This is my first website using MySQL and PHP and I'm having some troubles. So...I'm connected to the MySQL server using mysql_connect - no problem there. But when trying to select a database, I get the error 'unknown database'. This is what I wrote to select:
if (!@mysql_select_db('my_database')){
die ('<p>Could not select the database because: <b>'. mysql_error(). '</b></p>');}

To make my database I used MySQL Server 2005 Express. And I also have XAMPP -- I chose it because it was the only Apache that would run for me. Anyone has any idea what I might be doing wrong?
As far as I know the database is created I created it in Mysql server management studio. I don't know should I do something more with it, it's not enough to just create it there?

Did you actually create the database you're trying to connect to? If the database doesn't yet exist you won't be able to connect to it (I ran into this myself the other day when I was setting up phpBB and MySQL, I forgot to create the database <g>).

Check this page:

http://us3.php.net/function.mysql-connect

This is what my hosting provider gives me as instructions on connecting:

$db = mysql_connect ("localhost", "username", "******");
mysql_select_db ("dbname", $db);

Looks like you're missing some info as to which db to connect to in which connection.

Check this page:

http://us3.php.net/function.mysql-connect

This is what my hosting provider gives me as instructions on connecting:

$db = mysql_connect ("localhost", "username", "******");
mysql_select_db ("dbname", $db);

Looks like you're missing some info as to which db to connect to in which connection.

Check this page:

http://us3.php.net/function.mysql-connect

This is what my hosting provider gives me as instructions on connecting:

$db = mysql_connect ("localhost", "username", "******");
mysql_select_db ("dbname", $db);

Looks like you're missing some info as to which db to connect to in which connection.