internet explorer - How to force IE to reload javascript?

Question

I'm using IE 8 on Vista, and everytime I change a javascript file and then start debugging, I have to hit Ctrl+F5 to have it reload my javascript. Is there any way to make it automatically reload javascript when I start debugging, but not lose the performance gains when just browsing the net?

Yeah yeah I know you probably don't like IE, but keep in mind the question isn't "What's the best browser?".

Answer 1

Add a string at the end of your URL to break the cache. I usually do (with PHP):

<script src="/my/js/file.js?<?=time()?>"></script>

So that it reloads every time while I'm working on it, and then take it off when it goes into production. In reality I abstract this out a little more but the idea remains the same.

If you check out the source of this website, they append the revision number at the end of the URL in a similar fashion to force the changes upon us whenever they update the javascript files.