$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.
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
The user name for the database connection. (Default value is taken from the DBI_USER environment variable.)
The password for the database connection. (Default value is taken from the DBI_PASS environment variable. Set this value at your own risk.)
A hash reference defining attributes for the database handle.