What are the potential server load implications of implementing a real-time spell checker using Ajax and a database of words for efficient word verification?

Implementing a real-time spell checker using Ajax and a database of words for efficient word verification can potentially increase server load due to frequent database queries for word verification. To mitigate this issue, we can implement caching mechanisms to store frequently used words in memory and reduce the number of database queries.

// Check if the word is in the cache
$word = $_POST['word'];
$cacheKey = 'word_' . $word;
$cacheResult = apc_fetch($cacheKey);

if ($cacheResult !== false) {
    echo json_encode(['valid' => true]);
} else {
    // Perform database query to check word validity
    // Replace this with your actual database query
    $isValid = checkWordValidity($word);

    // Store the result in cache
    apc_store($cacheKey, $isValid, 3600); // Cache for 1 hour

    echo json_encode(['valid' => $isValid]);
}

function checkWordValidity($word) {
    // Implement your logic to check word validity from the database
    // Return true if the word is valid, false otherwise
}