Instantiating a PEAR DB class object

Here's common syntax I use for instantiating a PEAR DB class object.

<?php
require_once('DB.php');
$dsn = 'mysql://USER:PASSWORD@HOST/DATABASE';
$DB =& DB::connect($dsn);
if (DB::isError($DB)) {
  die($DB->getMessage());
}
$DB->setFetchMode(DB_FETCHMODE_ASSOC);
?>