It's tempting when first using it, to just read what you 'think' is essential to you

It sounds like you're saying that's a bad thing, but that's exactly how I got the answer.

The DBI docs are pretty long, though..

When wanting a property of a database handle, look at the index for database handles.

    * Database Handle Methods
          o clone
          o data_sources
          o do
          o last_insert_id
          o selectrow_array
          o selectrow_arrayref
          o selectrow_hashref
          o selectall_arrayref
          o selectall_hashref
          o selectcol_arrayref
          o prepare
          o prepare_cached
          o commit
          o rollback
          o begin_work
          o disconnect
          o ping
          o get_info
          o table_info
          o column_info
          o primary_key_info
          o primary_key
          o foreign_key_info
          o statistics_info
          o tables
          o type_info_all
          o type_info
          o quote
          o quote_identifier
          o take_imp_data 
    * Database Handle Attributes
          o AutoCommit (boolean)
          o Driver (handle)
          o Name (string)
          o Statement (string, read-only)
          o RowCacheSize (integer)
          o Username (string)
[download]

I got three possible answers from that. Three quick clicks indicates all three fulfill the OP's requirements.

That's not long. That's among the shortest amount of reading I've had to do to find a function. And I found three!