function connect() {
    if ($this->_cnx == 0) {
        require("dbconvars.php");
        $this->_cnx = mysql_connect($dbhost, $dbuser, $dbpwd);
        if (!$this->_cnx) {
            $this->_handleError("Connect failed.");
            return false;
        }
        if (@!mysql_select_db($dbname, $this->_cnx)) {
            $this->_handleError("Can not select database '$dbname'.");
            return false;
        }
    }
    return $this->_cnx;
}