page resources, to avoid fetching them again
The cache holds copies of resources already downloaded - images, stylesheets, scripts, sometimes whole pages - so that a return visit can use the local copy instead of fetching it again. The benefit is speed and reduced data use, since the largest parts of a page are usually the ones that change least. Servers control it through HTTP headers giving each resource an expiry time or a validation token, so the browser can ask whether its copy is still current without downloading the whole thing. Its familiar drawback is staleness: a site updated on the server may still show the old version locally, which is why a forced reload - Ctrl + F5 - bypasses the cache. It should not be confused with the neighbouring stores the browser keeps: history lists pages visited, cookies hold site data, and the password manager holds credentials, encrypted rather than in plain text.
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