Including passwords in scripts

[nick1]

Greetings,

Lets say I have a PHP script that connects to a MySQL database.  This particular script creates tables, deletes tables, inserts rows, etc.  In order for this operation to be successfull, a username and password needs to be supplied in the script - in plain text.  *gets really nervous*

You probably see my question coming:
How do I protect the usernames and passwords I include in my scripts?  Is some type of encryption function available? Is there a different place where these credentials can be placed and yet still be referenced in the scripts.

Thank you for your time,

*Nick*

[HuggieBear]

You could put them in a private folder out of your public area and use an include to call it, but don't forget php is a server side scripting, so it's not going to be visible from the front-end

Regards
Huggie