What are the differences between prepared statements and regular statements?

What are the differences between prepared statements and regular statements?

Prepared statements are precompiled SQL statements that can be executed multiple times with different parameters, while regular statements are compiled each time they are executed.

Why should I use prepared statements instead of regular statements?

Prepared statements help prevent SQL injection attacks, improve performance for repeated queries, and enhance code readability.

Can you give me an example of a prepared statement?

Sure! In PHP, you can use PDO to create a prepared statement like this: $stmt = $pdo->prepare('SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = :id');.

Are there any downsides to using prepared statements?

The main downside is that they can be slightly more complex to implement and may have a performance overhead for very simple queries.