Using PDO for database access - handling errors. From the article: PDO for Elegant PHP Database Access, http://www.modernphpbook.com/articles/pdo-for-elegant-php-database-access - Fig 9

PDOExample.php

<?php 

try {
    $conn = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=someDb', $username, $password);
    $conn->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);
    // run queries...
} catch (PDOException $ex) {
    echo "Error: " . $e->getMessage();
}