cache
"A cache is like a desk. Picking up a document from the desk takes very little time. Getting it from the filing cabinet takes a lot longer."
"A cache is like a smart librarian. When a patron asks for a Harry Potter book, the librarian goes looking for it on the shelves (i.e., the hard drive) and comes back with it along with the other Harry Potter books that were filed around it. This material is kept in a special place behind the desk (cache memory) so that when other patrons ask for a Harry Potter book, the librarian can retrieve it much more quickly. It's an efficient system indeed."
"To revisit the restaurant analogy, on-die L2 cache is like having a larger table at the restaurant where the waiter can pre-position your favorite foods."
METAMIA is a free database of analogy and metaphor. Anyone can contribute or search. The subject matter can be anything. Science is popular, but poetry is encouraged. The goal is to integrate our fluid muses with the stark literalism of a relational database. Metamia is like a girdle for your muses, a cognitive girdle.