Connecting to a Database using PHP

In this blog post, we'll go over how to connect to a database using PHP and the XAMPP server.

XAMPP and Localhost

XAMPP is a software package that creates a local web server on your machine, allowing you to develop and test web applications without access to the internet. The web server created by XAMPP includes a PHP processor and a database management system, such as MySQL.

By using XAMPP, you can use the server name localhost to connect to the database.

mysqli_connect()

To make a MySQL connection in PHP, we use the mysqli_connect function. This function takes four parameters: the server name (localhost), the username (sqluser), the password (sqlpass), and the database name (notes).

<?php 
    $servername = "localhost"; 
    $username = "sqluser"; 
    $password = "sqlpass";
    $dbname = "notes"; 
    $conn = mysqli_connect($servername, $username, $password, $dbname); 
   ?>

Error Checking

It's important to use an if statement to check for any errors that may occur during the connection process. There are several potential errors that can occur, such as the database not existing, the username or password being incorrect, or the server being down or unavailable.

To print out any error messages, we can use the mysqli_error function to print the error statement and the mysqli_connect_error function to print any error messages related to the connection. If an error occurs, the die function can be used to stop the execution of the script, similar to raising an exception in JavaScript or Python.

<?php 
    $servername = "localhost"; 
    $username = "sqluser"; 
    $password = "sqlpass"; 
    $dbname = "notes"; 
    $conn = mysqli_connect($servername, $username, $password, $dbname); 

    if (!$conn) { 
        die("Connection failed: " . mysqli_connect_error()); 
    } 
?>

Testing the Connection

To test the connection, simply go to the path where the .php file containing the mysqli_connect function is located, starting from the root directory. For example, if your file is named new.php, you would navigate to localhost/new.php in your web browser.

In conclusion, connecting to a database using PHP and XAMPP is a straightforward process. By using the mysqli_connect function, error checking, and testing the connection, you can ensure that your PHP script is able to connect to your database and retrieve or manipulate data as needed.