JDBC refers to Java Database Connectivity. It is an application programming interface offered by the Java programming language to establish a connection between any query and the database. Different statements are interfaces that interact differently with the database by different methods and properties. Each has a different purpose.
JDBC Statement vs PreparedStatement
The main difference between JDBC Statement and PreparedStatement is that the JDBC statements offer general and ordinary access to the database whereas the PreparedStatement is used when SQL commands have to be given many times, as this interface is better suited for handling these commands. More data can be received through the PreparedStatement interface.
JDBC statements are interfaces that are used to request static data from the database through SQL statements at runtime. This interface cannot accept parameters. It is obtained from a JDBC connection. It can execute either a database query or a database update through SQL commands. A java statement instance has to be created to use it.
PreparedStatements are interfaces that are compiled several times and can be used again and again. This interface can accept parameterized SQL queries. They are executed through a binary protocol. It enables easier functionality with batch updates and has great reusability since any parameterized query can be used again with the same or changed parameters.
Comparison Table Between JDBC Statement and PreparedStatement
| Parameters of Comparison | JDBC Statement | PreparedStatement |
| Parameters | JDBC Statement cannot accept parameters of any kind at runtime. | A PreparedStatement can accept different parameters at runtime which can be executed many times. |
| Speed | This is slow and not optimized. | This is very fast and highly optimized. |
| Images and Files | A JDBC statement cannot be used to retrieve or feed an image or a file into a database. | A PreparedStatement can be used to retrieve or feed an image or a file into a database. |
| Comprehensibility | It makes the source code difficult to understand and is less modular. | It is highly modular and efficient and makes code more comprehensible. |
| Format | It is used for executing static SQL statements in JDBC. | It is used for executing pre-compiled SQL statements in JDBC. |
What is JDBC Statement?
JDBC is a part of the Java Standard Edition application programming interface offered by java to connect with databases through statements with different properties. It can be used to store, update and retrieve data from a database which can be in the form of text, images, or files. One thing to note is that JDBC cannot be used to save or retrieve files and images from a database.
JDBC statements are slow and have low performance as they do not use a binary interface and use more data packets as compared to PreparedStatement which makes them less efficient and their use more difficult. Coding using JDBC statements is tough and since they cannot be reused, it is also very time-consuming. It makes the use of concatenated SQL strings compulsory which makes code less readable and less modular.
An SQL query once fed through a JDBC statement cannot have repeated executed which means that the query will have to be rewritten even for the same function. Also, since the JDBC statements cannot accept parameters, their use limits the scope of codes and induces low modularity.
To overcome these drawbacks, Prepared and Callable statements are used, but they have been derived from JDBC basic statements therefore JDBC cannot be regarded as their development has an immense contribution to the application programming that exists today.
What is PreparedStatement?
Another method of accessing the data in a database is through the use of a PreparedStatement which is an interface used to run precompiled SQL queries with parameters. It can be used and executed again and again with the same or different parameters which greatly improves its efficiency and makes it high-performance. They can also be used to store and receive files and images from a database.
PreparedStatements are also more secure than JDBC statements because they prevent SQL injection. They are also much faster when compared to the JDBC statements as they use a non-SQL binary protocol and use a lesser number of data packets all while executing pre-compiled instructions. They vastly improve code readability and make it easy to understand the objectives of different modules which contain editable parameters.
The use of PreparedStatements removes a lot of the drawbacks of the basic JDBC statements such as low speed, low performance, and reusability. Additionally, they are much more secure. They also add methods such as the addBatch(), getMetaData(), and getParameterizedData().
They are also more portable and vendor friendly as they offer to support a wide array of database management systems such as SQL, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, SQLite, etc.
Main Differences Between JDBC Statement and PreparedStatement
- JDBC statements are much slower and less modular than the PreparedStatements because they use precompiled SQL queries.
- JDBC statements cannot accept parameters and they have to be written separately for each task whereas PreparedStatements accept different parameters at runtime.
- PreparedStatements make the code much easier to understand and teach than JDBC statements so their learning curves are very different.
- PreparedStatements can be used for writing and storing binary data whereas JDBC statements cannot be used for the same since they do not support binary instructions.
- JDBC statements are used for executing normal and static queries whereas PreparedStatements are used for executing dynamic queries.
Conclusion
An organization cannot manually store and obtain data since it is in huge quantities therefore it uses computerized database systems. Similarly, a computer runs on thousands of lines of code and libraries that need to be managed by database management systems. One such DMS is the JDBC which is Java’s version of the system. It offers various interfaces to access the data stored in the form of JDBC statements, PreparedStatements, and Callable statements.
PreparedStatements are high-performance and high-speed solutions used when a query has to be executed repeatedly and JDBC statements are used when only a single execution has to be made since it is slow and less efficient.
References
- https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4302-0029-1_5
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=oPbGi0l0ZHEC&oi=fnd&pg=PR11&dq=jdbc+statement&ots=OPSEJzDoZp&sig=E94mlf3oSk-3s87ZGcvLuNFvCCM