Prepare for speed
l prepare() - what happens in the server
Receive and parse the SQL statement into internal form
Get details for all the selected tables
Check access rights for each
Get details for all the selected fields
Check data types in expressions
Get details for all the indices of  the tables
Develop an optimised query 'access plan' for best execution
Return a handle for all this cached information
n This can be an expensive process - especially the 'access plan'
n Some databases, like MySQL, don't cache the information but
have simpler, and thus faster, plan creation
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