PHP Manual . ... PHP 4 >= 4.0.6) dbx_connect -- Open a connection/database . dbx_link_object dbx_connect ( string module, string host, string database, string username, string password [, int persistent]) . ... The 'handle' member is a valid handle for the connected database, and as such can be used in module-specific functions (if required), e.g. <?php $link = dbx_connect ("mysql", "localhost", "db", "username", "password"); mysql_close ($link->handle); // dbx_close($link) would be better here ?> ...