Is it possible to combine a prepared mysqli statement with multiple inserts?

I am well versed in the old php mysql extension.

I am working on my first script that uses the mysqli extension.

I am going to insert a large number of rows into a table that are generated dynamically.

Can I use a prepared statement to insert several rows into a table without prior notice of the number of new rows that will be inserted each time?

$stmt   = $mysqli->prepare("INSERT INTO `activity` (`id`, `name`, `type`) VALUES ?, ?, ?;");

If this is not possible, it will be more efficient:

• prepared statement, one line at a time

• unprepared statement, ~ 50 lines at a time

  // prepared statement
  
  $stmt   = $mysqli->prepare("INSERT INTO `activity` (`id`, `name`, `type`) VALUES (?, ?, ?)");
  
  for($i=0;$i<$limit;$i++)
  
  {
  
      $stmt->bind_param('iss', $id[$i], $name[$i], $type[$i]);
  
      $stmt->execute();
  
  }
  
  
  // non-prepared statement
  
  $query  = "INSERT INTO `activity` (`id`, `name`, `type`) VALUES ";
  
  for($i=0;$i<$limit;$i++)
  
  {
  
      $query  .= "\n(".$mysqli->real_escape_string($id[$i]), $mysqli->real_escape_string($name[$i]), $mysqli->real_escape_string($type[$i])."),";
  
  }
  
  $query  = substr($query, 0, -1).';';
  

PHP v.5.3.8

MySQL v. 5.1.60