connect

 $db_handle = DBI->connect(data_source, user, passwd, [\%attr])

Connects to the specified database, returning a database handle object. The connect method automatically installs the driver if it has not already been installed.

data_source

A string identifying the driver to connect to, and any other additional driver-specific information needed to identify the driver (e.g., a port number.) The driver name is written in the form dbi:driver_name, e.g., dbi:mSQL. (Default value is taken from the DBI_DSN environment variable.) For example, a connection string for the mSQL driver always starts with dbi:mSQL:. The second colon should be followed by any information required by the driver to make the database connection. In the case of mSQL, you must supply a database name (bookdb in the following example), a hostname (localhost), and the port number of the database server (1114):

dbi:mSQL:bookdb:localhost:1114

user

The user name for the database connection. (Default value is taken from the DBI_USER environment variable.)

passwd

The password for the database connection. (Default value is taken from the DBI_PASS environment variable. Set this value at your own risk.)

\%attr

A hash reference defining attributes for the database handle.