is mysql_connect in header bad practice? - php

Question

I have a normal website. It uses PHP to call a MySQL table. To save on typing it out all the time, I include() a connect.php file which connects to the database for me on every page. The website keeps getting a "mysql too many connections" error. Is it a bad idea to connect at the start of a page like this?
Should I create a new connection each time a PHP script needs it, then close that connection with mysql_close after that script is done? I had avoided doing as it would add repeated lines of code to the website but I'm wondering if that's what's causing the issue?
So at the moment my code is similar to this:
<?php
include("connect.php"); //connects to database using mysql_connect() function
...
PHP script that calls mysql
...
another PHP script that calls mysql
?>
Should I change it to something like this?
<?php
mysql_connect('host', 'username', 'password');
mysql_select_db('db');
PHP code that calls mysql
mysql_close();
...
mysql_connect('host', 'username', 'password');
mysql_select_db('db');
more PHP code that calls mysql
mysql_close();
?>

Answer 1

You should avoid making new connections to your database, as long as possible.
Making connection to database is a slow and expensive process. Having an opened connection consume few resources.
By the way, stop using mysql_* functions. Use mysqli_* or PDO.

Answer 2

Should I create a new connection each time a PHP script needs it [...] ?
Yes, that makes most sense, especially if not every page needs a mysql connection.
In PHP this works by setting up the database credentials in the php.ini file and you can just call mysql_select_db and it will automatically connect to the configured database if no connection exists so far.
If you write new code, encapsulate the database connection in an object of it's own so that you can more fine-grained control when to connect to the database.
Modern frameworks like for example Silex allow you to lazy load such central components (Services), so you have configured them and can make use of them when you need them but you don't need to worry about the resources (like the connection limit in your example).
[...] close that connection with mysql_close after that script is done?
You don't need that normally because PHP does this for you.

Answer 3

I do not think there is anything really wrong with this style of coding. It all depends on what kind of app you are writing. Just make sure you check your scripts well and get ride of any errors, you should be fine.
This is what i usually do
<?php session_start(); include "inc/config.php";
//require_once('chartz/lib/idiorm.php');
if ($_SESSION["login1"]== "Superadmin" or $_SESSION["login1"]== "User" or $_SESSION["login1"]=="Administrator")
{
$snames = $_SESSION["name1"];
$id = $_SESSION["id1"];
$stype = $_SESSION["login1"];
$stokperm = $_SESSION['stokperm'];
$navtype = $_GET['nav'];
include("inc/ps_pagination.php");
}
else
{
header ("location: ../../../index.php");
}
?>
Am not saying its the very best way out there, we are all still learnig...
I also thing you should take the advice of blue112 very seriously. Most of my apps are writing in the old fashion way, but Use mysqli_* or PDO is the way to go.