Ehcache uses the Ehcache interface, of which Cache is an implementation. It is possible and encouraged to create Ehcache decorators that are backed by a Cache instance, implement Ehcache and provide extra functionality.

The Decorator pattern is one of the well known Gang of Four patterns.

Decorated caches are accessed from the CacheManager using CacheManager.getEhcache(String name). Note that, for backward compatibility, CacheManager.getCache(String name) has been retained. However only CacheManager.getEhcache(String name) returns the decorated cache.