What is a key advantage of using PreparedStatement over Statement?

What is a key advantage of using PreparedStatement over Statement?

• A. Faster network I/O
• B. Automatically handles nulls
• C. Protection against SQL injection + compiled once for efficiency
• D. Supports batch updates

Answer: (C)

Separating the SQL code from the data is the key benefit. A PreparedStatement uses parameter placeholders and binds values separately, so the database treats input strictly as data rather than part of the SQL command. This greatly reduces the risk of SQL injection because user input cannot alter the structure of the query. At the same time, the prepared statement is compiled once by the database, and that compiled plan can be reused for subsequent executions with different parameter values. This avoids repeating parsing and optimization, which can improve efficiency when the same statement is executed multiple times with different data. While batch updates and some performance gains can be associated with PreparedStatement, the combination of safe parameter binding to prevent injection and the ability to reuse a precompiled execution plan is what makes it the best answer. The other options don’t capture both aspects as clearly.

Separating the SQL code from the data is the key benefit. A PreparedStatement uses parameter placeholders and binds values separately, so the database treats input strictly as data rather than part of the SQL command. This greatly reduces the risk of SQL injection because user input cannot alter the structure of the query.

At the same time, the prepared statement is compiled once by the database, and that compiled plan can be reused for subsequent executions with different parameter values. This avoids repeating parsing and optimization, which can improve efficiency when the same statement is executed multiple times with different data.

While batch updates and some performance gains can be associated with PreparedStatement, the combination of safe parameter binding to prevent injection and the ability to reuse a precompiled execution plan is what makes it the best answer. The other options don’t capture both aspects as clearly.