Which of the following is a benefit of using stored procedures?

Stored procedures offer significant advantages, particularly in terms of code maintainability and improved security. By encapsulating complex business logic within a stored procedure, developers can isolate the implementation details from the application code. This not only simplifies code management—allowing changes to the database logic without altering the application—but also enhances readability and reduces redundancy across different applications.

Additionally, stored procedures can enforce security by controlling access to database objects. Users can be granted permission to execute a stored procedure without being allowed direct access to the underlying tables. This means that sensitive data manipulation can be secured better while allowing users to perform necessary operations. Consequently, stored procedures help in adhering to security best practices by minimizing the risk of SQL injection attacks and providing a centralized control point for database interactions.

In contrast, the other options present drawbacks or misunderstandings regarding stored procedures. They do not inherently slow down network communication; rather, they can reduce the amount of data sent over the network by performing operations on the server. Similarly, stored procedures are designed to be reusable across different applications and user roles, contrary to the misconception that they cannot be reused. Additionally, while stored procedures can require permissions, this is not an inherent drawback but rather a feature that can enhance security when properly managed.