What are common pitfalls when using PHP 5 and trying to connect to a MySQL database using mysql_connect?

One common pitfall when using PHP 5 and trying to connect to a MySQL database using `mysql_connect` is that the `mysql` extension is deprecated as of PHP 5.5. It is recommended to use `mysqli` or `PDO_MySQL` for database connections instead. Another pitfall is not handling connection errors properly, which can lead to security vulnerabilities. Additionally, not sanitizing user input before using it in SQL queries can leave your application vulnerable to SQL injection attacks.

// Connect to MySQL database using mysqli
$servername = "localhost";
$username = "username";
$password = "password";
$dbname = "database";

$conn = new mysqli($servername, $username, $password, $dbname);

if ($conn->connect_error) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $conn->connect_error);
}