Using dynamic SQL statements in SQL Server and Oracle database design

I am currently in the design phase of a new application. I would like the application to be flexible enough to use either SQL Server or Oracle databases. (End user can choose either.) Both databases can utilize stored procedures, but their approaches are different (syntax, etc. My question: Should I only use dynamic SQL statements in the application or invest the time and resources to create and maintain different set of Stored Procedures?
That's an excellent question. It all comes down to one basic issue: performance. Since stored procedures will execute faster than any dynamic SQL, if you have a very high throughput and volume application, you might want to consider it. However, in reality, the majority of applications are not that demanding so dynamic SQL would be just fine. That would make maintenance easier which could means you probably will ship faster. One approach I have seen work successfully is to develop the application with a wrapper layer on the database access. The wrapper is written completely with dynamic SQL. Once there's enough of the application put together to test, start performance testing. You'll quickly find that query or two that is taking up the bulk of the time. You can then change those into stored procedures. With the wrapper in place, the rest of the program probably won't even know about the change

This was first published in March 2001

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