Should I close DB connection?

Manat

Hi all,

I have an update query,

PHP:

$bstats = "UPDATE tableName SET hits = hits + 1 WHERE brand = $brand"; $bresults = mysql_query($bstats) or die(mysql_error());

So I put this code so that I would be able to see how many people are viewing which brand on our site, however I had too many connection problems after uploading this file, so i'm guessing that too many db connections were happening. First the site was incredibly slow, and then I couldn't connect, I got a too many connections message.

How do I alleviate this problem? Should I do a connection.close() or something?

Any help would be very appreciated.

Thanks
MK

________

The function you are looking for is mysql_close

But "Using mysql_close() isn't usually necessary, as non-persistent open links are automatically closed at the end of the script's execution." - PHP manual.

Take a look at the mysql_pconnect() function or get your host to increase the number allowed of connections! 🙂

LordShryku

Doesn't hurt to close your connections though. It's just good coding.

________

Not that I want to get into a big discussion about codin preferences, but what the point to closing the connection?

LordShryku

Gets you in the habit. Some databases won't cut that connection unless you close it, leaving zombie connections open on the server end.

Sxooter

The biggest danger is php pages that segfault before they're done. It's possible to create a php install that segfaults at certain commands, and if the apache child process that is running a php script seg faults before it finishes, the connection can be left hanging.

It' not common, but it can happen.

Of course, if you're using persistant connections, then closing those connections does nothing.

csn

Wouldn't those connections timeout though?

Sxooter

Yes, but that depends on how long it takes for a database / tcp/ip to time out. On Postgresql it's about 2hours I believe.