MySQL with PHP, Apache and Perl - Database Design Manual: Using MySQL for Windows - page 181

Figure 15.6 Result of testing connection to MySQL.

Copy the above file into the Apache root directory, which in this installation will be:

c:\indigoperl\apache\htdocs

Once it is there rename it to the following:

test.php

You can now view this in a browser, which will need to be pointed at:

http://localhost/test.php

You should see a webpage with the words It works on it, and nothing else. If you see the
PHP code and the previous tests worked, then you may not be looking at the file through
the webserver, or you may have incorrectly named the file.
Inside a PHP document, all HTML tags are processed as normal, but anything sur-
rounded by <?PHP … ?> is classed as PHP code and passed to the PHP server. The print
command simply outputs the string that you provide. All PHP commands are terminated
with a semicolon.

Accessing MySQL

MySQL is accessed in PHP through a series of functions whose results are stored in vari-
ables. You need to go through the following stages to access your data:

•

Connect to the database

•

Run the query

•

Deal with the results

•

Clear the results

•

Close the connection to the database.