Steven Feuerstein On Best-practice tips for using Native Dynamic SQL

Better to Best NDS : "In recent years, dynamic SQL has become a much more common aspect of PL/SQL programming. Prior to the availability of Native Dynamic SQL (NDS) in Oracle8i, dynamic SQL was available in PL/SQL only through the DBMS_SQL package. Although very robust, DBMS_SQL was very difficult to use and relatively slow. Now, in Oracle Database 10g, NDS can handle virtually all of the most common dynamic SQL requirements, and it is a joy to use in comparison to the DBMS_SQL API.

However easy it is to write dynamic SQL with NDS, it is still dynamic (resolved at runtime) and it is still SQL, both of which mean that you need to be conscientious about how you write and run NDS code and handle errors in it. This article offers some best practices for NDS usage to help you get your dynamic applications up and running smoothly."