mysqli_real_connect()

The mysqli_real_connect() function establishes a connection to a MySQL server. Unlike the regular connect function, this one requires a prior initialization of an object.

EXAMPLE

<?php
// 1. Initialize an empty connection object
$connection = mysqli_init();

if (!$connection) {
    die("mysqli_init failed.");
}

// 2. Set options (e.g., timeout to 5 seconds)
mysqli_options($connection, MYSQLI_OPT_CONNECT_TIMEOUT, 5);

// 3. Establish the actual, advanced connection
// NOTE: Unlike the classic mysqli_connect(), the mysqli_real_connect() function 
// requires an already existing, initialized variable ($connection). If all data is correct, 
// the function will return true and establish an active link to the database.
$success = mysqli_real_connect($connection, "localhost", "root", "", "mysqli_database");

if ($success) {
    echo "Advanced connection was successfully established.";
    mysqli_close($connection);
} else {
    echo "Connection failed: " . mysqli_connect_error();
}
?>

RESULT

The result will be displayed here...

Main advantages over the mysqli_connect() function:

It requires a valid object created with mysqli_init().
It allows using settings from mysqli_options() before the connection itself.
It includes a parameter for flags that enable SSL, data compression, and interactive sessions.

Parameter Values

connection: An object representing the MySQL server.
host: A string representing the server address (e.g., "localhost" or "127.0.0.1").
username: A string representing the username to access the server.
password: A string representing the password to access the server.
database: A string representing the name of the database we want to use.
port: An integer representing the port the server is listening on (default is 3306).
socket: A string representing the path to the socket, if using a socket for the connection is specified.
flags: An integer representing flags that can enable various connection options.

Practical use: You always use this function when you need a secure connection over SSL or when you want to precisely set a connection timeout via options configured in advance.