Bad practise to open and close mysql in every function - php

Example:
class SimpleClass{
public function foo() {
mysql_open();
//do mysql query here
mysql_close();
}
public function boo() {
mysql_open();
//do mysql query here
mysql_close();
}
}
Or is it better to have one mysql_open in the beginning of the class and one in the end?
Thanks.
EDIT: I use mysqli, this is just an example.
Should I open and close in each page file instead? Like in index.php, cataegory.php should have one open and close each.

Yes, It is bad practice. Here are reasons:
cost of making connectio is high
cannot use transaction during many function is called
every instance has it's own connection. It's too bad
and so on
Use PDO, or make singleton db class youself.

I would recommend wrapping the connection inside of a DAO class that operates as a singleton to manage your connection. In addition to what others have said above regarding prepared statements, and deprecated functions, I'm going to use those same deprecated functions to demonstrate the DAO concept
<?php
class MyGreatDAO{
private static $con = null//late static feature in php 5.3
private __construct(){
}
public static getInstance(){
if($con === null){
$con = mysql_connect($server,$user,$pass);
}
return $con;
}//untested
Basically, the idea is to prevent unnecessary data connections for performance reasons, and just persist the same connection throughout execution. You can use this same class to perform other DB operations as well on $con

Related

How to reuse a MySQLi connection

I've ran into an issue with user already has more than 'max_user_connections' active connections
This happens because I use functions for the website functionality, each function contains a
$mysqli = connect();
Though at the same time, each function closes the mysqli at the end of function
mysqli_close($mysqli);
I do not want to include $mysqli as a parameter of the function, as the function is dynamic and would be tiresome to include it with each function call.
the connect() function just contains:
$mysqli = new mysqli(...);
return $mysqli;
I believe the error is thrown because the function sometimes calls itself for different executions, based on user input and pre-requisites... even though the mysqli is closed at the end of the function...
I'd like to know if there is a way of re-using a $mysqli connection sort of like in a global way...
I'm not sure whether I've explained myself fully so if you need some more information please leave a comment.
The proper way to reuse the same object across multiple functions/classes is to use dependency injection. Together with DI container, it can take care of providing the necessary dependencies to your functions leaving them clean.
The principle of clean code demands that your functions do not have side effects and they only do what their name states. This means that you should never be using globals in your functions as that would be causing side effects. The proper way to provide data without side effects to your function is via parameters. A connection to the database is the data that is required by your function.
If your code will be used as some kind of public library, it's even more reason to keep it clean. A function cannot have surprising behaviour. The best way to reduce surprises is by having a clear function signature. This means that all dependencies are listed as parameters with their correct types, the function cannot take dynamic arguments, and the return type must be clearly specified.
When it comes to mysqli connections (or PDO for that matter which you should prefer over mysqli), the connection should only be opened once during the execution of the script. You should never need to close the connection manually.
Here's an example of clean code. Let's imagine that you need to save bookings in the database. You create a service in your model:
<?php
class BookingService
{
public function __construct(protected mysqli $mysqli)
{
}
public function saveBooking(Booking $booking)
{
$stmt = $this->mysqli->prepare('INSERT INTO bookings (date, surname) VALUES (?,?)');
$stmt->execute([$booking->getDate(), $booking->getSurname()]);
}
}
Then in your controller, you just use your service as a dependency:
class BookingController
{
public function __construct(protected BookingService $bookingService)
{
}
public function index(Request $request)
{
$boooking = new Booking($request->get('date'), $request->get('surname'));
$this->bookingService->saveBooking($boooking);
}
}
Your DI container takes care of instantiating the mysqli and BookingService class. You can only create value objects in your controller. The necessary data is passed via parameters. This makes for a very clean and understandable code. Everyone knows what each function does, there are no surprises and everything has type specified.
There are a number of techniques to instantiate a variable only once. This is an anti-solution. Please do not use solutions listed here!
Static variable
If you only want a variable to be instantiated the first time the function is called, you can use a static variable.
function foo(){
static $mysqli;
if ($mysqli === null) {
$mysqli = connect();
}
// call the same function in recursive mode and the same connection will be reused
foo();
// do not close the connection manually!
}
This is a bad solution because your function fetches the dependency manually. You should not create functions that have side effects or multiple objectives. A function that connects should not be called from within a function that does something else. This leads to nightmarish code, which is the reason why you are having this problem now.
Using singleton
Singletons are bad for testing and for code readability. Anytime you need to change the dependency, you need to change all the places where the singleton is used. For a better explanation of why they are bad see What are drawbacks or disadvantages of singleton pattern?
Using globals
Globals are very bad for code maintainability. They are the bane of programmers since forever. It's precisely the reason why we have encapsulation and dependency injection.
Using a global would be very similar to using a static variable, except that the side effect is now global.
function foo(){
// declare a variable as global.
// this will instantiate the variable to null if it doesn't exist as a global yet
global $mysqli;
// if it's null, connect
if ($mysqli === null) {
$mysqli = connect();
}
// call the same function in recursive mode and the same connection will be reused
foo();
// do not close the connection manually!
// but if you must close the connection, just set the variable back to null
}
Do not use any of the above solutions! These are examples of bad unmaintainable spaghetti code. A programmer's nightmare. This answer is only supposed to be a warning of what not to do!

