/**
* This function returns a reference to the database connection. If none exists, it will establish
* the connection to the database.
* @return A reference to the database connection.
* @throws PDOException If an error occurred during the process of establishing the database connection.
*/
public static function getDbConnection()
{
// if the single DB connection has not yet been initialized, initialize it
if (DbConnectionUtil::$dbConnection == NULL) {
$dbConnectionString = 'mysql:host=' . Settings::getSetting('DB_URL');
$dbConnectionString .= ';dbname=' . Settings::getSetting('DB_SCHEMA');
DbConnectionUtil::$dbConnection = new PDO($dbConnectionString, Settings::getSetting('DB_USERNAME'), Settings::getSetting('DB_PASSWORD'));
DbConnectionUtil::$dbConnection->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);
}
return DbConnectionUtil::$dbConnection;
}
