[development] Connecting to multiple databases in 5.x

[Chris Kennedy]

Settings.php is made read-only on install if possible (using
drupal_verify_install_file). See http://drupal.org/node/105368 which
adds a status message to clarify this (and needs a review). Or maybe it
would be better to have the read-only change be a checkbox on the
install page that is enabled by default but can be disabled.

Also keep in mind that Drupal gives incorrect error messages in some
cases when settings.php is unreadable or doesn't exist. This might make
you think your database settings are wrong, when it is really a
permissions issue. http://drupal.org/node/100476 fixes some of these
cases (and needs a review).

So, theoretically http://drupal.org/node/18429 should still work.

Morbus Iff wrote:
>> Now that the settings.php file is write protected, the instructions
>> at http://drupal.org/node/18429 no longer work to connect to multiple
>> databases. I searched around but wasn't able to find anything on a
>> recommended way to do this in 5.x. And, of course, the documentation
>> on that page needs to be updated, too.
> 
> settings.php is not write-protected. More than likely:
> 
>  * your webserver is a user and group that you don't have access to.
>  * when the install.php wrote your settings.php for you, it was
>    unable to give you proper permissions to write to the file.
> 
> Drupal does not enforce write protection on the settings.php.
> The above is still the right way of doing multiple databases.
> 
> The installer should be creating the file as writable. Could you tell
> us more about the permissions and ownership it created for that file?
>