PHP seems to be refusing to connect to MySQL - php

Question

<?php
function redirect_to_index_with_error(){
echo '<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0;url=index.php">';
}
function go_to_home(){
echo '<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0;url=home.php">';
}
$email = mysql_real_escape_string($_POST['username']); echo $email;
$pwd = mysql_real_escape_string($_POST['password']);
echo $pwd;
$query = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE email='$email' AND password=MD5('$pwd')";
echo "query variable created.";
mysql_connect("localhost","root","") or die(mysql_error());
echo "connected."; //nothing
mysql_select_db("mcp") or die(mysql_error());
$results = mysql_query($query) or die(mysql_error());
if(mysql_num_rows($results) == 0){
redirect_to_index_with_error();
exit();
}
$userID = null;
$name = null;
$school = null;
$mod = null;
while($user = mysql_fetch_array($results)){
$userID = $user['ID'];
$name = $user['Name'];
$school = $user['School'];
if($user['Mod'] == '1')
$mod = true;
else
$mod = false;
}
if(!isset($_SESSION))
session_start();
//set session variables
$_SESSION["userID"] = $userID;
$_SESSION["name"] = $name;
$_SESSION["school"] = $school;
$_SESSION["mod?"] = $mod;
go_to_home();
exit();
?>
PHP echos everything up until "connected". It's not even showing a mysql error. I've had this code work flawlessly on Windows with WAMP, but not on Mac with MAMP. I've verified that the servers are running, so I can't tell what the problem is. I'm using PHP 5.3.6.

Answer 1

Your connection needs to be established before you call mysql_real_escape_string()
So move mysql_connect("localhost","root","") or die(mysql_error()); to the top.

Answer 2

Move the mysql_connect() statement above everything else.
// put this at the TOP
mysql_connect("localhost:3306","root","") or die(mysql_error());

Answer 3

Just as everyone else mentioned, see this note:
http://php.net/mysql_real_escape_string#refsect1-function.mysql-real-escape-string-notes
Also, you should see errors, in development, at least.
See: error_reporting()

Answer 4

you have to call mysql_real_escape_string() after connect.
otherwise this function returns an empty string and your query fails.
though it raises an error but it seems you haven't seen that.
So, you ought to either turn displaying errors on or peek error logs - it's impossible to program without ability to see error messages
Also, you have to improve your formal logic.
To make a statement like "PHP seems to be refusing to connect to MySQL" youi have to verify it first. Connect is just a single line and returns a value.
You can verify this value and make a certain conclusion.
But running whole code of several dozens of lines and making statements about just one makes no sense.