PDO Connection with Error Handling

PDO Connection

Wrap PDO connection in try/catch to handle connection failures. Set error mode to exceptions so PDO throws on errors rather than returning false.

Example

<?php
function createConnection(): PDO {
    $dsn = "mysql:host=localhost;dbname=mydb;charset=utf8mb4";
    $options = [
        PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE            => PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION,
        PDO::ATTR_DEFAULT_FETCH_MODE => PDO::FETCH_ASSOC,
        PDO::ATTR_EMULATE_PREPARES   => false, // Use real prepared statements
    ];

    try {
        return new PDO($dsn, "dbuser", "dbpass", $options);
    } catch (PDOException $e) {
        // Log error internally, show generic message to user
        error_log("DB Connection failed: " . $e->getMessage());
        throw new RuntimeException("Database unavailable", 503, $e);
    }
}

PHP

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Pro Tip

Always set ATTR_EMULATE_PREPARES to false — it ensures real prepared statements are used instead of emulated ones.

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