In PHP every database is accessed slightly differently. To connect to MySQL, you would use mysql_connect(). When you decide to upgrade to Oracle or Microsoft SQL Server, you would use ocilogon() or mssql_connect() respectively. What is worse is that the parameters you use for the different connect functions are different also.. That's why a database wrapper library such as ADODB comes in handy when you need to ensure portability. <p> This tutorial has been translated into multiple languages, including German, Spanish, Polish, Thai and Chinese.