Why are prepared statements recommended in Cassandra?

Prepared statements are recommended in Cassandra primarily to enhance security and improve performance. When a prepared statement is created, the query is parsed and compiled only once, allowing it to be executed multiple times with different parameters without the need to re-parse. This reduces the computational overhead and improves the speed of query execution, especially for repetitive queries.

From a security standpoint, prepared statements help mitigate SQL injection attacks by separating the query structure from the data being provided. By using placeholders for parameters, the database ensures that the incoming data is treated strictly as values and not executable code, thereby protecting the database from injection vulnerabilities.

These advantages make prepared statements a crucial feature in managing data in Cassandra, ensuring both efficient execution and secure handling of queries.