Static Varible vs PDO::ATTR_PERSISTENT

I have a database class that I developed. But I have doubts about performance in case of load. There are two issues that I was curious about and couldn't find the answer even though I searched.
When the database connection is bound to a static variable in the class,
class DB
{
static $connect;
......
function __construct()
{
try {
self::$connect = new PDO("{$this->db_database}:host={$this->db_host};dbname={$this->db_name};charset=utf8mb4", "{$this->db_username}", "{$this->db_password}");
self::$connect->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);
self::$connect->setAttribute(PDO::MYSQL_ATTR_INIT_COMMAND, "SET NAMES utf8mb4");
} catch ( PDOException $e ){
echo '<b>ERROR: </b>'.$e->getMessage();
exit;
}
}
}
PDO::ATTR_PERSISTENT => true
Does it have an equivalent ability?
Also, I didn't fully understand the pdo permalink logic, it uses the existing connection instead of opening a separate connection for each user. But how does he use the existing link here? For example "ip address" etc.
Thank you for your help.
Let me approach the issues from a different direction.
A program should have only one connection to the database. (There are rare exceptions.) Your code, as it stands, seems to be inconsistent. It has a single ("static") connection, yet the class can be instantiated multiple times, thereby connecting multiple times. (I don't want to depend on anything "persist" to clean up the inconsistency.)
Either make the class a singleton or otherwise avoid being able to call __construct a second time. One approach goes something like this:
class DB {
private static $connect;
......
public function __construct() {
if (! self::$connect) {
self::$connect = ...
}
}
public function Fetch(...) {
self::$connect->...
return ...;
}
$con = new DB();
$data = $con->Fetch(...);
(plus suitable try/catch)
Note that that allows you to sub-class as needed.
Another approach might involve preventing the use of new:
private function __construct() { ... }
plus having some public method invoke that constructor.
Here's another approach. It can be used on an existing class that you don't want to (or can't) modify:
function GetConnection() {
static $db;
if (! $db) {
$db = new ...;
}
return $db;
}
$db = GetConnection();
$db->Fetch(...)'
As for "connection pooling", it is of limited use with MySQL. (Other products need it much more than MySQL does.) In my opinion, don't worry about such.
Do not use "auto-reconnect". If the connection dies in the middle of a transaction and is automatically restarted, then the first part of the transaction will be rolled back while the rest might get committed. That is likely to lead to data inconsistency.
Singletons, statics, globals, void*, critical sections all make me cringe. When I need such, I rush to find a way to "hide" it, even if that means writing cryptic code in some class(es).
For performance, MySQL really needs a single connection throughout the program. I compromise by hiding the connection in a "static" that serves at a "global". Then I hide that inside the class that I use to abstract the object(s).
I agree with Karwin's [now delete] Answer -- that this discussion is "much ado about nothing". MySQL performance is mostly about indexing, query formulation, and even the architecture of the application. Not about connections, common code elimination, redundant function calls, etc.

Where to create and close database connection?

