PHP Connect to MySQL

To connect PHP to MySQL, you can use the mysqli extension or PDO (PHP Data Objects). Here's an example of how to connect using mysqli:

Should I Use MySQLi or PDO?

Both MySQLi and PDO have their advantages:

Advantages of MySQLi:

Specifically Designed for MySQL: MySQLi is designed specifically for MySQL, which means it offers some MySQL-specific features that PDO may not have.
Procedural and Object-Oriented Interface: MySQLi provides both procedural and object-oriented interfaces, giving developers flexibility in coding style.
Supports Asynchronous Queries: MySQLi supports asynchronous queries, allowing for non-blocking database queries which can be useful for certain types of applications, like real-time systems.
Improved Security Features: MySQLi offers enhanced security features such as support for prepared statements and parameterized queries, helping prevent SQL injection attacks when used correctly.

Advantages of PDO:

Database Portability: PDO provides a uniform interface for accessing databases, which means you can easily switch between different database systems (MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, etc.) with minimal code changes.
Support for Multiple Databases: In addition to MySQL, PDO supports a wide range of database systems, making it a good choice for projects that may need to work with different databases.
Object-Oriented Interface: PDO exclusively offers an object-oriented interface, which may be preferred by developers who favor object-oriented programming practices.
Prepared Statements and Parameterized Queries: PDO supports prepared statements and parameterized queries, just like MySQLi, providing a secure way to interact with databases and helping prevent SQL injection attacks.

Example

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<?php
$servername = "localhost";
$username = "username";
$password = "password";
$database = "database_name";

// Create connection
$conn = new mysqli($servername, $username, $password, $database);

// Check connection
if ($conn->connect_error) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $conn->connect_error);
}
echo "Connected successfully";
?>

You can click on above box to edit the code and run again.

Output

Open a Connection to MySQL

Before we can access data in the MySQL database, we need to be able to connect to the server:

Example (MySQLi Object-Oriented)

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<?php

$servername = "localhost";
$username = "username";
$password = "password";

// Create connection
$conn = new mysqli($servername, $username, $password);

// Check connection
if ($conn->connect_error) {
  die("Connection failed: " . $conn->connect_error);
}
echo "Connected successfully";

?>

You can click on above box to edit the code and run again.

Output

Example (MySQLi Procedural)

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<?php

$servername = "localhost";
$username = "username";
$password = "password";

// Create connection
$conn = mysqli_connect($servername, $username, $password);

// Check connection
if (!$conn) {
  die("Connection failed: " . mysqli_connect_error());
}
echo "Connected successfully";

?>

You can click on above box to edit the code and run again.

Output

Example (PDO)

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<?php

$servername = "localhost";
$username = "username";
$password = "password";

try {
  $conn = new PDO("mysql:host=$servername;dbname=myDB", $username, $password);
  // set the PDO error mode to exception
  $conn->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);
  echo "Connected successfully";
} catch(PDOException $e) {
  echo "Connection failed: " . $e->getMessage();
}

?>

You can click on above box to edit the code and run again.