Connecting to a MySQL Database

We will be using mysqli (or MySQL improved extension) 

• This was developed to take advantage of new features found in MySQL systems versions 4.1.3 and newer. 

• The mysqli extension is included with PHP versions 5 and later.

Benefits over the previous MySQL:

• Object-oriented interface 

• Support for Prepared and Multiple Statements

• Support for Transactions 

• Enhanced debugging capabilities 

• Embedded server support

The php code below will connect to a server called localhost and connect to the database called AH_phpskills. It will use the username of root with no password. 

If the connection fails for any reason then an error description is displayed using the mysqli_connect_error() function and the die() function stops the script from running.