How to Connect to MySQL Database with PHP and PDO

M66 2025-07-14

Introduction

In web development, connecting to a database is a crucial part of building dynamic applications. PHP provides multiple ways to interact with MySQL databases, and one of the most efficient methods is using the PDO (PHP Data Objects) extension. PDO provides a unified interface for connecting to various types of databases, making cross-platform development easier. In this article, we will show you how to connect to a MySQL database using PHP and PDO.

Install and Configure PHP

First, make sure that PHP is installed on your system and the environment variables are properly configured. You can download the latest version of PHP from the official PHP website and follow the documentation for installation and setup.

Install and Configure MySQL

Next, you need to install and configure MySQL. You can visit the official MySQL website to download and install the latest version, and follow the instructions to complete the setup.

Create a Database and Table

Before connecting to MySQL, you need to create a database and its related tables. You can use MySQL's command line tool or graphical tools like MySQL Workbench to execute SQL queries. Below is an example SQL query to create a database and table:

CREATE DATABASE users;
USE users;
CREATE TABLE users (
    id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    name VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
    email VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL
);

Connecting to MySQL with PDO in PHP

Once your PHP and MySQL environments are set up, you can use PDO to connect to the MySQL database. Here's a PHP code example:

<?php
// Database connection configuration
$host = 'localhost';
$dbname = 'users';
$username = 'root';
$password = '';
 
// Connect to the database
try {
    $pdo = new PDO("mysql:host=$host;dbname=$dbname;charset=utf8", $username, $password);
    echo "Connection successful!";
} catch (PDOException $e) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $e->getMessage());
}
?>

Code Explanation

In this code example, we first define the connection parameters, including the host, database name, username, and password. Then, we use the PDO constructor to create a PDO object, passing in the connection string along with the username and password. Finally, we use a try-catch block to handle any potential exceptions. If the connection is successful, a success message is displayed; otherwise, an error message is shown.

Conclusion

Connecting to MySQL using PDO not only simplifies PHP code but also enhances security and performance when interacting with the database. In this article, we covered how to set up the PHP and MySQL environment, create a database and table, and use PDO to establish a secure database connection. We hope this guide helps you better understand how to use PDO for MySQL database connections in PHP.