I've generally been using native PHP functions to connect to mySQL databases for now. But I know PEAR has support for mySQL databases as well. Therefore I need to know:


What are the benefits of using PEAR instead of native PHP functions?
How will using PEAR affect my scripts?
Is it safer to use PEAR?
Is it easier to use PEAR than native PHP?
Is it more secure than native PHP, and if yes, how?