#!/usr/bin/perl -w
#################################3
use strict;
use CGI;
use DBI;

my $q=new CGI;

my $dbh=DBI->connect("DBI:mysql:dbhost=localhost",
                     "dbuser","secret")
    or scream_and_die($q,$DBI::errstr);

#
# more code...
#

exit(0);

sub scream_and_die {
   my ($q,$str)=@_;

    print $q->header,$q->start_html(-title=>"UH-OH!"),
              $q->p("An error occured!"),
              $q->p($str),$q->end_html;

    exit(0);
}