What are prepared statements in SQL and why are they important?

Prepared statements in SQL are queries with placeholders for input data, rather than hardcoding values directly into the query string. They are important for several reasons: 1. Security: They prevent SQL injection attacks by separating user input from the SQL code. 2. Performance: The database can optimize and cache the execution plan, resulting in faster query execution. 3. Reusability: Prepared statements can be reused with different parameter values, reducing query compilation overhead. 4. Maintainability: Code is cleaner and less error-prone as it separates SQL logic from data.