I know we always have to close db connection at the end. Let's I have a class and there is four methods and each consists of db queries. Now my question is
Should I create a connection and close it in every different methods
or create the connection in the constructor of the class? If I create
the connection in the constructor then where will I close it. Because
If I close that in any function no other method can access it.
If I create new connection for every method then no of connections may be very high. Then where will I create and close the function proper way?
If you open it, then you need to close it.
As long as you close the connection, you can close it where you want. It seems like maybe your closing woes are more about the design of the procedures of your program. Just because the database call uses a connection doesn't mean it has to be opened and closed right there with it.
Say you might want to reuse a $mysqli variable that's holding a connection. You can pass that connection to a function and either return it or close it inside. In this way, you can isolate the main activity of the database call in the body of the function without having to worry too much about the opening and closing of everything.
Using that technique, it's possible to reuse a connection for multiple queries, contained each inside their own method. Maybe you would be better off opening a class and passing a $mysqli connection to it, as needed.
This depends on your program and your choices about how it will work.
If you are developing a program, and you're curious about the impact of your opening and closing actions, you can call http://php.net/manual/en/mysqli.stat.php or a similar function. If you are opening many threads and not closing them, then you would see the thread count escalate in the answer from mysqli_stat().
The calls may not close, for example, if you have a poorly designed query that runs away from you; the scope of the connection object should close naturally with the end of the script.
Because of the reference-counting system of php it's not necessary to close the connection, it will be freed automatically (unless you open persistent db links), so it shouldn't cause a headache.
You should open the connection only once btw.
Please take into consider transaction concept. Say for example you methods are being called in a sequence, it makes sense to open a connection and keep it open
If there is delay in call of other methods, i would not advice you to keep connection suspended especially if multiple people are going to access the application
Best way would be to implement classes and extend it to your functional class containing methods. Constructor of the extended class can call to the connection function and the destructor can call to disconnect whenever the object is set to NULL.
Or
As your question states, have two functions in base class having construction and other having destruction.
Call to the constructor function before using your connection and destroy it after using.
Example would be:
class bar{
protected function connect(){
#connect to db
}
protected function disconnect(){
#disconnect db
}
class foo extends bar{
function func1 () {
$this->connect();
#Code
$this->disconnect();
}
function func2() {
$this->connect();
#Code
$this->disconnect();
}
function func3() {
$this->connect();
#Code
$this->disconnect();
}
function func4() {
$this->connect();
#Code
$this->disconnect();
}
?>

mySQLI Management

Thanks to a poster here at SO, I started using MySQLI and prepared statements. However, there is one issue I'm not sure how to adapt from the way I used MySQL.
Before, I would open a connection to MySQL at the beginning of my main PHP script. Then any sub-script or class I used would automatically use the same connection just by calling the mysql_query() call.
Now, with MySQLI, it seems that if I want to use the connection in a class, I have to either pass the connection through the constructor or create a new MySQLI connection.
Is there a way to use a MySQLI connection the same way I was using the MySQL connection before?
take care,
lee
Passing the connection into the constructor is often the preferable method. That is called "Dependency Injection" and is useful for software testing.
However, if you would prefer not to use that method, you can simply access the connection globally inside any class method:
// MySQLi connection created in the global scope
$conn = new MySQLi(...);
class someClass {
public someMethod() {
// Call $conn with the global keyword
global $conn;
$conn->query(...);
}
}
Better though, is to store $conn in a class property:
class someClass {
// Connection property
public $conn;
public function __construct($conn) {
$this->conn = $conn;
}
public someMethod() {
$this->conn->query(...);
}
}
If you are using MySQLi in a procedural context rather than object-oriented, you will need to supply the link parameter. There really isn't a way around it.

PHP OOP: Creating database class

I am making my first steps in the OOP world - please bear with me.
I know that having many ongoing mySQL connections open at the same time can be fatal for performance, so it should be a good idea to make a database class that takes this into account.
Is $this->session->write(...); going to result in a new mySQL connection being opened each time?
Or is that up to the "persistent connection" feature in mySQL?
Here's the code:
abstract class database {
function __construct() {
//mysql_connect()
}
}
class session extends database {
function write () {
// mysql_query(--.)
}
}
Is session handler some kind of specialized type of database? It is not, so don't use inheritance (a is a relationship). Session handler uses database so you should use composition (a has a relationship):
class Session {
protected $db;
public function __construct(DB $db) {
$this->db = $db;
}
public function write() {
$this->db->query(...);
}
}
$db = new DB(...);
$session = new Session($db);
Also, don't use mysql_*() functions. Use much more powerful PDO.
Returning to your question... mysql_connect() will be executed every time you create a new Database object. However in this case Session is an object of type Database so every time you write new Database() or new Session() the constructor is invoked, therefore mysql_connect() is invoked as well.
PS. mysql_connect() function won't create a new connection if specified connection already exists. Check 4th argument of this function to learn more.
mysql_query will create a new connection only if no previous mysql connection has been made. Otherwise, it will either use the connection you specify or the last connection opened with mysql_connect. http://php.net/manual/en/function.mysql-query.php
Why not
class database {
function __construct() {
//mysql_connect()
}
function write() {
//query the DB
}
}
I'm not sure of the syntax, I don't do OOP PHP. Anyway, in your structure above a new connection would be opened for each "session" instance so assuming you only create one instance of "session" you won't be openeing loads of database connections.

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