===== Syntax =====

<code php>
resource mysql_connect(string $host, string $user, string $pass [, $bool $newlink [, int $client_flags]])
</code>

//(PHP 4, PHP 5)//

^ $host | The database server name. (can be localhost, a named host, or an IP address). |
^ $user | The mysql user account name for connecting to the database. |
^ $pass| The mysql user account password for connecting to the database. |
^ $newlink | Use this to force a new link to be established, even if an existing one already exists. |
^ $client_flags | MySQL-specific options for opening a link with the database. |
^ RETURNS | The MySQL connection resource if the connection was made successfully, false otherwise. |

**Possible Values for ''$client_flags''**

^ MYSQL_CLIENT_SSL | Connect to MySQL using Secure Sockets Layer |
^ MYSQL_CLIENT_COMPRESS | Attempt to compress data sent between PHP and MySQL using GZip. |
^ MYSQL_CLIENT_IGNORE_SPACE | Allow trailing whitespace after function names (but before its arguments) |
^ MYSQL_CLIENT_INTERACTIVE | Use ''interactive_timeout'' settings instead of ''wait_timeout'' to kill a database connection. |

===== What it Does =====

Creates a link to the MySQL database using the provided attributes.  You need to create a link to a database before you can use any of the MySQL functions (e.g.: mysql_query).

===== Example =====

<code php>
// open the mysql resource
$res = mysql_connect($server, $user, $pass);

// close the mysql resource
mysql_close($res);
</code>