What are the advantages and disadvantages of using PEAR MDB2 compared to MySQLi for database access in PHP?

When choosing between PEAR MDB2 and MySQLi for database access in PHP, it is important to consider the advantages and disadvantages of each. PEAR MDB2 offers a higher level of abstraction and portability, making it easier to switch between different database systems. However, it may have a steeper learning curve and slower performance compared to MySQLi, which is more lightweight and optimized for MySQL databases.

// Example code using PEAR MDB2 for database access
require_once 'MDB2.php';

$dsn = 'mysql://username:password@localhost/database_name';
$options = array(
    'debug' => 2,
    'result_buffering' => false,
);

$mdb2 = MDB2::factory($dsn, $options);

if (PEAR::isError($mdb2)) {
    die($mdb2->getMessage());
}

// Use $mdb2 object to interact with the database