Can't get PHP working with MySQL (using Linux)

Alright, when I compile this bit of code to test:

<?php

   require('index.inc');
   $page = new buildpage();
   $page->buildHeader();


   $dbase = $mysqli_connect('localhost', 'root', 'password');


<?php
   $page->buildFooter();
?>

I'm getting:

PHP Notice:  Undefined variable: mysqli_connect in

/home/tim/Doc开发者_如何学运维uments/Web/index2.php on line 9 PHP Stack trace: PHP 1. {main}() /home/tim/Documents/Web/index2.php:0 PHP Fatal error: Function name must be a string in /home/tim/Documents/Web/index2.php on line 9 PHP Stack trace: PHP 1. {main}() /home/tim/Documents/Webindex2.php:0

I located my mysql.so file and set it accordingly in my php.ini, but for some reason the mysql extension doesn't seem to be working... unless there's something wrong with my code.

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That's because mysqli_connect is a function and not a variable. Remove the $ sign.

$dbase = mysqli_connect('localhost', 'root', 'password');

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Yeah, remove the $. If you're trying to squelch potential error messages, use @.