function connect() 
{ 
    static $connection = false; 
     
    if ($connection === false) 
    { 
        $connection = new mysqli('host','user','pass', 'db'); 
     
        if ($connection->connect_errno) 
        { 
            echo $connection->connect_error; 
            return false; 
        }        
         
        $connection->set_charset('utf8'); 
    } 
   
    return $connection; 
}