What is the function of caching in software performance?

Caching plays a vital role in enhancing software performance by storing frequently accessed data. When a system retrieves this data from slower storage, such as a database or remote server, it can introduce latency, slowing down applications and user interactions. Caching mitigates this issue by keeping copies of this frequently accessed data in faster storage, such as memory.

This way, when the application needs to access that data again, it can retrieve it directly from the cache rather than going through the longer retrieval process from the original source. This results in significantly reduced latency, leading to faster response times and an overall smoother experience for users.

The other options relate to tasks that, while important in their contexts, do not address the specific performance-enhancing benefits provided by caching. Encrypting sensitive data is essential for security, while storing infrequently accessed data and deleting temporary files do not contribute to the immediate performance gains that are the primary goal of caching.