PDO: including connection.php in another file

[Big_Pat]

I'm stumped.

 

I'm trying to convert my site to PDO from MySQL and, as part of this, I want to have the connection.php and constants.php files separate from the rest of the content. In my MySQL setup I have a header.php (which REQUIRES connection.php and constants.php), and an index.php which requires header.php. Then there's a functions.php which is called by header.php, and in functions.php I have all my queries and output.

 

I'm trying to adapt this to PDO but I'm unable to connect to the database when I hold the connection info in a separate file. If I move the same connection info into functions.php I can connect fine. I thought of declaring a global in connection.php, but that hasn't resolved, and I also thought of calling the connection as a function but that, too, hasn't worked.

 

In connection.php (with the passwords, etc, changed) I have:

$connection = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=mydbname', 'myusername', 'mypassword');

and, in functions.php I have, for example,

$query = $connection->prepare("SELECT COUNT(*) from songlist");

but I get an error: "Fatal error: Call to a member function prepare() on a non-object " each time I try. As I say, if I copy that exact line into functions.php I get no error.

 

I've read a few sites trying to find a solution (one suggested calling a class, which I copied but didn't resolve) and the other suggested a function. What's the secret? I don't want to put the long connection parameter in each time as that defeats the object.

 

 

 

 

[Eiseth]

try inserting it into a function

// Put this in your function.php
function connect_db()
{
    try
    {
        $connection = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=mydbname', 'myusername', 'mypassword');
        $connection->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);
        $connection->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_PERSISTENT, true);
    }
    catch (PDOException $e)
    {
        // Proccess error
        echo 'Cannot connect to database: ' . $e->getMessage();
    }

    return $connection;
}

// Then include the functions.php in your file and call it
$dbh = connect_db();

// Perform query
// put this inside try/catch to catch the error
// You don't need to prepare statements if you're not inserting input from outside source
$stmt = $dbh->query('SELECT COUNT(*) FROM songlist');

[Muddy_Funster]

Just be careful what order you are calling your requires. it cascades the code from each as it's called so make sure that all declarations are required before any calls

[Big_Pat]

Thank you Eiseth!