Stored Procedures
Stored procedures are precompiled collections of SQL statements and optional control-flow logic stored within a database management system (DBMS). They encapsulate business logic, data manipulation, or administrative tasks, allowing them to be executed repeatedly by applications or users. This improves performance through reduced network traffic and query compilation overhead, while enhancing security and maintainability.
Developers should use stored procedures for complex database operations that require multiple SQL statements, transaction management, or data validation, as they centralize logic and reduce code duplication across applications. They are essential in high-performance scenarios like batch processing, reporting, or enforcing data integrity rules, and are commonly used in enterprise systems with databases like SQL Server, Oracle, or PostgreSQL.