From a pointer on Nexen.net today, there's this new post on John Berns' blog today concerning compiling PHP5 with mysql and mysqli database drivers.

For years, the mysql library has been the standard for PHP development and a lot of great apps have been built running PHP and mysql. Now, with PHP5 there is a new database extension called mysqli that stands for “MySQL Improved.”

So what’s so great about mysqli? Why switch to mysqli?

The answer is simple: PHP5’s new mysqli database driver kicks ass.

He gives several reasons behind this, as well as a possibility as to why not many people are using it.

He follows that up with the actual HowTo of the post, showing you how to set up PHP with both the old MySQL driver installed and the new mysqli functionality in place. Thankfully, it's as easy as adding in a few configure options to enable a few things...