$dbh = DBI->connect($db_datasource, $db_user_name, $db_password) or die("Could not connect!");

$tbl_create = "
CREATE TABLE responses (
response smallint unsigned,
respondent smallint unsigned,
index response_index (response)
) ";

my $command = $dbh->prepare($tbl_create) or die("Could not prepare!");
$command->execute() or die("Could not create!");